The proposal requires consideration of the heritage and planning status of the site and require a variation to the Territory Plan which is subject to the allowance of the Assembly. That puts the proposal firmly on the election agenda for this year.

I wondered at the naivety in floating this proposal in an election year in the first place. The site is classified in the Territory Plan as public land. When ACT Labor came to government in 2001 its platform stated clearly that it would not develop urban parks and reserves such as this site. This proposal can only proceed if we vote in this year's Assembly elections candidates who support it.

Gina Pinkas, Aranda

Brumbies chief executive Michael Jones mentions ("New hope to heal a rugby town divided", April 22, p1) "a big 'ah ha' moment" and that he is "a big boy and ... got to be professional". The big 'ah ha' is that he needs to be professional and act diplomatically representing the best interest of the Brumbies.

Mr Jones' representations in the media have not been professional and not in the best interest of the Brumbies. Mr Jones needs to be a "big boy" and realise that he no longer has the confidence of the Brumbies Board and its members and to move on!

Edward Corbitt, Farrer

Merlin Baker (Letters, April 22) accuses the Canberra Liberals of "policy hypocrisy" in opposing light rail. However, the Liberals' busway policy is entirely consistent with the ACT government's 2012 Analysis of the City to Gungahlin Transit Corridor, which (as the Grattan Institute's April 2016 report noted) found that the benefits of light rail would be similar to bus rapid transit but would cost more than twice as much and prompted Infrastructure Australia to reject the government's 2012 light rail funding submission.

Even the ACT government's light rail business case acknowledges that light rail will deliver only 50 cents of public transport benefits for every dollar expended.

The ALP's decision to opt for light rail has far more to do with grubby politics than sound public transport policy, namely to secure Shane Rattenbury's vote and hang on to government.

Given that the cost of light rail (which the ACT government refuses to reveal) is likely to be more than $1 billion, the Federal government's agreement to contribute $60 million hardly amounts to a ringing endorsement and will do little to forestall more massive rate hikes.

The federal government contributed more than six times that amount ($365 million) towards the estimated $949 million cost of Gold Coast Stage 1.

The Queensland state government contributed an even larger amount ($464 million) and Gold Coast ratepayers only had to contribute $120 million.

Interestingly, the ACT government's most recent submission to Infrastructure Australia seeks funding for busways from Belconnen to Civic and Woden to Queanbeyan.

Bruce Taggart, Aranda

Following on from Ken Keeling's missive (Letters, April 21) about poor road planning, I recall turning off Kings Avenue to go west on Parkes Way just after the flyover had been completed to find the merge lane onto Parkes Way was ridiculously and dangerously short as to be almost non-existent. It was soon extended but didn't anyone check the plans or if not constructed to the plans check the actual construction?! If Shane Rattenbury's white elephant of a light rail proceeds, and I hope it does not for the sake of all ACT ratepayers and travellers, what sort of havoc will this unprofessional approach produce to the various traffic arrangements?

Eric Hodge, Pearce

Kirsten Lawson's article "Pay cuts for human rights commissioners" (April 18, p5) was incorrect in its statement that "The government rolled seven commissioner positions into four in its new Human Rights Commission". Before the restructure there were three individuals appointed to five commissioner roles plus the Public Advocate and Victims of Crime Commissioner, while under the new structure there are four individuals appointed to eight commissioner roles.

These roles have distinct functions under the Human Rights Commission Act 2005, but are linked by the instrument of appointment to make the structure more logical. For example, commissioner roles involving the handling of complaints are the responsibility of a single individual – the Discrimination, Health Services and Disability and Community Services Commissioner. The article also incorrectly stated that a separate domestic violence co-ordinator position had "disappeared".

In fact, the Victims of Crime Commissioner is the domestic violence project co-ordinator, as had been the situation before the restructure.

Simon Corbell, Attorney-General

There are people who regard the sanctity of life as being undiminished by any degradation of its quality, such that it should be unthinkable for life to be taken, even if requested by the victim as an humanitarian measure to relieve unremitting suffering. Clearly Peter Comensoli ("Growing euthanasia statistics should be a warning", Times2, April 20, p5) – and, perhaps the other members of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, which he represents – is of that group.

There is a much larger group who recoil with horror at the prospect of intractable pain or mental anguish and would welcome the opportunity to call an end to such circumstances. Thankfully it is no longer a criminal offence to commit suicide – once, bewilderingly, a capital offence – but if these victims are so incapacitated, or even just so scared of botching the job, as to be incapable of this act without third-party assistance that door remains closed. Thus these victims are legally condemned to agonise their way to their very last gasp, against their wishes. That is outrageous, intolerant, actually torture. Peter Comensoli cites 'the failure of laws', although he is silent on instances of complaints or litigation in these cases. Because the law fails to protect the vulnerable against maiming or slaughter by irresponsible road users should all drivers' licences be revoked?

Hugh Gibbon, Pearce

Housing affordability and living amenity are in dire straits. This is especially true in new ACT suburbs, traditionally places where affordability and amenity were available, notably for families buying a first home. The "market" has clearly been heavily manipulated resulting in this cruel and socially irresponsible situation. The government as landowner, and speculative builders are riding this gravy train.

"Solutions", like declaring a typological category of "affordable" (slum-like) housing, providing grants (that rapidly get absorbed), and building smaller houses on tinier blocks, are all discriminatory.

"Urban-sprawl" blight is not applicable in well-planned, land bountiful Canberra, but is used as an excuse for minuscule blocks, land-wasting unused "linear" parks etc, and incongruous serried ranks of miserable flats. Slowly but surely, the current "market" has to be cooled (by 10 per cent at least), and amenity restored, through increased land supply, simpler subdivisions, decent-sized blocks, excluding spec builders (there's enough retail profit in the components of a house already), and selling land only to bona fide owner-occupiers at fixed prices, say at publicly ascertainable cost to produce, plus say, a 5-10 per cent margin (reflecting location), and no auctions, ballots, etc.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

H. Ronald (Letters, April 20) fails to stop and consider what nexus there might be between the unthinking drunken misogyny of the songs he so lightly dismisses and the shockingly high level of violence against women (with family violence one subset of this) in Australian society.

Perhaps, the issue of "the age-old rite of passage, the bawdy rugby song" when spewed not in the relative privacy of the dressing room but loudly and proudly on public streets, deserves more rigorous and thoughtful attention than you are able to bring to it.

Peter Dark, Queanbeyan, NSW

March, globally, was the hottest on record and the article "March temperatures highest on record" (April 21, p1) reported that, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric, each of the past 11 months have broken global temperature records. Last year was the hottest year on record globally and 14 of the 15 hottest years on record have occurred in the past 15 years.

As a member of the Australian government delegation at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, I was a witness to then environment minister Ros Kelly signing the UN Climate Change Convention.

On April 22, 2016, 24 years later, at least 162 nations will sign the Paris Agreement on climate change. But global warming has significantly worsened and we are on track to a 4 to 6 degree temperature rise by 2100. Once there was a view that, when global warming reached a crisis point, governments and people would take real action.

I no longer think this is the case. Humanity has its collective head in the sand. People, the media and governments are absolutely indifferent. What does it take for humanity to start caring for the future of their grandchildren and for the planet?

Rod Holesgrove, O'Connor

Malcolm Turnbull may say the election is about re-establishing the ABCC, but others think this election is about saving what's left of our precious environment.

The government's 2011 State of the Environment Report (the next report is due in December, 2016) land-use summary says: "In 2001, it was estimated that soil acidity affected 50million hectares of surface layers and 23million hectares of subsoil layers, estimated to cost $1.585billion per year in lost agricultural production [and] soil acidification affects about half of Australia's agriculturally productive soils.

"The rate of land clearing, one of the most significant pressures affecting the land environment, is slowing, but still averaged around one million hectares each year over the decade to 2010.

"Climate change is expected to bring about profound changes in the Australian land environment, particularly native vegetation and production systems [and] current rates of soil erosion by water across much of Australia exceed soil formation rates by a factor of at least several hundred and, in some areas, several thousand.

"Realising a more positive outlook for Australia's land environment will require renewed resolve, effort and investment."

The condition of our land is the issue this election, not the inner-city issue of the ABCC, and our prime minister should start explaining how he is going to address land degradation if he wants to be re-elected.

Stuart Walkley, Lyneham

Amin Saikal ("Bernie Sanders dares to challenge Israel", Times2, April 20, p5) accuses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of rejecting a Palestinian state when it is the Palestinian Authority that refuses to recognise Israel. He says nothing of Palestinian Authority incitement by its leaders, in its media and its schools where maps show no Israel at all, of its refusal to condemn acts of terror and of honouring those who commit them. He ignores Hamas firing rockets from civilian areas and using women and children as human shields.

Saikal claims Netanyahu is undermining peace by "continuously treating Hamas as a 'terrorist organisation"'.

Hamas, which is virulently anti-Semitic and has sworn, through its charter, to Israel's destruction, is designated a terrorist organisation by the US and Canada, while its military wing is designated a terrorist organisation by Australia, Britain, Egypt and other countries.

Saikal cites Bernie Sanders in support of his contentions, but Sanders recently showed his ignorance in an interview claiming Israel killed 10,000 innocents in Gaza, five times the number even Hamas claims.

Most alarmingly, by claiming Australia's rightful support of Israel, a democratic ally, "has certainly played into the hands of extremist groups", Saikal portrays himself as an apologist for such groups. Hardly the company a distinguished professor at one of Australia's most prestigious universities should be keeping.

J. White, Griffith

The young men who are so easily conscripted into the horrific cause of Islamic State are perhaps not so extraordinary. They are not the first young men, full of bravado and testosterone, hungry for adventure and respect, sometimes with chips on their shoulders, to sign up for doubtful causes, about which they may know very little.

Not the first to go to far-off places where they are expected to kill or be killed, take part in atrocities and, if they come back, live damaged lives. Unless we understand how this can happen, conflict after conflict, and find ways to avert such a fate for these young lives and for the vast numbers of people touched by war, it will go on happening, decade after decade all over the world. Not a bad day, perhaps, to give it some thought?

Richard Manderson, Narrabundah

Nicholas Stuart ("Below surface of sub deal", Times2, April 19, p4) needs to do more study before launching into another ship-building article when he says: "The French have the most experience constructing large, ocean-going submarines."

The Germans have a bit more experience. After all they nearly defeated Britain in World War II by sinking 2788 cargo ships, even operating in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and along the US Atlantic coast and into the mouth of the St Lawrence River in Canada.

The Japanese built the largest submarines, the I-400 Class, in World War II that each carried three fighter-bombers intended to attack the US west coast.

At that time, the French managed one large submarine, the Surcouf, lost in April 1942.

At war's end, the Germans had readied two revolutionary sub designs that were far faster than British corvettes and frigates. Yes, the war ended 71 years ago but the knowledge gained then, at such an appalling cost, still has merit. So let us not blunder this time.

Rod Olsen, Flynn

AVOIDING COMMISSION

Australian banks have agreed to pay $121 million over four years to fund ASIC. Apparently, this is what it is worth to them to avoid a royal commission. So far, no one seems to have calculated the reputational and ethical cost to both the industry and ASIC of this inevitably compromising arrangement.

Helmut Simon, Watson

POLICIES RUIN PLANET

Gerry Murphy's strange comments on "the Greens" (Letters, April 21) ended with the exhortation to the Greens back to the "crazy planet from which they came".

It's a prescient suggestion because this planet's going to be totally stuffed by the policies Gerry Harvey seems to support! We'll need another planet.

Philip Telford, Tarago, NSW

TOWER FAR FROM TRAM

Ian Warden ("Infinity towers loom over future", Gang-Gang, April 21, p8) claimed 200-metre "connectivity" from the new tower block to the tram. According to Google Maps, whilst a gang-gang perched on Ingeborg's Nordic shoulder may be a fast 550-metre glide from the terminus, the journey for pedestrians will be at least 750 metres.

There are, however, already several bus routes running alongside this development, providing superb connectivity to both Belconnen and Civic.

Kent Fitch, Nicholls

HIGH-RISES ARE UGLY

The plans for more high-rise development in our beautiful city are frightening, I might as well move to the Gold Coast with its endless tall accommodation blocks – though they do have the beautiful Pacific Ocean to relieve the ugliness of the high-rises. While progress is inevitable, can't the qualified experts in our city be allowed to have greater say before we become yet another concrete jungle?

E. Gray, Mawson

GET BETTER TEACHERS

I agree with Jenna Price ("Office of Learning and Teaching to lose funds", Times2, April 19, p5). I have several pesky questions though. If OLT is so important to the educational scheme, why can't our current crop of teachers read and write to standard university expectations?

The way to improve the quality of teachers is simple. Raise the bar for matriculation. Stop enrolling deadbeats and the intellectually-challenged into education curricula.

Gerry Murphy, Braddon

PRAISE FROM AFAR

David Apps (Letters, April 22) sings praise to our planned light rail. Easy to say when you live in Perth and you're not paying for it.

Tony May, Pearce

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attached file. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

Keep your letter to 250 words or less. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).