I can imagine the outcry if a cafe and toilet block was erected in the middle of one of the World War I cemeteries in France.

Pope's cartoon was spot on.

Jenna Price need not compare the desecration of Uluru to the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps; Australia has its own legacy of shame. It compares more fittingly with the removal of the Aboriginal people from Tasmania because they were a nuisance to the white farmers settling there.

When I was a child I think that a lot of (white) people saw the Aboriginal race as quaint creatures who were not quite human.

Many years ago I heard a discussion about the removal of Aboriginal children from their parents. When someone said that it seemed unfair to the mothers the reply was, "Oh, they soon forget."

Uluru should be protected as a site of great cultural and historical as well as religious significance.

Hopefully by protecting it from further desecration, we as a nation can truly say we are sorry for the horrors in our history.

Barbara Fisher, Cook

As well as the outrageous rip-off of the Michael Hutchence estate ("Secret deal on Hutchence estate", November 7, p5), the ABC's Four Corners program on Monday night (November 6) revealed that the Paradise Papers show that, with help from Bermuda tax law firm Appleby, the Swiss-based multinational commodities giant Glencore was for years ripping off the Australian Tax Office – and we taxpayers – on a huge scale.

This was done by using "cross-currency interest rate swaps", which can be used by multinational companies to avoid tax. One such company is Glencore, Australia's biggest coal miner, and also the world's biggest commodity trader, producing and exporting coal, copper, zinc, nickel, oil, grain and cotton from Australia. It was avoiding its tax obligations to Australia on a huge scale for many years.

In 2014, for example, Glencore made $23.7 billion in revenue and $296 million in profit. However, it paid only $55 million, or 18.6 per cent, in tax. For those many years, we were being denied fair recompense for the exploitation of our resources.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

I get that after all the hateful things Peter Dutton has said about refugees in general, and about those on Manus in particular, our PM feels he cannot do the decent thing and bring them here.

But as to the proposition that he can't accept the decent offer from our New Zealand cousins to take some of them because any refugees sent to NZ might come to Australia from NZ as visitors and that would encourage people smugglers to start up again, I call bullshit!

Why would any of the refugees we have treated so appallingly ever want to leave NZ to come to Australia when our government has so clearly demonstrated they are not welcome.

And it would be an extremely hard sell for people smugglers to convince refugees to take the risk that they might now make it to Australia after six years in detention and another unlikely one-off transfer to NZ.

I can't imagine, now that the "boats have stopped", how people smugglers could convince anyone to try again even if Australia did the decent thing and brought the detainees here.

We are better than this... aren't we?

D. J. Taylor, Kambah

Malcolm Turnbull rejected New Zealand's offer to resettle 150 Manus Island refugees in New Zealand. The reason is Turnbull would lose 150 out of the 600 "tethered goats" who deter faraway refugees.

Once Turnbull loses all his 600 "tethered goats" in Manus, the deterrent effect is gone. No longer could Immigration Minister Peter Dutton point to his Manus hellhole.

He couldn't say: "Come to Australia and we'll make your life hell on earth."

The more cruelty inflicted on refugees, the better the deterrence.

To deter faraway refugees Dutton needs 1000 in prison camps. No refugees in prison camps is a green light to people smugglers.

If we let refugees into Australia, chaos and social unrest is forecast.

But when German's Angela Merkel let 1 million refugees into Germany, the sky didn't fall.

Graham Macafee, Latham

Until Australia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, with the resulting increased attention on our treatment of refugees, I hadn't realised what a world leader in crime prevention we really are.

As Australian politicians have repeatedly said, the indefinite detention in concentration camps for the refugees who were defrauded out of large amounts of money by people smugglers is purely aimed at stopping the people smugglers' illegal business.

The notion of punishing the victims of crime to target the offenders is brilliant and innovative.

This obviously successful model can now be applied to other areas of crime prevention.

For example, the remaining property of victims of burglary could be confiscated to prevent more burglaries; the burglars would eventually have nothing left to steal, and would quickly be driven out of business.

The same approach could be applied to other property crimes including fraud.

Most violence would be eradicated by locking up victims of violent crime to protect them from repeat victimisation.

John Walker, Queanbeyan

I was deeply dismayed at the level of misinformation in Crispin Hull's Saturday column ("Gap payments the real problem with private health insurance", November 4, Forum 2).

The only thing ideologically driven is Mr Hull himself.

The examples of out-of-pocket costs he cites are very rare. Almost 90 per cent of all surgical procedures in Australia are "gap-cover" billed, meaning patients have nothing additional to pay their surgeon at all.

There is absolutely nothing secretive about fees, and the reason that the AMA-suggested schedule of fees is available only to doctors is that it is complex and difficult to interpret.

Different item codes are used to those in the MBS.

Far from a policy of secrecy, the AMA and specialist colleges all (and I am the president of one college) have a strong policy for informed financial consent.

This obligates the surgeon to provide detailed information about the costs of surgery before a patient makes any commitment to a procedure.

Australia has a good balance of public and private care. The public system is a training environment and, with that, come waiting lists.

Private care is provided by specialists directly; so care is provided quickly.

If we look to the UK, where care is almost entirely in the public NHS, the massive problems with a nationalised health system are apparent.

On the other hand, the US demonstrates a system that is largely private, and consumes close to 20 per cent of the country's GDP.

Australia's health outcomes are better than both countries, and this is achieved with a balanced system.

Professor Steve Robson, president, AMA (ACT)

It is tragic to read of a child dying from meningococcal disease ("Youngster gone within hours to horror of meningococcal B", November 6, p5).

It is also tragic that the study being relied on to convince Pharmaceutical Benefits that the meningococcal B vaccine should be free will not look into whether it works or not.

Vaccine trials are only designed to establish the maximum strength and dosage that lie within the limits of acceptable side effects.

The principle of immunisation is sound but the products should be proved to work.

Another concern is that new strains develop and may become more prevalent and virulent once the vaccine is introduced.

Another principle of immunisation is informed consent. That means the doctor is legally required to advise of vaccine failures, and limitations.

In this case, the parents have only now found out that their child wasn't fully vaccinated against all forms of meningococcal disease.

Jennifer Heywood, Spence

Once again the ACT government has found a way to screw the public. ("Power bills to jump $10", November 6, p1).

Another increase to householders, and they stand there and try to justify it by sprouting on about controlling bush fires, power outages etc.

Mr Rattenbury said that the cost will reduce over a few years as outrages will not be needed, (and pigs may learn to fly between now and then) but no decrease in rates and households still need to manage trees on their property.

Can householders apply for a refund for any costs incurred seeing we will be paying a double whammy? Labor seems to think that anything goes.

Anytime it wants a few extra bucks it comes up with a levy, while the Greens seem to be so revelling in their own immortally that they have forgotten about the support base and who got them elected.

As for ActewAGL, it will look for any excuse to increase charges on power to the public.

Errol Good, Macgregor

At the recent annual service of the WRANS – Naval Women's Association at HMAS Harman – we were honoured to have three amazing, active WWII life members aged 97, 96 and 95.

They were an inspiration to the members of the Naval Cadets who were in attendance as the catafalque party.

One also brought her Morse code key and could still tap out a message or two.

They were also impressed to hear from our young women of their ambitions for a career in the RAN. The WWII women formed a wonderful foundation for the WRANS and future life of women in the navy.

Beth Roberts, Kaleen

How does the government plan to achieve its public transport commitments?

When Labor committed to light rail it made a more important commitment, to increase the journey-to-work mode share to 10.5 per cent by 2016 and to 16 per cent by 2026.

Recent census data shows that the 2016 mode share was just over 8 per cent and car use is increasing.

On present trends, even with stage two of light rail, public transport mode won't even reach a 10 per cent mode share by 2026.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Adrian Jackson (Letters, November 6) is right.

There should be no more state upper houses.

With 15 chambers of Parliament, Australia suffers from a plague of politicians.

These highly costly, lavish clubs for, in the most part, trusted party hacks and self-interested minority groups, should have been consigned to the garbage heap of history long ago.

With all their faults, our far-sighted Kiwi cousins abolished their upper house in 1951 and Queensland got rid of its way back in 1922. It's high time the remaining states did the same thing.

Ken Maher, Ainslie

The World Series rugby league has been a spectacle to behold but what has really attracted my interest is the performance of the English referees who do it all by themselves, give few penalties, let the game flow and make no blatant errors.

A welcome change from the season of bloopers and controversy our refs served up.

Ray Armstrong, Tweed Heads South, NSW

The refugees aren't the illegals. It's the politicians that are.

John Passant, Kambah

SCALE MODELS

Patrick O'Hara (Letters, November 4) says, "No one can climb the AWM or St Christopher's to enjoy the view, so why Uluru?" Patrick should know there are cathedrals and religious buildings all over the world whereyou can climb to the top of thedome to enjoy the view (St Peter's Basilica and the Duomo being key examples).

Jevon Kinder, Murrumbateman

DIRTY MONEY

The Paradise Papers offer a new insight into what being "filthy rich" means.

Rajend Naidu, Glenfield, NSW

AWFUL HYPOCRISY

Josh Frydenberg's mother was a "stateless" person in 1951. Australia welcomed her. There are more than 1000 "stateless" refugees on Manus Island. Now her son is part of a government that intends to keep these people in limbo. The NZ government will take 150. Russell Crowe will help six. Hypocrisy abounds.

W. A. Brown, Holt

AJAR OR JEMMIED?

Who left the door open or is this break and enter ("New lobby group moves in", November 7, p1)? If the latter, what police action is proposed?

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

TOIL AND TROUBLE

Malcolm Turnbull says the Liberals are not interested in witch-hunts. Could this be regarded as hypocrisy following the latest union activity investigation involving Bill Shorten 10 years ago? Tony Abbott was keen to "ditch the witch" when Julia Gillard was PM.

Robyn Lewis, Raglan

IN HOLY DAZE

One of Australia's most successful and influential racehorse owners, Lloyd Williams, believes Melbourne Cup day should be a national holiday. Methinks he should have a listen to himself. It's only a day when some horses race.

Tom Middlemiss, Deakin

SO MUCH HOT AIR

A visitor from outer space would be astonished to find that in spite of overwhelming evidence that our climate is warming disastrously, so many of us are more interested in interminable arguments as to who or what is causing it. "Why can't they just get on with the urgent business of cooling?" he would ask.

Cedric Mims, Griffith

DINKUM DISMAY

Michael Stevenson (Letters, November 6) says, "It is hard to imagine anyone in Parliament who is more Australian than Barnaby Joyce." If Joyce is the epitome of an Australian parliamentarian, it's no wonder so many of us have lost faith in our MPs.

Eric Hunter, Cook

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