S.Gerrard, Dunlop

The Australian Bureau of Statistics assures us that the information collected in the census is needed by the government in order to plan services for the future.

This seems commendable. However, the idea that this government is capable of long-range planning or has any inclination to plan services for the future is ludicrous. Although special interest groups with deep pockets will be looked after, as far as the general public is concerned the government wants to cut the public sector, introduce user pays to all our social services and hand them over to the private sector to be run for profit. The only planning we can expect from them will be about how much they can cut costs, reduce services and maximise CEO salaries and company profits.

Pauline Westwood, Dickson

I know that politicians are not the brightest people in the community, but do they really think that leaving their names off a census form will make any difference? The log-on letters were posted to your address, and to find out who is living at that address all you need is the electoral roll or other various lists available to the public. As you are a politician, everyone knows your name, where you live and other details. If you opted for the paper form the same applies, as you have to give your name and address to get the form through the post.

Marie McCulloch, Nicholls

I often wonder whether those who oppose light rail travel much on public transport. As a regular user over many years, I have noticed the various attempts to make the bus service better in terms of express buses, special bus lanes, timetable changes – yet ongoing rises in patronage seem very hard to achieve. Canberra rates well below other major cities in Australia in terms of the proportion of people using public transport – we are not even at 10 per cent.

The attractiveness of the private car is likely to continue. Putting more money and resources into buses may help marginally but is more of the same, does not address carbon pollution, and is unlikely to achieve a significant change in patronage. The light rail plan is the only thing different "on the table" that holds out hope for a longer-term improvement of public transport infrastructure and use, and is more environmentally friendly.

David Purnell, Florey

Stephen Cox's letter (August 6) had basic merit if he was talking about electric buses on a dedicated bus way. China runs and manufactures a rapidly increasing transport system focused on heavy rail primarily and buses, conventional and electric. They have developed an electric bus that can travel more than 1000 kilometres on a single charge – at least two days around Canberra. Two of them are being trialled here.

Six hundred electric buses are servicing New York. London is trialling them with a view to also buying 600.

Light rail will be very much a poor relation to them in less than two decades. Nevertheless, we have Kevin Cox advocating light rail as the solution for our future. In truth, light rail is an outdated and incredibly expensive project that should be consigned to the past, where it belongs.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

Kevin Cox (Letters, August 5) claims "people prefer travelling on light rail [rather] than on buses". He is wrong. If I travel by bus I have a high chance of getting a seat. If I travel on the tram designed by the ACT government, I have a high chance of having to stand up as they have removed most of the seats. I know which I prefer.

Daryl Powell, Griffith

As we approach Science Week, I thought it an appropriate time to apply one of the powerful techniques that we use before committing ourselves to a student experiment or research project, namely a rough calculation to assess the likelihood of success.

The project that I see as most in need of this approach is the financial case for the Canberra tram. I'll use the $64 million average cost per annum cited on the ACT light rail website.

With a fare of about $5 per passenger, it will need almost 13 million passengers a year to break even. There are approximately 250 working days in the year when patronage should be at a maximum.

If we divide 250 into $64 million, we need to earn $256,000 per day; and at $5 per fare we are looking for 51,200 passengers per day.

By comparison, the Adelaide-to-Glenelg tram of similar route length gets roughly 2.5 million passengers per annum in a city of 1.35 million people.

Andrew Papworth, Campbell

The article "$165m deal on student residences" (August 4) advised: "The ANU said that in line with current practice, student rents will not exceed 75 per cent of market rates".

If this is correct, who is doing the subsidising, and what is the annual cost of that subsidy (probably many millions of dollars)?

Are Australian taxpayers subsidising foreign students, many of whom are probably more wealthy than many Australian families?

R. James, Melba

There is no safe level of smoking, whether as a smoker or exposed to the smoking of others. This is recognised in public health policy and laws regulating smoking in public places. Why is it, then, that residents of public housing and their neighbours have no protection from passive smoke?

In my Canberra surgery, I have daily consultations with people medically affected by smoking in public housing. These impacts are serious and have begun to be recognised in successful legal actions overseas and in Australia, where landlords have been found to have a responsibility to protect tenants/neighbours from exposure to passive smoke.

As we move towards a local election, we should ask candidates what they intend to do about a situation where casual use of outdoor spaces such as cafes is safe from smoke, while living in or next to ACT public housing provides uncontrolled exposure to toxic tobacco smoke.

Dr Stephen Moulding, Narrabundah

Our politicians may send our young men and women to foreign wars to be killed or maimed without any input from society at large. Yet, when it comes to decisions like same-sex marriage we must undertake an expensive plebiscite, albeit we have a fair idea of the results, and in any event, the results of the plebiscite may ultimately be overturned by the politicians.

I suspect our politicians are actually seeking a decision from the public that will enable them to ignore the question. Or am I to believe that if the public vote "No" to the same-sex question the politicians will still undertake their vote, and if they vote "Yes" this will become the marriage law?

C.J. Johnston, Duffy

My thanks go to Dr Michael Gannon ("Why I called out a 62-year-old's decision to have a child," August 5) for so eloquently expressing why older women should not be allowed assisted reproduction services, specifically IVF. This case is particularly abhorrent because the father is even older, at 78.

Some years ago I read an article by a young women whose father had been in his late 60s when she was born and who died when she was six. Although her mother was much younger and could bring her up, the young women was sad and mildly resentful that she had been deprived of a father through her formative years.

As an adoptive mother, I am well aware that you cannot adopt if you are more than 40 years older than the child, for the obvious reason that a child should have a reasonable chance of reaching adulthood with both parents alive. The same principle should apply to IVF. The issue, however, goes beyond the rights of the child and health costs. In this overpopulated world, we cannot afford to bring excess numbers of children into the world.

Jenny Goldie, Michelago, NSW

The census debacle raises uncomfortable questions for those suggesting electronic voting for federal elections, including electronic vote rigging and lost data though system failure of some kind.

Though not widely publicised, there is mounting evidence, via lawsuits and voter testimonials across the USA, of significant vote fraud and theft in the 2016 Democratic primaries, with votes stolen and/or suppressed in state after state from the actual winner, Bernie Sanders. The Australian parliament needs to address some important "What if ..." questions before rushing to electronic voting.

Murray May, Cook

Garry Linnell's article ("We shouldn't spend taxpayers' money on ungrateful Olympians", August 6) reminded me of a Pat Drummond song: "A boxer gets a hundred thousand dollars for a fight, While a nurse slaves her guts out in the children's ward at night." What a sad little country we are to waste so much public money on the Olympics and other sports and business events while our schools and hospitals go begging. Thank you, Mr Linnell, for putting it so well.

Fred Pilcher, Kaleen

Only public/private partnerships provide an opportunity to utilise private capital for infrastructure at a time when ACT government revenue will be well down. The ACT ratepayer will pay virtually nothing towards the building of the light rail network or the sleek and fast trams that will run on it. Once up and running, taxpayers will pay generous operating subsidies to the private operator.

The only realistic alternative to the light rail PPP is one involving toll roads. I have raised the issue with Liberal Party candidates, but have had no response. Lack of denial is perhaps proof of intention.

Toll road PPPs are perhaps just as good a transport option as light rail in Canberra, a city build around private car ownership. Privately owned toll roads are everywhere in other capitals, and I hate them. I think that the absence of toll roads should be a selling point to relocating businesses.

It is vital that we have an honest debate about PPPs and the Liberal toll road plan.

Noel Baxendell, Macgregor

James Allan (Letters, August 9) regales us with a splendid (if rather overexcited) diatribe against "religion", although it isn't clear whether only Christianity is the target of his fury. I hope he agrees with me that 18C should be abolished, as it seems likely that some people may be offended by him. I support James' right to offend people, as long as he doesn't mind being offended back.

By the way, it wasn't Voltaire, it was Diderot, and he might have had a bit of trouble with 18C, too.

Alan N. Cowan, Yarralumla

I found Clive Williams' article about security at the Rio Olympics ("Rio security will be tight," Comment, August 5) quite interesting. I found the accompanying photograph of the "Brazilian soldier" more interesting, in that he is shown holding and pointing a pump-action shotgun in a way which completely obstructs the operation of the weapon's loading/reloading function. One hopes that he is not typical of Rio security personnel.

Peter Moran, Watson

ROOM TO WRIGGLE

A royal commission into census at least. Can't wait for the public service/overpaid consultants responsible to wriggle out of this.

Linus Cole, Palmerston

AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION

I agree entirely with the ABS re security of my information. It was impossible to give it to them so it is still with me.

Ed Gaykema, Dickson

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

The usual crowd of publicity-seeking Senators tell us that they won't be completing their census forms as required by law. Let's hope the ABS prosecutes them with a similar level of publicity.

Roger Dace, Reid

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

Don't worry about divulging your name and address to ABS — they already have it. When you phone to get a paper form and enter your census log in the only question you are asked is how many people will there be in the household on census night.

P.R.Temple, Macquarie

OPEN ALL HOURS

To people who say the information they provide in the 2016 Census is not secure: do they use the internet, mobile phones, pay tax, receive government payments or any other type of service private or government? Not one of those services is secure from unauthorised access.

Graeme Brewer, Biggera Waters, Qld

$180 AND COUNTING

The prima donnas in the Senate with their stance against adding their names to the census like all other Australians should gladly accept their fines of $180 a day. This is cross-bench grandstanding just to let you know they are there.

Rhys Stanley, Hall NSW

NO FIXED ABODE?

Is it a reasonable assumption that a senator who refuses to complete address details in the census is of "no fixed address"?

Peter Baskett, Murrumbateman NSW

COMING HOME TO ROOST

Did the 2014 Abbott budget cut $65m from ABS funding, and privatise the ABS IT services, gifting it to a low-tax paying multinational ? Anyone see chickens flying home to roost?

W Brown, Holt

A HACKING OFFENCE

When the Liberal government slashed the ABS budget and outsourced the IT systems to the lowest bidder, they effectively hacked their own system to death.

Doug Steley, Heyfield, Vic

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