Terrorism and increasing extremism is a menace which poses a serious threat for all the countries around the world and must be fought collectively. While Turkey's geographical location makes the country a valuable partner for counter-terrorism initiatives, it also renders Turkey a major target for radical terrorist groups. Extremism and the Islamic State constitutes a major threat to the security and stability of the wider region.

Sharing a 1295-kilometre border with Syria and Iraq, any threat emanating out of this geography is first and foremost directed at us [Turkey]. Turkey considers IS as a clear threat to its national security and has been acting in full cooperation with international coalitions.

Following the siege of Kobani by IS, Turkey mobilised its resources to the maximum possible extent. It received nearly 200,000 Syrians fleeing from Kobani in a week alone. Furthermore, Turkey has facilitated the crossing of the Peshmerga forces from Iraq to Kobani to fight IS.

Since the outset of the conflict, as required by international humanitarian law and moral obligations, Turkey has mobilised its capabilities to help the people of Syria and continues to be attentive to their needs. In this vein we have received more than 1.6 million Syrians from all ethnic and religious backgrounds which, to now, has cost us in excess of $4billion.

As such our assistance has been unmatched by any standard and/or any country.

On the issue of the flow of foreign fighters to join IS, Turkey has done its utmost to seal its border, and we call on all countries to take the necessary measures to prevent their citizens from travelling to the region to join IS. Turkey will continue to cooperate with Australia on this matter as it does with other countries to stop Australians from crossing the border to Iraq or Syria.

Turkey calls on the international community to develop a comprehensive strategy addressing the root causes of the crisis and to engage in efforts that will result in lasting stability in Syria and the region and to fight all terrorists equally.

Reha Keskintepe, Embassy of Turkey, Yarralumla

David Goss of Woonona, NSW (Letters, November 21) would do well to consider history not as a science but as a social construct to be manipulated.

It would be a folly of ignorance to preclude any oral contribution to the origins of our code, such as indigenous influences and, in this case, the influence of a significant Irish diaspora that extended from Victoria and throughout the eastern colonies, when the Gaelic games were at their peak – codified or otherwise.

Those of David's persuasion often bring a paradoxical dimension to the debate, as they set out to covet the Australian codes DNA on behalf of an assumed political status quo, which rugby epitomised in those foundation years, while holding contempt for the game and its indigenous pedigree.

Catholic schools throughout Victoria did play Australian Footy as they did in the Australian Football states of SA, Tasmania and WA.

Interestingly enough, the Christian Brothers college I attended was the first college to establish an Australian Football school club in Canberra, responding to the high percentage of students playing the game with external clubs. This initiative was to recapture and engage as many aspiring athletes as possible with the college sporting programme, rather than lose them to respective neighbourhood football clubs.

Historically, the significant tribal Irish diaspora that existed throughout the eastern colonies in particular trod a fine line in appeasing an Albion and predominantly Protestant status quo, while maintaining their cultural identity and not just in sport.

This may help explain why union's profile in Catholic colleges, exclusively throughout NSW and QLD was so dominant. This was more a political response and ongoing compromise by a submissive Irish Australia at that time. It is also important to know that the Australian code was hugely popular, reaching as far north as southern QLD around the time of early Federation but, again, this was seen as a threat by a politically influential Union fraternity, who in turn, perfidiously thwarted any continued growth throughout NSW and QLD.

Union's relationship with the Australian code has long been overstated, while it could be argued this relationship started and ended with codification. The Australian game quickly gathered momentum, evolving of mongrel influences, fluidly absorbing the diversity of the day.

Rory Slater Red Hill

I'm getting a bit tired of the constant media adulation of Julie Bishop, the latest being 'Bishop keeps forging ahead' by Latika Bourke (CT, November 23). This piece surpassed other reporting in its breathless accounts of Ms Bishop's jogging in global cities and visiting the Rainbow Room in New York.

Ms Bishop seems to have performed the routine Foreign Minister duties quite competently. However much of her public performance, on which the media heaps over-the-top praise, is backed up by a well-resourced and competent department and is just the sort of thing a foreign minister should be doing with ease.

But where is her foreign policy vision for Australia? What role does she see Australia playing as a strong, middle-level power?

Allied to her lack of vision for Australia and the global community is her and this government's foreign policy failures. For example, our troubled relationship with Indonesia; our lack of engagement in the Pacific; our embroilment in matters not in Australia's interests (for example Ukraine and Iraq); and our disinterest in effectively tackling some major global security issues such as Ebola and global warming. The media should take a reality check on Ms Bishop.

Rod Holesgrove, O'Connor

It is sad that Alistair Coe is taking the standard Liberal anti-cycling position (CT, November 21). Remember Steve Pratt and his campaign against the cycle lanes?

However, it is encouraging our MLA is engaging with the light rail project. I was under the impression that, if his party wins power in 2016, it will rip up the tracks and sack all the employees, making the question of bicycles on trams irrelevant.

John Mason, Latham

I live in hope that the regular trickle of letters about parking in Canberra will one day turn into a steady stream, if not a real flood. To help things along, I refer to an information sheet from the ACT government on Constitution Avenue that recently arrived in my suburb. It informs us, "Since March 2014, preliminary work has been under way to prepare the site for major construction. This has involved ... modifying existing car parks and establishing new access arrangements to some sites ..." To my knowledge, "modifying existing car parks" has meant the closure of at least one that I had regularly used – opposite the Convention Centre, between the Olympic Pool site and Constitution Avenue. The relevant "new access arrangements" closed off entry to the dead park and redirected vehicles to one on the other side of the Olympic Pool. All this, while Allara Street was closed to through traffic in one direction and just in time to catch the annual influx of drivers hoping to park by the pool and use the footbridge over Parkes Way to get to Floriade.

This was a masterpiece of traffic planning – the car park to which we were redirected was overwhelmed by drivers looking for somewhere to leave their vehicles and, with Allara Street offering no escape, there was nowhere else to go within a tolerable walking distance. Many parked illegally but in most cases for only a couple of hours or so, and they probably got away with it.

If this is what "modifying existing car parks" meant to the ACT government in the course of preliminary work, I dread to think what might be done to parking and other traffic arrangements when major construction gets under way. Anyone who during normal working hours tries to get through the junction of Coranderrk Street and Constitution Avenue near Glebe Park has a foretaste of the horrors that are yet to come.

Barry Hindess, Reid

With the usual Coalition obfuscation and dissembling, Julie Bishop attacked President Obama's comments re the Great Barrier Reef, saying the government is acting on the threats. The Great Barrier Reef is at risk from a variety of things, (eg dredging spoil, crown-of-thorns starfish etc). However, two threats to the reef emanating from climate change - which is what President Obama was referring to — are increased acidification of the sea and increased storm events. The government is doing nothing of note to directly address those threats: to do that, it would need to make a substantial contribution to reducing the level of Australian-based emissions through a sensible greenhouse gas reduction program. Also it is totally inaccurate for her to claim that the US approach to reducing carbon emissions is equivalent to the Australian Direct Action program. President Obama has acted through regulation to tackle US carbon dioxide emissions. This included declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant and forcing emitters to reduce their levels of emission or face penalties. The Australian government is doing nothing like this – no economy-wide regulation.

Bill Handke, Kambah

Michael Dwyer (Times, comment, Nov 13) is not quite right in claiming that the voyage of the Dutch ship Duyfken, commanded by Captain Janszoon, was not included in the curriculum until about the time of Australia's bicentennial year. In fact, the text "Australia since 1606: a history for young Australians/ by GV Portus," published by: Melbourne: OUP in 1931, was still being used in South Australia in 1945 and later. The 1606 in the title celebrated the voyage of the "little dove".

Of all my school books Gerry Portus's was the most memorable, particularly in its coverage of the early Dutch, English and French navigators, and Australian explorers. As an 8th grader, looking out of the window of our classroom, I could see the Island of Saint Pieter – closest to land, island, of the Nuyts Archipelago – so named by Dutch Captain Francois Thijssen in 1627, who missed the turning at Cape Leeuwin and continued sailing West.

Ralph Sedgley, O'Connor

In his excellent article "Bishop and Plibersek: mighty duo scale the tallest structures" (November 22), Peter Hartcher says that Julie Bishop has "found her meter, and she's loving it".

I think he means "métier" – a French word (from Latin ministerium, service) which, according to the dictionary, is still seen as French. Perhaps it was time to introduce a simplified English version – albeit one open to confusion with the existing English words with the same spelling.

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

The Senate's main function is as a house of review, and it is able to put the brakes on an overzealous state.

A senator's first allegiance (as Jacqui Lambie reminds us) is to the senator's own state or territory. How to stop the Senate argy-bargy, where reps squabbles tend to be repeated? Make it illegal for a senator to be a member of any political party.

Senator Lambie is a fine example of honest thinking – and guts.

Barrie Smillie Duffy

It is seriously inaccurate to characterise Mohandas Gandhi as "a staunch defender of the caste system" (Times, November 15, "Life at the very bottom of the heap").

As told in Louis Fischer's classic short biography Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, from about 1932 Gandhi became increasingly militant in his opposition to caste barriers and prejudices. He particularly hated the institution of "untouchability" and gave that large section of India's population a new name: Harijan, or children of God.

Peter Thwaites, Scullin

I read with interest (CT, Nov 22) that Canberrans are waiting between two and six days to see a GP. That's perhaps unacceptable, but what about specialists? Having been referred a couple of months ago by my GP to a specialist, I have been allocated an appointment in late January 2015. Accordingly, I've been waiting patiently in severe disillusionment and discomfort for the hallowed day to arrive.

I'm led to believe that Canberra is the most affluent city in Australia. Why then do we have so few specialists here? Last I heard we have 38 universities, as distinct from the eight when I was a young student in the '60s and '70s. Presumably, at least a third of those would have a medical faculty.

So, after having imported large numbers of GPs from overseas (which, incidentally, invariably are in far greater need of their services than our own), why are we still required to wait up to six days to see a GP and several months to see a specialist?

D.N. Callaghan, Kingston

Peter Costello's recent media offering (CT, Nov 21) just goes to show that Paul Keating was absolutely correct in labelling him "a lazy Treasurer". Peter just doesn't get it on the taxing of global conglomerates and even some domestic enterprises.

It's not the fact that they pay little or no local tax because they have no obligation to do so that we object to. We do object to the fact that they have no such obligation and have no moral scruples in exercising this freedom.

Trevor Marks, Holt

EFFICIENT. REALLY?

So the funding cuts to the ABC and the SBS were "only efficiency dividends". Imagine the outcry if they wanted to apply this to the salaries of politicians! Efficiency? Huh!

Phylli Ives Torrens

NOT STICKING TO PATH

After spending millions on a luxury bicycle path network in Canberra, why is the government going to encourage cyclists not to use it and travel by tram instead – by letting them put bikes on the Gungahlin-Civic tramway (CT, Nov 21, p7)?

R.S. Gilbert, Braddon

POLICY THREATENS REEF

Has Julie Bishop not heard of ocean acidification? Carbon dioxide plus water makes carbonic acid, which is not good for coral. Our government's actions and policies promote the burning of coal and therefore threaten the reef.

Peter Campbell, Cook

ASSIST WHERE IT'S NEEDED

In view of President Obama's remarks in Brisbane recently, perhaps when he next seeks Australia's assistance in some far-away trouble spot, we should politely decline as all our resources have been diverted to saving the Great Barrier Reef.

John Day, Nicholls

FUELLING THE FIRE

If the big iron ore producers are selling below production costs, as claimed in the media, why are they not charged with market dumping?

Gary Wilson, MacGregor

TAKING A HOLISTIC VIEW

China is rapidly developing renewable energy, but also has 17 nuclear power reactors and 32 under construction.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield

UNTIMELY REMINDER

Thanks to the Department of Defence for their timely warning of practice with live ammunition on the Majura field firing range in August 2013 (Public Notices, Nov 21 2014).

I. Towill, Fisher

STEMMING THE TIDE

Does the government really believe that best-practice management of the Great Barrier Reef would mitigate the overarching potential adverse impact of climate change? If it does, then the Abbott government probably also believed that King Canute succeeded in holding back the tide.

Dan Buchler, Waramanga

If Julie Bishop and Kevin Rudd get along that well, I'd like to suggest that he should teach her some Mandarin language.

Mokhles Sidden, Strathfield

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