Public housing better peppered among each suburb

The existence of antisocial public-housing tenants is a reality best dealt with by the salt-and-pepper principle of spreading their domiciles among the rest of us, but this principle should be applied down to the individual tenancy level. Every block of flats should have a similar proportion of non-adjoining units reserved for public housing. Every suburb should be similarly peppered with houses for tenants with children.

The ugliest customers among these tenants should never be clustered.

If we want to strengthen social cohesion, if we want to maximise the opportunities for disadvantaged children, if we want fairness, then we must scatter the worst among us.

The demolition of the Currong apartments presents an opportunity to embark on something far richer than erecting mini-Currongs.

Peter Robinson, Ainslie

How disappointed I was to read about the committee against planned public housing in Nicholls.

I live in a housing commission house, which I own, for I have lived in it for near on 50 years. My children went to one of the best state schools in Queanbeyan, which has produced many famous people.

A home is what you make it. If someone is going to fall on bad times, it does not matter whether they live in an upper-class or lower-class suburb.

I love my little house and garden and I love the area I live in, which, by the way, has many housing commission houses and flats.

Sandy Dengate, Karabar, NSW

The issues Nicholls' residents are apparently concerned about – addiction, crime, paedophilia and mental ill-health – occur in all wealth brackets. To claim that they are so intrinsically related to poverty as to justify segregating poor people away from schools is unfounded and reflects pure bigotry.

My partner and I and our eight-month-old baby live near high-density and low-density public housing (one out of the 12 units in the complex we live in is public housing). We have found our neighbours in public housing to be just like all our other neighbours – friendly, helpful and trustworthy. I hope they didn't see that article, which would have felt like a punch in the guts.

Leah Horsfall, Lyneham

ACT Council of Social Service director Susan Helyar says ("Community leaders respond to Nicholls public housing criticism", May 20, p1): "What people need to understand is that public-housing tenants are no more likely to be involved in criminal behaviour or to increase risks in their neighbourhoods and are no less likely to take pride in their homes and to be a good neighbour."

Having once lived near the notorious Melba Flats I would be very surprised if this were true. For Ms Helyar to retain her credibility, it would be greatly appreciated if she could back her claims with reliable statistics.

Paul Remington, Gordon

What sort of man would respond to the plight of children, women, and men crammed onto a fragile boat on the high seas with "nope, nope, nope"? A Christian? A substantial leader of a modern nation? Surely it must have been a dope, dope, dope.

Dennis Hale, Beecroft, NSW

Is there a more repugnant argument supporting the death penalty than the one suggesting it saves money by avoiding the cost of incarceration?

What B. Thompson (Letters, May 18) derisively labels as a desire for capital punishment opponents to "feel warm and fuzzy" is actually something that is otherwise known as a moral compass.

As with lawyers, a death penalty opponent doesn't have to like someone to defend their rights. Unfortunately, B. Thompson's sort of utilitarian and mercenary relativism reduces complex ethical questions to their transactional worth. Either governments want to fund the things that B.Thompson has in mind or they don't, and the societal benefit of applying the estimated saving of $10,000 a year over 50 years would have been utterly and risibly inconsequential. Then again, perhaps B.Thompson is implicitly proposing the wholesale execution of all long-term prisoners.

Think of the savings!

David Jenkins, Casey

Paul Krugman ("Iraq war worse than a mistake, it was a crime", Times2, May 20, p5) is in no doubt that the Iraq war is a dark chapter in United States history. He points out that the White House made a fraudulent case for the war, claiming that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks, and that Saddam Hussein was also in possession of weapons of mass destruction.

My recollection of that dreadful event is the remark by an adviser to the US Defence Department, that although the expected stockpiles of these weapons turned out not to exist, the destruction of Saddam's regime meant that the potential for resuming their production had been destroyed. With such thinking, one is bound to say that, thanks to its Iraq adventure, it will take years before the US regains its moral authority.

Sam Nona, Burradoo, NSW

With more than half the world's top investment banks refusing to finance Indian mining company Adani's destructive plans for the Galilee Basin, which will adversely affect not only the Great Artesian Basin but also the Great Barrier Reef, surely Australia's banks will also refuse finance Adani.

Let us hope the banks will put our best interests first before their own, and not leave themselves open to the scrutiny and suspicion of the people of Australia.

Do our banks need reminding that our faith in their integrity has taken quite a battering recently?

K. Beckwith, Bruce

The Chief Scientist for Australia, Ian Chubb, has made a very telling case for widespread science education in our schools ("Science understanding vital", Times2, May 20,p1). It explains why in much starker and persuasive terms than Bill Shorten's little-better-than-sticking-plaster attempt in his budget reply speech. Nevertheless, the conservative, short-sighted economic response to Professor Chubb will be the same as the one made to Mr Shorten, namely: "Where's the money coming from?"

The answer is disarmingly simple: "If we want a decent future for this country, we had better find the money – and soon". The hard part is finding leadership from either side ofpolitics to make it happen. The Abbott government seemingly doesn't care, while the Labor Party makes the right noises, but in government its record hasn't matched its rhetoric (remember Barry Jones' strenuous but futile efforts when minister for science in the Hawke government?).

If we don't move soon, I fear we will end up where Lee Kuan Yew predicted, that is, as "the poor white trash of Asia".

Eric Hunter, Cook

It is exactly four years since our beloved Canberra Services Club at Manuka burnt to the ground. This has been a time of great grief for members. The club was our regular meeting place for nearly 40 years, and precious to us all.

Since the fire, there has been great discussion as to the future use of the block of land on which the club stood. In 2011, club manager Alan Evans said that "in the original lease arrangements, there always had to be a services club on the Canberra Avenue site", but in May last year, club president Greg Ranse floated the possibility of the club moving to another block, as "to rebuild on the old site, we would only be able to build back to the old specifications".

We do not want or need a bigger club. In the original club, the floor space was quite large and adequate for any needs we might have in the future.

Since then, the ACT Land Development Agency has proposed a land swap, in which the club would move to the site now occupied by the Manuka Occasional Childcare Centre Association, and the association would be relocated to a parcel of land near Telopea Park School. This proposal has distressed many of the parties involved.

Let's forget about all these ideas and rebuild where our hallowed club stood. A new building on our original site would avoid disturbing Telopea Park School and the Manuka Occasional Childcare Centre Association.

Gwen Miles, ex-WAAAF, Gowrie

Interesting to read the views of so many newly minted economic rationalists in light of the Coalition budget, views in complete contrast with their hysterical wailing against perceived unfairness last year. However, I do agree that the Coalition squibbed it on this budget, which means that we have postponed what needs to be done and it will take more than heroic growth predictions and bracket creep to turn this ship of state around.

More taxes are not a silver bullet. Profligate governments will simply spend more feeding the insatiable sense of entitlement that pervades our thinking.

We need to recognise that we have a spending problem that will eventually catch up with us unless sanity prevails. Indeed, when some 50 per cent of the adult population pay no net tax in their lifetime and when a trifling $5 co-payment to see a doctor is seen as an outrageous impost, but double-dipping paid parental leave for the well off is apparently fair and reasonable, you know that we have lost our way. I suspect that it will come to a crisis before we have the fortitude to do what needs to be done.

This is not a left or right issue. It is about our nation's future and the two major parties together can set Australia on the right course, but after Bill Shorten's woeful budget reply speech, I have no confidence that we are up to the challenge. If we accept mediocrity, we will get much less than we bargain for.

H. Ronald, Jerrabomberra, NSW

KANGAROO COINCIDENCE?

The only certainties in life are death and taxes according to the quote. I will add another: the Canberra Times' propensity to report on crashes involving kangaroos ("Canberra, Queanbeyan top road kill hot spot list", May 20). Is it a coincidence that these articles always appear while the annual kangaroo killing season is underway?

Chris Doyle, Gordon

BUSH BALLOT BOXES

Good to see Jeb Bush hanging out his presidential ambitions early in time for the 2016 poll. This gives electoral officials enough time to produce ballot boxes that float.

Linus Cole, Palmerston

PERFECT COMMUNITY

It must be comforting to those worried folk in Nicholls to know that there are no drug issues, paedophiles, mental issues, alcoholic or domestic violence currently in their suburb.

Paul Melling, Latham

CLOSE THE GATES

I am getting sick and tired of John Passant continually sniping at the government regarding illegal immigrants or, as he prefers to call them, refugees. If he had his way and the floodgates were opened, Australia's welfare system would be inundated to the detriment of the needy in our existing community.

Bob McDonald, Weetangera

GO AWAY AND DIE

If anyone ever believed this government's policy of turning back the boats was to prevent people from drowning, I trust they are under no such illusion now. They really did mean "Go and die somewhere else", and now we can see it for ourselves.

Clare Conway, Ainslie

"Nope, Nope, Nope. We stopped the boats, boats, boats." What an appalling situation this country is in with such a Prime Minister.

Peter Crossing, Curtin

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