As it is on the northern side of my property, I dread winter as the tree shades the majority of my house and yard for several hours of the day. I was told a healthy tree takes precedence over solar access. Pity a healthy tree didn't take precedence over a tram line but oh, I forgot, these several hundred trees have now been found to be diseased. The dozens of trees cut down to provide a nice new access road to Radford College must have been suffering from the same problem; as must the trees that are in the way if any other development in Canberra.

One rule for them, another for us!

Di Elliott, Evatt

No, an inflexible transport extravaganza costing over $700 million was not endorsed at the last ACT election and, given the clear division in the electorate, it was an act of arrogance and bastardry on the part of the government to sign a contract before the next election ("Canberrans to pay $375m upfront as light rail contact signed", May 18, p1).

If the Liberals get up at that election (sadly, also mostly dullards), may I suggest two ways of reducing the cost of tearing up the contract. First, any compensation payable to the consortium should reflect the fact that the consortium knows full well that there is a real prospect of a change of government and that the deal will be scrapped.

It can therefore limit its losses by not incurring major liabilities before the election.

Second, an incoming Liberal government should legislate to ensure that 50 per cent of any future remuneration or pension otherwise payable by the ACT to any member of the Legislative Assembly who supported this nonsense should be withheld and used to pay any outstanding light rail debt.

Chris Whyte, Higgins

Complete arrogance by the Labor Party in signing contracts for light rail ahead of an upcoming election and scant regard for ethics by Liberals Giulia Jones and Vicki Dunne in taking expensive overseas travel with spouses and/or staffers to high-cost countries like Scandinavia. When are we going to see some principled independents or representatives from community-based parties who campaign for the public good rather than party machines?

Ric Hingee, Duffy

I concur with Trevor Willis (Letters, May 18) regarding the state of Canberra's suburbs. We have lived in Canberra for 50 years and have seen a marked decline in our environment over the past 10 years in particular.

I walked with mum down to the local shop in Scullin this week, the public footpath was overgrown with weeds and there were several places where someone could have tripped causing injury. This is the case in our suburb, Macquarie, also. Belconnen streets are full of weeds, government areas mowed sparingly and footpaths in many areas, simply dangerous.

In addition to this, government housing properties in our street are also left to accumulate rubbish and long grass in their front yards despite numerous complaints to ACT Housing asking for this to be rectified.

The state of our urban amenity is clearly an election issue, it's time to clean up Canberra and all parties need to address this as a high priority.

Alison Chapple, Macquarie

The article "Hospital ship victims honoured" (Forum, May 14, p3) recalling the sinking of the Centaur reminded me of a story told by my late father, a veteran of World War I who was recalled to the army early in September, 1939. One of his postings was as second in command of the costal battery at Port Kembla. An unidentified ship was seen off the coast and failed to identify itself.

Before the battery could act permission had to be obtained from Victoria Barracks, by which time the ship was over the horizon and well out of range. It's a wonder we won the war.

Philip Robinson, Holt

Last Monday during a visit to Canberra I spent the day at the Australian War Memorial.

I was very impressed by the Great War exhibition. However I was extremely disappointed and shocked to see the Battle of Fromelles was not represented as an interactive display. As a frequent visitor to the Western Front the Battle of Fromelles is still the forgotten battle.

I find it very disappointing the Battle of Fromelles is not inscribed on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and now not represented in the War Memorial.

Not only was this the first battle the Australian soldiers were involved in on the Western Front but the most casualties suffered by Australians in 24 hours.

When will this battle be given the respect and commemoration it deserves or will it remain the forgotten battle forever?

Robyn Lewis, Raglan, NSW

In the concise unanimous judgment of the High Court following challenges to Senate vote changes that cut out preference whisperers because only numbers marked by individual voters are to be acted upon, what stood out was the blunt assessment that none of the attempted arguments "has any merit": specific ones were summarised and quickly characterised as "untenable", "elusive" or "fails at its threshold".

The Australian Electoral Commission should now seek to assist electors to maximise their chances of having a fully effective vote electing candidates. It shouldn't focus misleadingly on the wording of the ballot-paper instructions that ask for at least six party boxes or 12 candidates' names to be numbered, as that will only spark criticism that clear formality savings provisions make marking one party box or at least six preferences for individual candidates acceptable. Instead, official advertising should aim to empower electors by emphasising the marking of preferences as an instruction about the order in which candidates can be assisted by anything still unused of a vote. That way, most thoughtful electors will decide to keep numbering until they regard everyone else as utterly hopeless or unknowns whom they are not prepared to support on hope alone.

Bogey Musidlak, convener, Proportional Representation Society of Australia (ACT branch)

Peter Dutton's "illiterate and innumerate" salvo confirms that Malcolm Turnbull (to his eternal discredit) has cheerfully photocopied the rancid Abbott-Morrison border protection platform. Labor's injured response confirms it's going to play into his hands.

As the posturing goes on may I just make a tiny point? It suits both sides to keep the election spotlight right on asylum seekers and right off our overall population policy – which was omitted from Mr Morrison's Budget Paper No. 1.

Extrapolating from ABS Population Clock and the 2015-16 migration program respectively, I guess 2016-17 population growth might be around 340,000 with net migration contributing about 190,000.

The big migration increase, which dates from about 2007, doesn't make any particular economic or environmental sense, and hasn't really been discussed with the electorate.

To conclude my tiny point, if the migration program was rolled back under 100,000 where it used to be, we might have a lot more slack for a sensible and humane refugee policy. Mr Dutton's dog-whistling notwithstanding.

Stephen Saunders, O'Connor

"Why growth?", Malcolm Whyte (Letters, May 17) asks. There are two compelling reasons. Obviously, a growing population needs a growing economy to provide the goods and services for the newcomers. (Whether or not Australia can or should support an increase in population is a different issue, worthy of more discussion).

The second and more subtle reason is that growth is required to pay the interest on our debts. When we borrow something we have to give it back plus a little bit more. We can only do this by producing more than we already have, and this grows the economy.

Bruce A. Peterson, Kambah

Nicholas Stuart ("The pretend campaign and its pretend predictions", Times2, May 17, p6) is clearly not at his best commenting on domestic politics. The present election campaign is certainly no "pretend campaign", unless he means that Malcolm Turnbull is pretending to have genuine policy alternatives to Labor. Bill Shorten has at least overseen the preparation of a comprehensive suite of relevant social and economic policies where the Abbott/Turnbull governments have repeatedly dropped the ball, including in successive federal budgets.

Stuart's assertion that Coalition governments are seen as stronger economic managers and that Labor "squandered" federal surpluses ignores the Rudd government's success in getting Australia through the global economic crisis in 2007-08.

Worse, Stuart fails to mention the absolute failure of current Coalition economic policies, from the missed opportunity of the Brisbane G-20 Summit to tackle tax evasion by multinational corporations, to the complete absence of worthwhile infrastructure initiatives in recent years, and the inability to prepare adequately for the long-foreshadowed end of the mining boom.

Even now, from one day to the next, it is impossible to tell what Malcolm Turnbull's real economic policies are, other than to protect the interest of his big business cronies! So he can hardly be the "Labor Prime Minister you have when you're not having a Labor PM", as Stuart postulates. And let's not forget Turnbull's refusal to come up with sound climate change policies.

Trevor Wilson, Holder

However much I'm sympathetic with the Greens stirring the pot about penalty rates, the fact is the Fair Work Act includes references to penalty rates in a number of sections.

Section 62 "Maximum weekly hours" makes the situation clear. So does S114 "Entitlement to be absent from employment on public holiday". And so does S16 "Meaning of base rate of pay".

"The employee may refuse to work additional hours ... if they are unreasonable." One condition (of 9) the employee may take into account is "(d) whether the employee is entitled to receive overtime payments, penalty rates, or other compensation ... that reflects an expectation of working additional hours", in the wording in Sect 62.

So, unless the Greens mean that Parliament should set the actual penalty rates for each and every award across Australia, and be sure that all employees will find them reasonable until Parliament changes the rates I suggest they take the sensible course and leave the arguments to the independent Fair Work Commission.

Frank McKone, Holt

Medicare rebates are frozen for four years. I am wondering when the four-year pay freeze for politicians and bureaucrats is due to start.

Those same politicians and bureaucrats have no inhibitions about hoeing into the hard-earned savings of self-employed people, secure in the knowledge that there will be no reduction in their own excessively generous Defined Benefit pensions.

As George Orwell nearly said, all citizens are equal but some are more equal than others.

Alan N. Cowan, Yarralumla

In the expressions of support by Messrs Willson and Ronald for the Howard and Abbott governments (Letters, May 18), I suspect we hear the voice of the predominantly white, male, comfortably well-off, conservative gerontocracy who selfishly care little about the needs of a contemporary Australian society that is increasingly alien to them.

As long as their taxes are kept low and foreigners are kept out all will be well in their sheltered, but rapidly disappearing, world. They deny the reality, supported by research rather than taxi driver gossip, that we are now a diverse, secular society that demands more humanity, fairness and better services, and is prepared to pay higher taxes – and expects the more fortunate to pay a greater share – to achieve it.

J. Adam, Curtin

If Robert Willson's taxi driver's understanding of the economy is as simplistic and naive as represented by Mr Willson itisno wonder he's driving a taxi rather than still being in banking.

Peter Edsor, Bungendore, NSW

Peter Tobler (Letters, May 17) notes that compact fluorescent lamps are far less bright. I agree, and they are slow to ignite and can take up to two minutes to reach maximum output as well. In my experience, CFLs can cost up to 10 times more than the incandescent globes they replaced, and their supposed extra life expectancy is not apparent to me. CFLs release extremely toxic mercury when they break, which requires a very specific clean-up procedure should be followed, involving immediate evacuation of the area for at least 5 minutes with shutdown of fans, heaters and air-conditioning; the use of 100 per cent disposable cleaning products that do not involve vacuum cleaner use; and finally, airing of the room to the outside environment for several hours after cleaning up. This is exactly what happens when "green" design briefs are too vague, ie, "develop a lighting solution that uses less electricity" with no obvious consideration of safety or cost efficiency. This "green" solution is costing us a fortune and potentially poisoning us in our homes. Far less bright indeed.

Jamie Geysen, Aranda

Peter Tobler wondered whether the perceived lack of light from compact fluorescent lights might lead to people having to don glasses sooner than would have been the case with the previous tungsten incandescents. Glasses don't intensify the light reaching the eye but they would correct less than optimum sight and improve clarity, which may help.

However, one difference with CF lights is that their maximum light output and efficiency is when the operating temperature is about 25 degrees. If the room temperature has dropped to 10C, say, which can happen in a domestic house early morning, then light output is reduced by 20 per cent and this is quite noticeable. Similarly on a very hot 40C day/night, the light will also be dimmer by about 20 per cent.

David Williams,Watson

DUTTON DISSENT

So Peter Dutton wants to remind us that many refugees are non-literate. Doesn't he realise that we have an obligation to welcome refugees from the Middle East because of our country's ongoing interventions in this part of the world?

Koula Poulos, Watson

If Peter Dutton is correct and illiterate immigrants can come in and take our jobs then that doesn't say much for the standard of education in Australia today.

Perhaps the government should increase education funding so we are not disadvantaged by the hordes of illiterate people flooding the country.

Barbara Bankovsky, Kaleen

PAST TO PRESENT

The article "West prepared to arm Libya to fight Islamic State" (canberatimes.com.au, May 17) quoted Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni as saying "with stabilisation, we can fight terrorism". Strangely enough, we heard similar words about 50 years ago in relation to Vietnam.

Gordon Edwards, Page

FACTS FIRST

FactCheck is the best political journalism currently available in Australia. It should be immediately reinstated ("Telling porkies gets easier for pollies as ABC shuts down its fact check unit", canberratimes.com.au, May17).

Christopher Budd, Turner

MONEY MATTERS

"Canberra's guide to weekly cheap eats" (canberratimes.com.au, May17) declares lunch for $24 and dinner for $49 to be a "cheap eat". When did $49 become "cheap" for a meal?

Judy Bamberger, O'Connor

PROTEST POWER

Today I drove past the new Coles supermarket, four minutes' drive from our house, to make the 25-minute drive to Casey Supabarn. Shopping at the farmers' markets and independent supermarkets is our family's protest at the way the two major supermarket chains treat farmers and other suppliers.

Kathryn Stuparich, Wanniassa

THANKS, BUT

After full consideration of H.Ronald's proffered advice (Letters, May) thanks but no thanks.

Roger Marchant, Lyneham

ECONOMIC FURPHY

Robert Willson (Letters, May 18) might be better off if he looked at present economic realities rather than recycling old furphies about Labor's "reckless spending" after the GFC.

Marguerite Castello, Griffith

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