The light-rail project will sustain an army of bureaucrats and hundreds of companies and material suppliers beholden to their political benefactors. The history of government boondoggles has been a history of government attempts to transfer liability for their failure to taxpayers while maximising political capital.

The light-rail line's return on invested capital is unlikely to exceed its cost of capital. This is because the light-rail project is not justified by market prices.

For a project to be economically viable, it must earn its cost of capital - that is, a return which offsets investments in fixed and working capital needed to generate sales and compensates investors for risk and inflation.

The danger of the light-rail project is not the cost, which is exorbitant. It is not even the failure rate, which is high. The danger is that it moves the territory's economy towards economic central planning and that households' and investors' private property rights in their capital will be attenuated further by government action (higher rates and land tax and compulsory acquisition). Moral hazard is alive and well in the Australian Capital Territory.

Victor Diskordia, McKellar

In answer to your editorial (''Canberra's light rail case still to be demonstrated'', Times2, September 16, p2), there is a very good reason why the light-rail project must go ahead. At an energy forum held at ANU this week, a number of speakers spoke of our electricity overcapacity, equivalent to seven Yallourn power stations.

Discussion ensued about how best to deal with it and it was agreed that shifting transport from liquid fuels to electric would absorb a great deal of this overcapacity. It would also have the benefit of reducing our oil vulnerability, which is emerging as a major issue. Light rail will have many benefits, not all quantifiable. The fact that electricity will power it, however, may be its biggest asset.

Jenny Goldie, Michelago, NSW

Mark Sproat (Letters, September 16) accuses me of rolling out an old chestnut to defend penalty rates, while he pushes the more ancient fallacy that we would suddenly have more jobs if penalty rates were removed. Bars and restaurants open at weekends if there is sufficient demand for their services. That demand is driven largely by the amount of money potential customers have to spend, which is in turn driven by how much they earn.

Reducing earnings by removing penalty rates will decrease, rather than increase demand. The result will be fewer jobs and less pay for those who work at times when most of us choose to relax. We should accept that penalty rates are fair compensation for the people who keep the 24/7 world moving.

Tony Judge, Belconnen

I refer to your article ''Back-up role distorts data on stillbirths'' (September 12, p7), in which it is claimed that the reason the ACT had the second highest stillbirth rate in Australia in the past 20 years, second only to the Northern Territory with its large Aboriginal population, is because it takes complex cases from surrounding areas.

Canberra, like referral areas in other states, has always taken complex cases from surrounding areas, and thus the ACT and the other states are directly comparable, as are the results.

The attempt to explain away the data by the man who was in charge of public obstetrics during the time in question is unfortunate.

Martyn Stafford-Bell, Yarralumla

Jenna Price (''Niceties are palatable but they never save lives,'' Times 2, September 16, p5) is spot on about honesty in language. As we lurch into another ill-considered war, we should stop using euphemisms like ''the fallen'' and ''made the supreme sacrifice'' for those who will be killed. As Jenna Price said, ''dead is dead''.

Euphemisms shield us from the realities of death in war (evisceration, decapitation, amputation, obliteration) and preserve the comfortable lie that there is a connection between individual deaths and achieving great objectives. Most wars begin because of political calculations, like the one recently made by Mr Abbott's team behind closed doors.

They end for the same reasons or because of national exhaustion or failure of political will. The ranks of ''the fallen'' are collateral damage. Those who ''make the supreme sacrifice'' have actually been sacrificed.

David Stephens, Bruce

Ex-Kate Lundy staffer Vic Adams (Letters, September 9) continues to assert that the Community Alliance Party ''achieved nothing whatsoever''.

I was approached to assist in forming the party because the Stanhope government had a majority and was ignoring any attempt to consult on issues of importance to ACT citizens.

The CAP actually ran in the 2008 ACT election (not 2012, as Adams quotes), received 7676 votes and achieved 7.7 per cent of Brindabella votes, 3.2 per cent in Ginninderra and 1.1 per cent in Molonglo, which cannot be said to be ''nothing whatsoever''.

Our aim of assisting in the removal of the majority Stanhope government was achieved and, had the Motorists Party accepted my offer to co-operate, we would have had a least one MLA in Brindabella.

More importantly, we wanted to help to run the ACT in a non-confrontational community style along the lines suggested by the late Clerk of the Senate, Harry Evans, who served with distinction for 21 years and who died only last weekend without seeing his ideas (and mine and many others) come to fruition.

Mr Evans' article, ''Consider a mayor for Canberra, says Evans'' (March 7, 2013) is a must-read, as far as I am concerned.

I note Adams ignored my suggestion that Ms Brianna Heseltine run as an independent (it obviously didn't fit in with his attack on me and the CAP), but Heseltine should be aware that Adams and a few other Labor staffers lost their jobs as a result of unsanctioned letters to the paper and one as a result of graffiti attacks within the ACT. Does Heseltine really want to be part of the dirty tricks played by major parties like Labor?

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Concerns expressed by the Bank for International Settlements, among others, about an Australian housing bubble are merely ''lazy analysis'', according to Joe Hockey. Here we have a stumbling novice Treasurer in a smallish country blithely dismissing one of the most significant financial institutions in the world, with a track-record for getting things right. To say nothing of our own Reserve Bank.

It would be hilarious if it wasn't so disturbing. In 2007-08, the BIS told the world that a massive financial crash was looming. Most politicians and bankers ridiculed the warning about unsustainable debt as alarmist. We all know who was right. Recently BIS has warned that in many respects the international financial system is even more fragile now than it was then. Unprecedentedly low interest rates have fuelled massive asset booms in many countries, including in our housing market. Cheap money and surging debt levels fuelled 1997's Asian crisis as well as 2008's GFC.

Now the answer to that last crisis appears to have been the creation of still more debt. As BIS has said, there is something very strange about fighting a debt crisis by generating more debt. All this should worry the treasurer, but then he presumably didn't get the nickname ''Sloppy Joe'' for nothing.

Phil Teece, Sunshine Bay, NSW

My curiosity has been aroused by Tony Abbott's apparent interest in Australian foreign policy since becoming Prime Minister, given that he was not known for showing much interest in it before. So far, his official overseas visits have been partly a mere continuation of Rudd/Gillard initiatives for ''free trade'' agreements with China, Japan and Korea and a defence technology agreement with Japan (a Gillard initiative), or largely formal visits full of ceremonial events rather than much substance. (I don't recall any reports of interesting conversations Tony Abbott had with his counterparts.) All of his visits have had a strong political content, but were overwhelmingly safe.

Now, however, the Abbott government has taken a big, new decisive step to commit Australia to a serious war-fighting role in Iraq, not just to a humanitarian intervention. For the Abbott government, this seems to be essentially be driven by politics, rather than by any larger purpose or strategy. While there seems to be a broader ''willing'' coalition for Iraq this time, it is still not a universally endorsed approach by any means, and it is one fraught with danger, not only for Australian troops, but possibly for Australians at home.

It is extraordinary that ASIO should have raised our intelligence alert rating before this announcement, and yet the government ministers should now be claiming this commitment does not increase the probability of a ''terrorist'' incident in Australia.

Trevor Wilson, Holder

We can't afford to educate our children, we can't afford our health system, we can't afford to support the unemployed, we can't afford to help our indigenous population close the gap, and our financial situation is such a horror that we all need to do ''heavy lifting'' - but somehow we can afford a new war? We make all Australians a target for these thugs by sending our children back to the same failed war zone John Howard stupidly committed us to and we had just managed to extricate ourselves from. This is purely a distraction to cover Abbott's ideological fiscal folly.

Gerry Gillespie, Queanbeyan, NSW

The article ''How PS bosses defy Abetz's job freeze'' (September 12, p2) by Noel Towell contains a number of factual errors.

Contrary to representations made by Mr Towell, the government has not put a freeze on recruitment activity in the Australian Public Service. The intent of the government's policy is to maximise the use of existing staff to fill essential vacancies and minimise new hires.

Transfers under section 26 of the Public Service Act 1999 are fully consistent with the intent of this policy whether or not the individuals concerned are on the APS Redeployment Register. By definition, transferring existing staff around the service does not add to overall staffing numbers. In a number of cases, agencies that are expanding have established formal arrangements with downsizing agencies to facilitate such transfers. I encourage this approach. The government's policy does not prevent agencies from entering into non-ongoing contracts for short-term critical positions of less than 12 months' duration.

These arrangements are having an impact with overall APS staffing numbers declining, month by month.

Stephen Sedwick, Australian Public Service Commissioner

Crispin Hull (''Chorus of doubters toppled with stats'', Forum, September 13, p2) rails against ''those cunning electricity retailers'' he has dealings with. Wait until the carbon tax repeal is reflected in each bill!

Mr Hull has gone off half-cocked before. He complained about the ''utterly misleading stamp on electricity bills going out in NSW blaming the carbon tax for greedy slugs by energy companies'', misinterpreting the correct information on the bill for his NSW property (''Seven-year wait for justice'', Forum, December 15, 2012, p2).

This year he stated, ''Electricity generators are now ripping off householders. In Queensland they pay just 8¢ for power going into the grid, yet charge about 27¢ for electricity taken from it'' (''Clear the air and cut right through to solar power'', canberratimes.com.au, January 25).

The major subsidy for new systems is the transfer of solar avoided fixed operating costs on to the bills of those without solar. Governments, network owners and regulators, belatedly, are attempting to make all users pay their fair share. Market forces compel retailers to stop favouring the minority with solar.

John Bromhead, Rivett

I have realised that the Capital Metro won't provide the proposed benefit to Canberra, as the so-called corridor along Northbourne Avenue and Flemington Road is likely to end up similar to some dystopian landscape.

The concept that 40,000 people will be crammed into the apartments along the corridor and that the buildings will probably be four or five storeys high made me realise that minister Shane Rattenbury has another objective and that is to get people weaned off automobiles, especially in that corridor.

Going by recent medium-density developments, the developers will most probably put forward a case that because the property is within a short walk of the Metro, there will be no need for parking.

So assuming there will be one (probably underground) car park for every two or three-bedroom apartment along the corridor, there will probably be 10,000 cars parked anywhere there is space. It is bad enough now with small pockets of medium to high-density housing. Just imagine where 10,000 cars will need to be parked?

People living close to the corridor will probably find cars parked in their street.

When are development-approving politicians going to realise that people need their cars for travel other than to work? Does Mr Rattenbury foresee people sitting in their apartments telecommuting to work, buying their groceries online and interacting with friends only on social media because their friends don't live next to a public transport route? Where can their friends park when they visit?

Yep, that scenario and the 10,000 cars parked wherever a blade of grass is standing does look dystopian to me.

Stephen Petersen, Dunlop

WHAT ABOUT REFUGEES?

Once again thousands of innocent Iraqis will be killed and there will be more refugees as a result of renewed bombings in Iraq. I hope Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten have considered where these refugees will go. Lebanon and Jordan are full to overflowing with refugees.

I guess Australia will send planes to Iraq to airlift the refugees here and settle them. I doubt it - Abbott and Shorten wouldn't have a Christian or humanitarian thought between them.

Jenny Madden, Aranda

SANTA LOG SILENCED

Be alert but not alarmed, Lee Revell (Letters, September 16)! Long beard and outlandish garb? The Santa Log has no doubt been ''disappeared''. It will never be able to speak about its ordeal. Poor feller, my country.

Michael Barry, Torrens

VIOLENCE IS VIOLENCE

The media have successfully renamed ''king hit'' as ''one punch''. Could they please turn their attention to removing ''domestic'' from ''domestic violence''. Violence is violence.

Paul Kringas, Giralang

DEMOCRACY SUFFERS

While the funding and powers of our intelligence services continue to grow, our democracy is morphing from a clown show into a rotting corpse.

Michael Barry, Torrens

DON'T SPLIT HAIRS

Vee Saunders (Letters, September 12) expresses concern about the correct use of language. However, splitting hairs can lead to split infinitives (''to really teach''). Also, anyone who has the privilege of being with today's very capable teenagers could tell Vee that the constant use of ''like'' as a filler is like so yesterday!

Jenny Wright, Karabar, NSW

SHORT-TERM THINKING

Christopher Smith (Letters, September 17) advocated that Australia should not invent, design or manufacture anything except facilities to transport our natural resources overseas. And when they run out and our natural resources are gone, the children of our children will no doubt be ever so grateful.

P.J. Carthy, McKellar

HENRY ON THE MONEY

Ken Henry's succinct manifesto, ''Honesty is the best policy'' (Times2, September 16, p1) was a breath of fresh. He explained the anti-mercantilism of Adam Smith, the father of economics.

Basically, free market globalisation is a false theory and has been recognised as such since the inception of economics.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

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