This legislation was immediately highly successful in reducing corruption.

Since then I have watched the legislation watered down and enforcement disappearing.

In my experience in the public service and elsewhere, 20 per cent of the population would not hesitate to steal any amount if there was a high degree of probability that they would not be caught, and if caught, would not be punished.

Furthermore, a psychologist specialising in this area, Patricia Shaefer, refers to the 10-10-80 rule.

She says, 10 per cent steal at any opportunity (regardless of whether they are likely to be caught or not), 10 per cent will never steal no matter what. The other 80 per cent of employees will go either way depending on how they will rationalise a particular opportunity.

The private sector has a strong incentive to monitor its employees, and quickly gets rid of those caught in dishonest conduct.

The public sector much less so, especially as dishonest employees can be embedded right the way to the top. An ICAC or anti-corruption body is a necessity in government administration.

Relying on the "inherent honesty" of the average employee in the public service is foolish and costly.

Tim Walshaw, Waramanga

Graham Downie (Letters, January 6) wrote a well-considered letter about the road toll.

While identifying driver error as the major cause, he suggests inter alia that the Kings, Barton and Monaro highways should be duplicated.

I would add the Snowy Mountains Highway from Cooma to Bega to this discussion.

As duplicating roads is very costly, I would suggest that more overtaking lanes be added to these roads, so that the high proportion of younger drivers that use them (the Barton Highway a possible exception) can overtake safely.

Having travelled all these roads a good deal in the last year or so, I can see that it would be largely frustration and impatience that makes drivers overtake several cars at a time in a not always safely manner.

ACT and NSW governments, please direct your attention to this urgent issue.

Yes, some ACT funds should be directed to NSW Roads as our drivers are the ones that use them mostly and will benefit greatly.

The savings in related hospital, ongoing health, insurance etc costs really make taking this up a no-brainer.

I look forward to the day governments start looking at expenditure in a whole-of-government way!

Herman van de Brug, Kaleen

Not sure about Canberra drivers and their questionable driving habits but anyone driving the Queanbeyan-Bungendore road will have at times, come across some meritorious doofus intent on creating a "relaxing" driving experience for all those that follow rather than keeping to the posted speed limit.

There is often a police notice heading out of Bungendore requesting drivers "stick to the speed limit". Either literacy standards have fallen significantly (as this notice is clearly incomprehensible to some drivers) or such driving behaviour is just an act of bastardry-hence the following:

"Make 'em suffer, make 'em wait,

Make 'em angry, make 'em late,

A single lane, a joy to behold,

Welcome all to my cheery fold.

Now! Slow, slow, s l o w e r

to the pace of a hearse

As I darkly titter 'It's safety first!'

Make 'em suffer, make 'em wait,

Make 'em angry, make 'em late."

William Gray, Bungendore, NSW

While any road death is a tragedy with a devastating impact on families and friends, contrary to the super-heated media hype over recent days the road toll has actually been falling dramatically since the truly horrendous rates of 3000 a year in the two decades 1964-84.

And in the last 10 years annual deaths per 100,000 population fell by a total of 30 per cent, an estimated trend reduction of 4 per cent per year.

Road deaths have generally been falling, despite rapid population growth of around 17 per cent over the same period, (ABS) and the number of vehicles on the road is also up by 24 per cent.

Seen against this background the increase in 2017 was relatively small and probably inevitable. In term of distance travelled and international comparisons, annual deaths per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled, Australia's rate of 0.49 was the eighth lowest out of 18 nations with available data.

So I wonder who stands to benefit by this distortion of the statistics, or "fake news" as seems to be the current term, that paints such a grim picture of what in fact has been a welcome and long-term improvement of safety on our roads?

Colin S. Smeal, Holder

Collis Parrett (Letters, January 1) reports on a Christmas lead-up trip to Sydney, where he failed to see any obvious police presence.

Police action before Christmas is directed towards pressuring drivers into adopting sensible behaviour over the coming high-usage period (open and subliminal impression upon "the policeman within").

This was obviously effective in Collis's case, as he looked left, right, and centre for a police presence.

Police can take limited family time before Christmas, before working long (possibly double) shifts over the period when many people travel, accidents occur, and drivers misbehave.

An examination of administrative behaviour at the station and in court requirements, which keeps officers off the streets, would be more productive than more police.

Self management as a driver (the policeman within) remains the answer. The holiday toll in NSW shows the requisite self discipline is lacking.

Peter Baskett, Murrumbateman, NSW

The AMA is understandably tackling the over-consumption of sugar (canberratimes.com.au, January 6), given its harmful effects on health.

The World Health Organisation has recommended the average adult should have no more than six teaspoons of sugar per day.

A simple way of estimating the sugar content in a particular food product is to divide the number of grams of sugar shown on the nutritional panel by four.

Four grams of sugar is approximately one teaspoon.

Rosemary Crossland, Ngunnawal

So now we have another suburban shopping centre, Curtin, partially fenced off and boarded up, while the owners seek to blackmail the ACT planning authorities into approving a development that is opposed by the local community and inconsistent with the rules of the draft Curtin Group Square draft master plan.

This is but the latest in a series of attempted blackmails by property owner developers who think that if they hang out long enough the ACT planning authorities will eventually buckle to their demands regardless of community sentiment and planning guidelines.

Other examples come to mind, most recently the Coombs shopping centre which, on all current indications, will remain vacant looking like a 1960s bowling alley for months if not years to come while Coombs residents continue to make a 10-kilometre round trip to shop for basic commodities at Cooleman Court.

The original signboards said it would open in mid-2016.

It's about time the ACT government introduced penalties for failure to develop and put to good use vacant or untenanted commercial properties in accordance with existing planning guidelines.

For example, a penalty that said if you leave your commercial property vacant for one year you will pay the standard annual commercial rate for that property.

Leave it vacant for two years and you will pay double commercial rates.

Leave it vacant for three years and you as owner will pay triple rates, and so forth.

John Mellors, Coombs

How can a leaseholder get away with boarding up the Curtin Shops site? Its recent inappropriate DA was refused. Clear reasons were provided. Instead of listening and resubmitting a compliant DA it appears to be blackmailing the ACT government and local community. Surely the leaseholder is no longer compliant with the term that applied when this lease was purchased. Surely the ACT government has grounds to resume the lease, bulldoze the rundown buildings, and manage its future development .

Marion Davidson, Canberra

Very happy to see the government is spending on Narrabundah park upgrade.

I just would like to put out there why doesn't the government spend the proposed $35 million to build the Arboretum ampitheatre (equal if not better) than the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne?

I mean we were close to getting Santana to play there for our centenary in 2013 then offered Paul Simon but no venue!

C'mon ACT government build it now and they will come.

We could have our own Christmas carols by candlelight right here in the nation's capital!

Ernie Nichols, Evatt

You have to feel for the local petting zoo industry.

Once again the majority of people of Canberra are being denied their rights because of a minority.

First we had the ban on animal circuses, then the greyhound industry, and now petting zoos, all because of some people's outlook on life.

Yes, some have treated our animal friends poorly, but because of the few do the rest of us have to do without?

What next? Will there soon be a ban on owning a animal of any kind as a pet because it may cause them stress?

Dog and cat owners, who, being in the majority would just love that, and what about our National Zoo and Aquarium, their animals must be in a high range of stress and anxiety with people patting and staring at them all day and half the night.

Now our learned and supposedly educated people in charge of our University of Canberra who should set a example to our students on fairness have caved in to PETA because they believe petting zoos cause stress in animals.

Who told PETA? Did the animals send in a formal complaint about harassment and stress in the work place?

Errol Good, Macgregor

On December 23 I had a water leak on the inlet pipe to the house.

I called the plumber who came the next day at 7am. He assessed the job and told me that there was a $49 call-out fee, and it may cost $600 if he had to touch the water line going to the airconditioning unit.

Seeing that I had no water to the house it had to be fixed.

The whole job took one hour where the plumber had to use 60 millimetres of new copper pipe and there was no need to touch the airconditioning line.

The plumber took my Mastercard details and left. On checking my Mastercard the total amount charged was $754.75 , for the one hour of work. Being a senior citizen on a fixed income and new to Canberra I was wondering whether your readers have had similar experience with excessive charges.

I contacted the plumbing company to be told that they have 17 staff members and the cost to do any work involves a entire team of processes.

Nigel Prettyman, Narrabundah

In the spirit of New Year resolutions may I be so bold as to suggest some for the media and those opinion-makers they seek out to inflict on us? Less "conversations" but more discussions and please, get over that infantile habit of answering every question with "So...".

Yes, I do understand that the word "discussion" may be confronting to some who prefer everything to stay inside a safe-space bubble called the "conversation".

The rest of us would rather someone take responsibility to deliver results once in awhile.

Repeat after me: if you want an outcome you need to have a discussion, if not you barely raise the profile of the issue when by engaging in a "conversation".

Special note for the media: when confronted by the word "discussion" or "debate" please don't try to dumb it down by pretending it's a "conversation".

Classic example was when an ABC TV newsreader reported that the "Greens have called for a national conversation..." just to have Senator Di Natale come on the screen to say he was "actually calling for a debate, a discussion...".

Now, as for that annoying habit of interviewees – especially some science professionals – who insist on starting every sentence with "so", I hope you do realise that you sound like a teen.

Michael Crowe, Hawker

Letter writers, enough. Surely drivers, cyclists and pedestrians should all have consideration for each other. Surely a variety of public transport is needed to prevent future road congestion.

The ACT government has invited public submissions on its Inquiry into End of Life Choices in the ACT. Get your teeth into that one for a change.

Susan MacDougall, Scullin

ELITE SOCIAL AGENDA

Seems a bit rich to me to see white, rich, privileged women taking to the Golden Globe awards in their designer black dresses in protest against sexual harassment. If these women are genuinely concerned about sexual harassment why don't they call out the sexual rape, torture and genital mutilation of women in Middle Eastern countries or the higher than average levels of domestic violence against Indigenous women in outback communities in our own country? I guess that doesn't fit their elite narrative and social agendas.

Ian Pilsner, Weston

RIGHT OF REPLY

In regard to the recent allegations made against Craig McLachlan, Doug Hurst (Letters, January 12) asks "What happened to being innocent until proven guilty?" Nothing happened Doug, it still applies but only in a court room. Someone falsely accused publicly can always seek retribution under defamation law.

Bill Deane, Chapman

CANINE FOES

More to the point M. Moore (Letters, January 12) why do dogs hate cyclists so much?

James Walcott, Mawson

CLAIMING THE PENSION

I agree with Harry Stutchbury (" 'A private school boy': Liberal ministers attack NSW Young Liberals president over housing affordability", canberratimes.com.au, January 8) that multi-millionaires should not be claiming the pension. The pension should be for those who can't manage without it.

Michael McCarthy, Deakin