I am an early childhood teacher and manager who has worked in the ACT childcare sector for nearly 12 years, and MOCCA has a peerless reputation in Canberra as a quality, community-connected and inspiring place for children and families. Its long-standing director, Robby McGarvey, is a leader and mentor in the sector, including to myself. Both MOCCA and Robby have won local awards for community leadership and engagement.

MOCCA has served the children of the local community since the 1920s. What does it say about the ACT government's priorities if this service is allowed to be terminated to allow another club to be built?

It would seem that pokies revenue is more important than the care and education of children.

I also fail to understand why $800,000 can be provided to a local school to replace its tennis courts, but no money whatsoever can be found to support the transition of this local institution.

I call on the ACT government to do all in its considerable power to ensure that MOCCA is saved. If not, it should be aware that there will be considerable community opposition to its plans.

Liam McNicholas, Ngunnawal

As president of the P&C Association at Telopea Park School, I thank The Canberra Times for keeping us informed about the "land swap" deal that is about to impact our school. The first we heard of the deal was informally from an education directorate employee on the evening of February 11.

Last month ("Land swap bags new home for historic services club", February 13, p1) we read of the details of the land transfer – a report that was considerably more informative than the Directorate had been and which in fact directly contradicted much of what we had been told by the Directorate only two days earlier.

The school and its community have not been given any opportunity to comment on this deal and we have not been involved in any negotiations.

To be fair the $800,000 compensation offered to the school sounds very generous, and we do not wish to appear ungrateful.

However, the facts of the matter are that the compensation offered will barely be sufficient to cover the replacement of the lost facilities (four tennis courts and a changing rooms) at best and does nothing to address the loss of land from a school that is already strapped for space for its large population of both primary and secondary students.

Now, we learn that the deal for MOCCA is even worse: being forced to move sites with no funding to redevelop the new site. The way both MOCCA and Telopea Park School have been treated in this deal speaks volumes about the priorities of the ACT government. Furthermore, in the same article we learn that the ACT government intends to auction the Telopea Park site! It would be ironic if the school had to use the $800,000 compensation to buy its own land back!

I look forward to the next Canberra Times article about the land swap. It is proving a much more reliable source of information than the ACT government.

Paul Haesler, P&C association president, Telopea Park School

I know why Canberra Grammar was fast-tracked for direct federal funding for extra "security" ("Grammar to get security funding", March 3, p1). The Tories were worried that Canberra's lower orders, wearied by the cramped and barely maintained facilities at government schools, might accidentally stumble on antique My School figures and besiege the bespoke principality that is Grammar's main campus.

According to these perennially outdated figures, the feds chipped in $3.5 million of Grammar's $30 million (!) recurrent in 2012. That's Grammar's share of a near $10 billion (2014-15) "assistance" program for non-government (religious) schools.

What the feds got back for that was 85 per cent of students in the top socio-economic quartile, zilch in the bottom, plus the exclusion of girls, who might otherwise disturb boys' business.

May I suggest that if Joy Burch ever catches up with the quantum of Grammar's "security" funding, she deduct that from the $1 million plus that the ACT finds for Grammar?

Stephen Saunders, O'Connor

We don't need an upgraded Barton Highway, as Bob Furbank (Letters, March 3) advocates. We need a new road going directly west from Canberra. I find it extremely frustrating when I have to travel to Melbourne that I have to spend the first 45 minutes travelling in exactly the wrong direction. For the price of the Canberra light rail, we could probably have a dual carriageway from Canberra joining up with the Hume Highway somewhere near Tarcutta. This would cut 80 kilometres off the journey. The remaining traffic on the Barton Highway would be a few commuters going to Murrumbateman and Yass.

John May, Lyneham

With the demise of a dubious association with COMCARE, it didn't take long for a self-appointed member of the plethoric ambulance chasers to submit dissembling nonsense about supposed unsafe workplaces (Letters, March 2).

Space prevents me from identifying the many ludicrous outcomes favouring complainants when it had been clearly their fault they sustained injury. Nonetheless, a couple of examples, if Mr Lander doesn't mind.

A woman on government duty had been enjoying horizontal refreshment on the ceiling of her motel room when a light fitting to which she was temporarily attached gave way and she was injured. Mr Lander knows the rest! And then there was the letter bomber who blamed the Australian Taxation Office for a failed love life in his workplace ("Letter bomber wins $415,000 in compo", April 12, 21014, p9). That judges, who are beneficiaries of my taxes, and COMCARE waste time and infest taxpayer-funded facilities with such complainants and their advocates should no longer be sanctioned.

But: was it not lawyers' and insurers' collusion which saw them contribute a handsome amount of lucre to the principal parties in the ACT 2012 election so that frivolous claims could continue to be advanced ("Lawyers' largesse in insurance debate", January 22, 2013, p5)?

Patrick Jones, Griffith

The federal government proposes to charge internet users, in effect, a considerable portion of the estimated cost of metadata retention of about $200 million to $300 million ("Australians harass George Brandis as the true cost of meta data retention laws have been revealed", canberratimes.com.au, March 3).

Any benefit from data retention, in principle, benefits all Australians, not just internet users. The proper way to recover the cost is from the police and intelligence agencies, who support retaining metadata, but without increasing their budgets.

These agencies have enjoyed vastly increased budgets in recent years, and occupy very large buildings. In this way the public could be assured the benefit was likely to exceed the cost. As Mr Brandis well knows, it is easy to spend other people's money. I am sure he does not want to introduce a big new tax.

Phillip Bubb, Reid

Attorney-General George Brandis should give himself an afternoon off to go see the Edward Snowden movie Citizenfour.

For $11.50 he'd receive a comprehensive lesson on the meaning of metadata and its marvellous, myriad uses, plus a choc-top in the flavour of his choice!

Heather Stewart, Weston

Tucked away on BusinessDay this week was an item headlined "Millions turning to payday lenders" (March 2, p8) that should be of great concern to us all. According to the article, "...3 million adults in Australia now could not get basic financial services such as a transaction account, a moderate amount of credit and general and car insurance".

At a time when banks are declaring record profits, a sizeable proportion of our country's population is being thrown into the hands of loan sharks and forced to pay exorbitant interest rates on comparatively small loans used to see them through the month! This will have serious social consequences in time.

John Rodriguez, Florey

A study by Monash University has found that people living in rural, remote and low socioeconomic areas (even in cities) are less able to access mental health services than higher socio-economic metropolitan areas. More has to be done for mental health to get to the areas in need.

For example, studies have found that farming is now characterized by high rates of stress and suicide, and people from a low socio-economic background have a much higher risk of depression.

So people that need mental health services are less likely to be able to access these services.

This needs to be remedied. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimate that the financial cost to Australian industry if mental health issues in employees are not acted on is around $11 billion per year in absenteeism, lower productivity and compensation claims.

This is a large number of people that incurs a huge economic and individual cost if mental health issues are not addressed, which is harder for people who cannot access services. However the government developing online (e-health) and over the phone (telehealth) or skype programs could improve services to people at risk with little cost and great benefit.

Jazmin Hawes, Braddon

Would it be reasonable to deduce that Jakarta factored in a chance that Australia would attempt to rescue Myuran and Andrew? How else do we explain an escort of two fighter jets on the transfer to the Nusakambangan "death island"?

If that assessment is correct, then – whatever the diplomatic canned lines – there is a persistent thread of mistrust in the relationship that has been rather too quickly exposed.

Ross Kelly, Monash

You may or may not think the two Bali nine ringleaders deserve to die. But what gets my goat is the huge middle finger salute that the Indonesian president is giving Australia. Armoured cars, decoys, fighter jets, hundreds of police in masks and riot gear; a huge message of bugger off Australia, despite our pleas of clemency. Don't forget Northern Australia is still depicted as South Irian on some maps in Indonesia.

Henry Satrapa, Higgins

In spite of all the brouhaha by our politicians in the anticipation of the Indonesian killings of the Australian drug smugglers, these deaths were always going to happen. Remember the murdering invasion of East Timor, the killing of the ABC journalists, the treatment of East Timorese for decades with rape and murder every-day occurrences, the sell-out to the Japanese of Australian soldiers in WWII, it's there for all to read. Sadly, it's the nature of the beast, a country with little in the way of moral values and which regards human life as of little consequence.

Rhys Stanley, via Hall, NSW

We advocate passionately for the lives of two sentenced-to-death Australians. Yet we sentence to death desperate people who risk their lives to seek asylum in Australia.

As we fight over children in detention, as we send more blood-and-treasure to overseas wars, I'm deeply shamed by our clear statement that it's Australian lives that are sacred above all others.

Judy Bamberger, O'Connor

Surely M Gordon (Letters, March 5) is being ironic in describing China and Russia as having "underwritten wars, revolutions and takeovers in dozens of countries", but making no mention of Australia and its allies' similar activities. Just to use some recent examples, Australia and the US invade other countries, detain people for extended periods without trial, and the US proudly uses the death penalty. If being "leftist and feminist" means having an objective view of history and current affairs, count me in. Seeing wrong in others isn't hard – seeing wrong in yourself and your mates is a much more valuable skill.

Peter Marshall, Captains Flat, NSW

Jenna Price ("Making the transition to uni", Times 2, March 3, p1) gives good advice to first years at uni – it's not like high school, you have to manage your uni life yourself, you have to find your way round the procedures.

There is plenty of help available, and I encourage freshers to seek out the university's study skills unit pretty quickly. As one who now helps PhD candidates to get their thesis writing in shape for examiners, I couldn't agree more with Jenna: "... when you discover that the way you wrote essays in high school won't cut it in a tertiary institution". In your orientation process, do check out the mysteries of writing academic essays, and start on the right foot.

You won't regret it.

Elizabeth Manning Murphy, Isaacs

Most would agree that Woden is hardly a triumph of urban planning. However, it does have one gem, the oasis of green that is Eddison Park; named after a local farming family who lost three sons in World War II. In the past few years the park had been upgraded, at considerable financial cost to the Canberra community, to include a very popular skate park, barbecue, an attractive pond and a children's playground.

Unfortunately, the playground is often out of service for one reason or another. The Park will be of even greater importance to the local community in the years ahead as more home units are built in the area.

Tragically the trees in the park are being progressively vandalised at night. Lower limbs are torn off and on most morning bottles and cans and worse cover the ground.

Is it too much to expect that Woden police, who's headquarters are a short distance from the park, could patrol the park at night occasionally and apprehend the thoughtless culprits?

Timothy Walsh, Garran

REVIVING THE CORPSES

Has it occurred to Tony Abbott that for something to be cremated after being buried, it has to be dug up? No wonder we're confused about the status of any of his 'policies'.

Are we currently in the 'dug-up' phase with so many matters refusing to die, e.g. value signals, university fees, GST and other brain waves of this government?

Peter Dahler, Calwell

STAMP OF DISAPPROVAL

Is the announcement about Australia Post's increased charges yet another attempt by Tony Abbott to send a "price signal"?

Ian De Landelles, Hawker

BUT DEBT IS EVERGREEN

In the article "When the war on debt turns to tax, will the Coalition's tabloid stay true?" (Public Sector Informant, March 3, pp12-13) Treasury Secretary John Fraser is quoted as saying that he and colleagues 'worked deciduously' to get rid of public debt in the 1980s.

Paul Feldman, Macquarie

The news that John Fraser and his colleagues "worked deciduously" in the '80s to get rid of public debt conjured up an image of senior public servants gnashing their teeth with such frenzy as to be shedding their dentures right left and centre.

Checking the appropriate Hansard for February 25, I find Mr Fraser was indeed there reported as having said exactly that. I would venture to suggest that the Hansard reporter might have misheard him, and what he actually said was "worked assiduously".

David Wilson, Braddon

UP IN ARMS

Herschel Hurst (Letters, March 2) makes a valid point about what events should and should not be held at the War Memorial. He should note also this remark from the Memorial's director, Dr Brendan Nelson, at Senate Estimates a few days ago: 'We got $500,000 from Lockheed Martin, which is enabling us to run a whole lot of educational programs.' Lockheed Martin is the world's largest arms manufacturer.

David Stephens, Bruce

EXPERT ADVICE PLEASE

To Don Capezio (Letters, February 24), I'd like to buy one of the heritage listed "towers" on Nothbourne Avenue and carry out an approved adaptive-reuse conversion into say, a town house, with garage, studio, and guest suite.

The work would be complicated (heritage building work usually is, HIA and MBA please note) but I'd guess you, as a respected builder, wouldn't say no to the building contract, would you?

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

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