Why would the PM sanction this visit? Do we really want to run the risk of war with any or all of these countries when Minister Joyce does a "Barnaby"?

It is one thing to allow him to indulge in the blatant pork-barrelling that has eviscerated the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).

To let him loose in Europe without the supervision of a responsible adult could result in an international incident more catastrophic than Archduke Franz Ferdinand's 1914 visit to Sarajevo.

Seriously, can the PM please encourage his National Party colleagues to remove our Akubra-wearing answer to Donald Trump and then cancel the disastrous attempt to relocate the APVMA.

National bodies belong in the National capital.

This is, after all, Canberra's raison d'être.

Rod Olsen, Flynn

If, as stated by the minister, aspiring "new Australians" must pass a university-level English language test before becoming citizens, might I suggest that the law include a similar requirement for Federal politicians. I for one do not wish to be governed by politicians who are less capable than the people they represent. Unfortunately I could suggest many who are.

If our new citizens are to be better qualified than the rest of us, will they not quickly rise to the top and ultimately govern us?

C. Johnston, Duffy

Prince Harry says that no one in the royal family wants to be a monarch but who is listening?

William and Harry might prefer not to be followed by the media pack who hounded their mother to death but the establishment needs the media to promote the system on which their titles depend. Like Truman, in the film The Truman Show, the Windsors are trapped in a media bubble, scrutinised from birth to death. Truman broke free but can the royals?

They are effectively slaves, denied human rights that Australians take for granted. Charles might like to be a Buddhist or an atheist but he will be forced to become head of the Anglican Church.

William and Kate might like to move to Sweden but, no, they have to live in Britain permanently. They might like to have other career paths but they have to do what they are told.

Charles tries to claim more freedom of speech but as he is descended from a long line of dictators, we can't afford to let him use his unelected status to influence government policy.

The tragedy of his marriage to Diana arose because he wasn't free to decide when and whom to marry. Like all slave owners, we justify our choices.

Those royal slaves supposedly bring us stability. There is no justification for slavery but, with so many problems in the world, no one is going to rescue the Windsors.

Rosemary Walters, Palmerston

The weakness in our building compliance systems is the use of "non-conforming products."

There is a lot of evidence that non-compliant and wrongly labelled building products enter Australia because they are cheap and we don't police their entry.

Once they are here they will be used.

In the ACT budget the fire and emergency levy has been raised for all home owners from $252 to $294 and a Building Levy expected to raise $2.2 million has been imposed to fund better policing of new buildings.

Good baby steps. But we need the policing actually performed. If we don't police the products used, how they are used and the work of independent contractor building certifiers, we are building the new Mr Fluffy scandal.

Libby Amiel, Owners

Not a good example

It's a real good look when annual pay rises of up to $17,000 are lavished on the "upper echelon" including pollies.

This gives every confidence that they have the wellbeing and welfare of the rest of society (the "lower echelon") in mind at all times. I am heartened by the Remuneration Tribunal's assertion that it is conscious of the government's policy of wage restraint (for everybody else) and that "public service office holders serve for the public good".

Peter Dahler, Calwell

The cost of housing is driven by the greed of the money industry.

The land cost nothing originally. Where did developers come from?

Why don't local councils and state government still develop the suburbs for residential use?

They do not need overpaid imports to do what the chief engineer has always done.

We simply have too many leeches jumping on the band wagon.

Financial growth is utter madness.

Everyone thinks they should get more than they paid when they sell things.

So-called house "flippers" are no help either.

The cheap houses they buy would normally go to a new owner who would tidy them up as their family home. The flipper just adds to the greedy bit and helps to push unreal prices.

Cliff Tarrant, Wallaga Lake, NSW

The Turnbull government doesn't know whether restricting gas exports will bring down the price of gas for Australian users.

In Australia, minerals, oil and gas are owned by the states, not by the companies with a licence to exploit them. Why can't we regulate the price? It's our gas.

Allan Rees, Moruya, NSW

Many recent letters to the editor despair about the current state of urban planning in Canberra. It is a fact the development of Canberra has an unsteady history.

Canberra was set up as a model city to be the best in the world with commitment to its unique planning, lake, bushland setting, well-designed infrastructure, accommodation of government departments, well-planned schools, hospitals and residential suburbs.

Nothing of real value ever occurs without visionary commitment and hard work.

A true and rare model city cannot be achieved when guided by career politicians and compliant bureaucrats alone. Such is Canberra's lot, at present. As frustrating as it is, despairing letter writers will not change this historic fact.

In a city with no viable local political alternative to the one we already have, and with a compliant and toothless federal watchdog, our territory government will continue to sell off public parkland for private housing, continue to demolish the urban fabric which contains much of Canberra's unwritten history, and continue to turn Canberra from the potential it once showed into a town like any other.

Urban planning is not an exercise for individuals and battles are rarely won by citizens fighting rearguard actions.

The current failure of political vision and commitment to Canberra's planning, and the promise it once showed, is a national tragedy.

Penleigh Boyd, Reid

Prior to self government Canberra was Australia's planning exemplar. Decisions of how the city should develop were shaped by a comprehensive analysis of the implications of alternative distributions of population, employment and facilities.

The purchase of rural leases to the west of the city, the government's land release program and the development of light rail and its associated corridor have all been made without the benefit of such analysis. The outcome is an increasingly unaffordable and congested inner city developing in parallel with car-dependent sprawl to the west.

Canberra's planning performance is now that of a poorly performing local government.

A perception is the government is heavily influenced by the need for land revenues from a future "government" greenfields development given revenues will be reduced from joint venture arrangements for Riverview and the CSIRO development.

If land revenues fall other options available include the culling of discretionary projects such as the untested extension of light rail. A review of the planning strategy should determine the location of the next greenfields area and would give confidence decisions are soundly based.

Canberra's planning has no pulse. It needs resuscitation. Are you up to the task Mr Barr?

Mike Quirk, Wanniassa

With almost nothing else to tax, the ACT government seems to be pursuing a further cost to its serfs with a container deposit scheme.

As revealed almost seven years ago when this Greens-promoted folly was first raised, the ACT's recycling rate of drink containers is significantly higher than that of South Australia whose container deposit scheme began about 32 years ago.

With the ACT's effective kerbside recycling collections, who will bother to lump their empties to a collection point? And for people without a private vehicle, continually overlooked by the government, recovering the proposed 10¢ deposit will be impractical.

As with the ACT government's mandatory 10¢ charge on plastic shopping bags, for which retailers pay less than 1¢, the winners will include retailers who will keep the vast majority of the 10¢ deposits.

A 2002 report to the ACT government by the Centre for Environmental Solutions found it highly unlikely a deposit scheme would increase beverage container recovery in the ACT to any appreciable extent. But it would increase the annual cost to residents of recycling by $2.8 million to $5.9 million.

If the government were serious about combating littering it would provide adequate recycling bins and enforce fines for littering.

Graham Downie, O'Connor, ACT

My faith in the Brumbies was shaken last year with the bitter and unseemly struggle between the then CEO and a board that appeared to be impotent.

In recent days there have been clear signs the Brumbies culture is being restored and I applaud the CEO and board for it.

So often the fans want more locals in the roster so the selection of four of them recently, I think from Royals, was a clear sign that there is a pathway here to Brumbies player status.

Furthermore, rehiring Laurie Fisher is a masterstroke. A man of incomparable coaching knowledge and local experience. Relatives and friends in Sydney tell me he could coach the Wallabies if only he had a haircut. They do not understand Canberrans.

Finally, Christian Lealiifano's comeback to player status during the week after all he has recently gone through with his cancer was of course not his decision alone.

Clearly the management from board to CEO to head coach created the pathway for him, I applaud them for doing so. We are a small province in rugby terms but our localism and focus on players allows us to punch well above our weight.

David Kibbey, Brumbies foundation member #15, Forrest

I live near the dog park but choose not to walk my dog there as he is a recent rescue and is particularly nervous around other dogs. He is also epileptic so I can do without any encounters with other dogs as this invariably causes him distress.

It stuns me how often we meet people walking their dogs offlead in our wanders around Yarralumla, when there is the dog park so close by.

These uncontrolled dogs bound up to us and people seem to think that is OK. It's not. If people want to walk their dogs offlead, they should take them down to the dog park. Leave us to walk, on the lead, in peace.

Faye Irwin, Yarralumla

Nothing learnt in 100 years. Where did ACT imbibers get their grog during the King O'Malley prohibition? Queanbeyan. Where will ACT greyhounds race in a few years' time? Queanbeyan.

Ken Wood, Holt

Your otherwise excellent article ("ACT to ban greyhound racing despite lack of evidence", June 24, p2) made one error. It stated "Greyhound Racing NSW is the controlling body for racing in the ACT". The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club is the controlling body.

Jim Colquhoun, Griffith

Barnaby Joyce is about to visit Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. I hope they're expecting him.

Eric Hunter, Cook

No, Rex Williams (Letters, June 19), there is a massive difference between Moudasser Talib, arrested when boarding a flight to Syria, and dual Israeli/Australian citizens who fight with the Israeli Defence Forces. When someone joins the IDF they are fighting for a recognised army of a democratic ally, which is totally legal.

Alan Shroot, Forrest

The media begs questions of irrationality by speculating on motivations or ideology behind random and public killings. The first question should be "Was the killer on street or psychiatric drugs?" Both can cause or worsen mental instability in some users.

Linda Vij, Mascot, NSW

So the Gang Of Three (Tudge, Sukkar, Hunt) has very reluctantly withdrawn its criticism of the Victorian judiciary before any judgment was made on possible terrorism sentencing. What a pity. It was a good opportunity to get rid of three unpleasant parliamentary ministers.

Susan MacDougall, Scullin

Pauline Hanson appears to be the kind of person who would ram into your car, then demand that you thank her because she proved the roads are dangerous.

Luca Biason, Latham

Adshel are supplying billboards feebly masquerading as bus shelters. These monstrosities offer little protection but maximum exposure for products depicted.

Matt Ford, Crookwell, NSW

Give the pollies a pay rise and and cancel penalty rates for our lowest paid workers. Go figure.

Karen Leyden, Kambah

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