However, it is hoped that the government's feasibility study to put 500-kilowatt solar panels on the hospital's roof did a full assessment of the panel weight, attachment to the roof and sheer wind pressure impact on the roof structure. We don't want millions of dollars for repair to roof leaks.

Ed Dobson, Hughes

Tony Trobe has thrown a significant pebble into the pond of public debate with his interview of Yarralumla Residents Association president Marea Fatseas ("Genuine consultation needed", Sunday Canberra Times, August 16).

Besides necessarily being riddled with asbestos itself, the brickworks' environs contain a "capped" asbestos dump as Marea Fatseas disclosed. That might prove limiting to adjoining residential development.

It might also make it difficult to create the "high-quality public realm" envisaged by NCA chief Malcolm Snow.

Gary J.Wilson, Macgregor

Regarding Heath Aston's story ("Cost of sending letters by post to almost double in months as ACCC steps in", Sunday CT, August 16, p5) , the annual salary of Australia Post's managing director Ahmed Fahour should be reduced from $4.6million to less than $507,000, which is what the prime minister earns.

If Mr Fahour believes he has a responsibility and workload almost 10 times greater than that of the prime minister of Australia, then let us hear from him.

John Milne, Chapman

So Tim Wilson suggests ("Not all questions equal in marriage debate", Sunday CT, August 16) that a way forward in the marriage debate could be to have a civil marriage ( "two people") or a religious marriage ( "man and woman"). The suggestion sadly has bought into a simplistic view that people of faith are necessarily opposed to marriage equality. The truth (despite what is all too loudly proclaimed by some and reported without sufficient question by others) is that this is not the case.

Last week I was part of a gathering at Parliament House, where a letter signed by more than 100 leaders from different Christian churches was presented to the co-sponsors of the latest Marriage Equality Bill. Let us not accept the view that religion equals conservative on this or other matters.

Undoubtedly for some people of faith, their expression of faith leads them to oppose changes to the Marriage Act. But for many others – and evidence would suggest it is the majority – our understanding and expression of faith supports the change. There are many people of faith who stand ready to celebrate marriages between two loving people of the same gender if and when the law allows.

Gordon Ramsay, Latham

Canberra Times, not again! It is a long human tradition to make money out of the gullible. This does not make it right, however.

Particularly fictitious is the tale about making "contact with a departed loved one who has passed over" ("Angels at your table on night of high spirits", Sunday CT, August 16, p4). Exploiting emotionally fragile people with the false and dangerous hope of contacting the deceased and charging for it is about as low as one can stoop.

The article in question is littered with key mumbo jumbo words, phrases and sentiments which are meaningless and would well exceed the word limit for me to address.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, Australian Skeptics (skeptics.com.au) have a Skeptics Challenge award of $100,000 for scientifically validating all of the claims made in this article.

If you are really confident, how about going for $US100,000,000 from the James Randi Foundation in the United States?

Canberra has a very large critical-thinking community, and we know exactly what you're up to. What is the Canberra Times' editorial policy regarding such misleading articles?

Bernard Walsh, Dunlop

Urban sprawl is real

In his letter about the causes of solar-access problems with housing in the newer suburbs ("Space for everything", August 16), Jack Kershaw makes the extraordinary claim that Canberra does not have "urban sprawl" – from a person who lives in a suburb at least 12 kilometres (as the crow flies) from Civic!

North to south (Moncrieff to Banks) is some 40 kilometres and east to west (Hackett to Macgregor or Fyshwick to Duffy) is some 15 kilometres – all to support a population of about 388,000.

Queanbeyan is closer to Civic than most parts of Gungahlin, Belconnen and Tuggeranong. Present-day Canberra is "urban sprawl" writ large and is the main (if not sole) reason for it being very much a car-dependent city. What would Burley Griffin think of his "Canberra" now?

Paul E Bowler, Holder

A low-density population may not be a barrier to the use of public transport in Brisbane and Perth, but Phil Potterton ("Low density no barrier to public transport", Times2, August 20, p5) makes the mistake that many other tram supporters have made in the past.

Unlike Brisbane and Perth, which have city centres to which suburban dwellers commute, Canberra has five town centres as well as Russell and Majura Park, each of which attracts an inflow of commuters.

The Capital Metro, first stage, is merely going to replace a single bus service at a prohibitive cost. Further stages are unlikely to ever eventuate.

Murray Upton, Belconnen

The Araluen Valley is a wonderful natural treasure of the south coast hinterland.

To place it, the Deua River and the Moruya catchment at risk (even a 1 in 1000 risk) from a tailings dam containing cyanide at Unity's gold mine in Majors Creek is simply madness ("Cyanide at Majors Creek gold mine poses health risk for coast: report", canberratimes.

com.au, August 19). The long-term health of this catchment is worth far more than any money that can come from this mine. The move by Unity to start using cyanide at their mine will place the entire Eurobodalla water supply at risk. It's simply not worth it.

The old gold mines of Majors Creek are now a part of history and that is where they should remain. There should be no mine in Majors Creek still operating today.

Gold isn't even very useful — used in jewellery and a bit of electronics.

On this matter life and the environment should prevail over dollars.

R. Moulis, Hackett

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