As well as the obvious environmental impacts of major sporting events, experience elsewhere tells us that there will be an irresistible demand to take over land near a Manuka stadium to provide ancillary services like training, practice and associated facilities of professionalised sport, and for improved parking arrangements.

Phillip Oval is a far better location for an international stadium and is already being developed as a world-class facility for AFL and cricket. It is well served by public transport and arterial road access, with space for spectator parking and room to grow.

Unlike Manuka Oval it has no heritage encumbrance. It must be considered under the terms of reference of Mr Barr's proposed community panel.

Ian W. Morison, Barton

Jill Sutton, (Letters, August 8) we need Friends of West Belconnen, of Lanyon, and other community groups to fight the suburban sprawl just as residents of Kingston and Manuka have against the oval.

Isn't Manuka lucky? It has a comparatively rich and powerful lobby group to oppose the outrageous oval development, and the coincidence of a government afraid to offend them before an election.

The Murrumbidgee and Ginninderra Creek, on the other hand, don't have vocal and influential neighbours to oppose the Riverview development, and it's coming slowly enough and in such an out-of-the way place that most people haven't noticed.

It's a pity that our rivers' health will continue to suffer as a result, Belconnen's recreational opportunities will be permanently compromised as will the peaceful, semi-rural surroundings of Strathnairn Art Gallery and cafe.

Dave Kelly, Aranda

Any discussion about rescoping the light rail contract is a step in the right direction ("Libs plot alternative route for consortium", August 4, p2). It is very bad planning and a waste of money to build any transit link between Canberra's towns that cannot carry 6000 passengers per hour at journey speeds of 40km/h. That is not possible with a street-level system.

Journey speed is out of the question. Capacity is severely restricted because of problems to do with priority over road traffic and limitations on train size. Priority to trams cannot be given frequently (certainly not at less than five-minute intervals) or it will cause road traffic chaos, particularly for cross-traffic flow.

Longer trams present numerous difficulties.

Even if it costs $200 million to repurpose the $1.78 billion contract, that is much more preferable than committing to a futile street-level network that would cost at least $13 billion over the 25 year construction time that has been mentioned. It may cost $150 million per kilometre to build a grade-separated transit network but time is on our side and a far better urban plan would emerge.

A. Smith, Farrer

It is hard to understand how Crispin Hull can call for the scrapping of the plebiscite on marriage equality. ("No need for pricey same sex marriage plebiscite", Forum, August 6)

The firm commitment to the plebiscite made by the government during the election campaign may have been a factor in the direction of voting by some electors. These voters and all fair-minded Australians would expect so clear an undertaking to be honoured.

Is this a one-off for Crispin Hull or is he suggesting that election promises may be broken more generally once office has been attained?

Eric French, Higgins

John Popplewell (Letters, August 9) seems to be in denial of the fact that anti-abortion activists, instead of protesting at the seat of government where they might hope to effect a change in the law, were harassing and intimidating vulnerable women for no other purpose than to amplify what, for many, was already a very traumatic experience. If their omni-deprecating deity hears their prayers just as well if they stay at home, then why else? Shame on them.

James Allan, Narrabundah

R. James's inability to discern or refusal to acknowledge the distinction between criticism and vilification (Letters, August 9) is a sharp reminder of the need for sound religious vilification law.

It is only when we define basic parameters of common decency and mutual respect that open critical debate about such emotive issues as religion becomes possible.

Otherwise the debate explodes at one end into vile abuse or collapses at the other into childish bleating that any and all criticism constitutes vilification.

Felix MacNeill, Dickson

I understand Gisela Griffaldi's call for respect and a "painless quick death" for animals (Letters August 4). But she seems to be under the false impression that animals we breed and kill for food in this country do not suffer. For instance, this is a prescribed and perfectly legal method of killing non-viable calves who are less than 24 hours old, "external trauma caused by a heavy blow to the crown of the head ... by a short-handled 1.2 kilogram hammer".

All the animals slaughtered here suffer from rough handling and violent deaths, not just those sent to other countries.

Mike O'Shaughnessy, Spence

James Weirick's assertion (Letters, August 3) the National Capital Authority was dismissive of submissions it received during the community consultation it undertook for the revised National Capital Plan and amendment 86 is misinformed and at odds with the facts.

The review of the plan involved extensive community engagement over two periods. The first involved broad consultation on the exposure draft of the revised plan.

The NCA contacted 60 stakeholder groups, conducted 23 individual briefing sessions and held two public information sessions.

The second process saw formal consultation on amendment 86 where the NCA contacted 88 stakeholder groups, held two further public information sessions, as well as individual briefing sessions on demand.

More than 22 significant changes and many more minor revisions were made to the draft plan in response to submissions received during the exposure draft and formal amendment consultation periods.

This included the reversal of the proposed removal of special requirements for Haig and Telopea Parks, and clarifying heritage clauses (including defining what constitutes a heritage place).

To further opine that the plan "hands control of the ACT to local development interests" is also not consistent with the provisions of the new plan which in fact strengthens the NCA's planning control in certain key precincts and extends the Designated Area coverage.

Malcolm Snow, chief executive, National Capital Authority

The legal system progressively becomes the plaything of plutocrats. Inequality grows apace. Education becomes the purvey of the elite. Access to health becomes rationed. Public infrastructure deteriorates. Services become more expensive.

Society's less fortunate are thrown to the lions of charitable philanthropy. The state has strayed from its core responsibility of caring for its citizens' wellbeing. Why do people not wish to belong to this club anymore?

Political elite exercise Kaplan's "law of the instrument" or Maslow's "hammer", through their minions, applying one response to every situation ("Police chief wants laws beefed up in terror fight," August 1).

The formula adopted by Erdogan – to hell with human rights, lock up all the unloved, anticipate citizens' potential for contemplating evil, introduce a permanent state of emergency – may not be politically acceptable in Australia.

Scarce tax dollars invested in education, health and infrastructure represents an investment in posterity and enhances community wellbeing, which generates security as an outcome.

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan

It is not Keynesian economics D Zivkovic is talking about (Letters, August 1) but monetarism. Controlling demand in an economy by adjusting interest rates is a monetarist economic tool, and a blunt one.

As lower interest rates reduce home owners' mortgage payments, their disposable income increases giving a boost to consumer demand.

But it also decreases the incomes of those who rely on fixed-interest investments, such as pensioners and investors.

Keynes', on the other hand, saw that governments have a direct role during an economic downturn by increasing demand by means of government spending, thus providing the economic activity depressed business temporarily fails to generate, and even borrowing to achieve this.

The problem is that it is easy for governments to borrow and spend money during a recession, but extremely difficult to reign back expansionary spending and increase taxes during the recovery, because of resistance from business and entrenched interests.

This resulted in the massive government budget deficits and "stagflation" of the 1970s.

Modern conservative governments have solved the problem by letting businesses off the hook by not raising taxes, but balancing the budget by cutting spending on welfare, health, education, and even scientific research – the very drivers of economic growth.

Then, in achieving budget surpluses by jeopardising long-term growth and prosperity, they crow about what good economic managers they are.

David Hicks, Holt

Much of the current development in Canberra is inappropriate for our Bush capital, modelling itself on big cities rather than respecting Canberra's unique plan and environment.

Leaving aside the fact that most of the two kilometres of West Basin is still beautiful, natural waterfront, the degraded part of it is the responsibility of the ACT government which, some years ago, installed bitumen parking surfaces and, more recently, the ugly container building near the lake.

These structures could be quite easily removed and the ground replanted. In other words, it could be beautified rather than, at enormous cost, further degraded. Another project for which the National Capital Authority is final arbiter is the projected demolition of Bruce Hall, and its replacement by twin towers of six storeys.

Here again, on the ANU's 70th anniversary, surely the appropriate models are buildings that have been successfully extended with full respect for heritage, like the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra, or University College in Melbourne.

It is not a problem of development, but simply a question of the model of development that planners choose to adopt.

Ann Kent, Forrest

In proposing the repeal of section 18(c) of the Racial Discrimination Act, Senator David Leyonhjelm says, "We are not responsible for the feelings of others, none of us are".

I disagree. The whole purpose of politeness is to make life more pleasant for everyone. If there was more politeness, there would be much less crime and many fewer suicides. To offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate someone is, frankly, impolite.

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

NOT SO FUNNY

Watching Malcolm Turnbull chuckling and smirking while he tried to explain just how tough the government is going to be on banks, I thought he looked (and sounded) just like Clarke, on Clarke and Dawe. Except seeing the actual Prime Minister speaking these word, is just creepy.

Annie Lang, Kambah

DOUBLE STANDARD

I see that the RAAF routinely flies over the South China Sea. This practice even has a name: Operation Gateway.

How would we feel if the Chinese Air Force were to "routinely" fly over the Sir Edward Pellew Islands, north of Australia? Operation Southern Fence, perhaps.

Richard Keys, Ainslie

GREEN MOVE

If you take the boy out of Environment, you can put environment back in the boy.

Bob Gardiner, Isabella Plains

CONCERN MISPLACED

It would seem to me the national capital should be more concerned about the rate of homelessness and sleeping rough than of criminal offenders housed in a five-star jail alleged to be among the most human rights compatible in Australia. Perhaps I'm missing something in this Green-controlled bush capital.

Michael Attwell, Dunlop

WATER WORRY

Could Rod Taylor expand on his thesis (Letters, August 3) to include from whence the water would come to fill the upper dam and, if necessary, to top up following evaporation.

Ken McPhan, Spence

OFFICES STILL NEEDED

Erin Stewart is fortunate if not misguided ("What if you didn't have to commute to an office?", Aug 2). Perhaps she can explain how IT developed without individual interaction? I challenge Erin to board a test flight of an airliner whose avionics have been developed exclusively via Skype.

Gerry Murphy, Braddon

JEFFERY AN ASSET

Congratulations to Val Jeffery on his maiden speech in the ACT Legislative Assembly. He is a wonderful neighbour to Canberra's outer southern suburbs and his unrivalled wisdom, knowledge, and life experience will be a great asset to the Assembly, even if it is only for several weeks.

Fay Feldner, Banks

WIN AN INDICTMENT

One Nation won four Senate seats. This is a testimony that Mr Turnbull has no political vision.

Mokhles Sidden, South Strathfield, NSW

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