Reports are so qualified, with so many disclaimers they are pretty useless, and in our case completely superficial, missing major items of rotten timber obvious to even the most naive. The report was a carelessly word-processed document with mostly illegible attachments, providing little consumer protection. Buyers need to know they have redress under ACT legislation.

Peter Reece, Mawson

The Lodge is now ready for the PM to move back in ("Lodge interior renovation complete but no check-in date yet for PM", August 11, p1) after asbestos was removed from the 1927 home, the entire slate roof replaced, the heating and cooling system upgraded and new balcony balustrades added.

In a previous CT report, we learned asbestos had been found in many parts of the building, including the hot-water pipes, electrical conduits, sheeting in the attic and basement, in the laundry and the wet areas. There was also fibrous asbestos found in the sub-floor of the dining room.

What a contrast with the Mr Fluffy houses, which are all regarded as unsafe for habitation despite no asbestos fibres being detected in 40 to 50per cent of them and only 10per cent being "so badly contaminated that they are uninhabitable". $92million (about $90,000 per house) was spent by the Commonwealth and ACT governments (in a program that ended in 1993) removing loose-fill asbestos from these houses.

Why is it that no amount of cleaning can be done to make Mr Fluffy houses safe (and they are deemed unsafe even when asbestos fibres can no longer even be detected) yet the PM's residence can be cleaned of extensive asbestos and be regarded as safe? If the The Lodge had been privately owned, would the ACT government have wanted it demolished?

J.B.O'Reilly, Palmerston

David Fuller (Letters, August 11) takes Professor Andrew Blakers to task over his enthusiasm for reverse-cycle airconditioning as a suitable heating system for Canberra. If Mr Fuller's system operates as he claims, it needs to be serviced, because it is not supposed to work that way.

My Daikin reverse-cycle airconditioner heats the house to my satisfaction. It is true that on a very cold and foggy morning the evaporator does freeze over and needs to be de-iced, but during this cycle the internal fans stop and no cold air blows inside the house.

If Mr Fuller's unit continues to blow air inside the house while the defrosting cycle is in operation, it needs to be fixed.

If seriously sub-zero and foggy outside, my system will heat for 20minutes then stop blowing air for 10 minutes while it defrosts and then start again. We go from about 12 degrees at 6am to about 20 by 8am and it is still cheaper than the gas system I replaced it with 12 years ago.

George Beaton, Greenway

David Fuller is correct, but not entirely. When living in northern Virginia 20 years ago the houses with reverse cycle heaters had electric heaters within the house heating system and worked fine in a one-metre snow dump and minus 10 degrees. There was no gas connected. We did have to shovel the snow off the external heat pump.

For those with a stand-alone reverse-cycle airconditioner in rare minus 4C days, just use an electric heater.

Geoff Davidson, Braddon

My ducted heat-pump system works fine in the foggy chill of Canberra on a reasonably sized house and despite the de-icing that occurs. This takes but a few minutes and no cold air flow is detectable inside. I've got good insulation treatment so haven't needed to run the heat at night. It gets cool but not cold. Irrespective of weather and system cycle, temperature increases are maintained after early morning switch on. My previous system struggled and delivered cold air at the extreme, but that was old tech.

F. Schelb, Chapman

I have a small, well-insulated house and the only heating I have is under-floor in the bathroom and laundry, and a small reverse-cycle airconditioner in the lounge room. I have been through two winters now and while I am always the first to complain about the cold at work, I am quite comfortable in my home. Perhaps it is more about the quality of the building and insulation than the reasons David Fuller give for the reverse-cycle airconditioners not working in Canberra.

E.Nelson, Wright

Pyne causes chest pain

Christopher Pyne should be declared a health hazard for all us pensioners on hypertension medication. His claim that "Bronwyn was felled in the most unfortunate circumstance" ("Bishop felled in most unfair circumstances", August 11, p5) is rubbish. She wasn't! Many of us will accept that the guidelines for MPs' entitlements are vague, but almost everyone, except, apparently Christopher and the PM, can see that Bishop's use of taxpayer funds was not "unfortunate", but completely unacceptable. Excuse me while I take another pill.

Mary Virr, Kambah

Michael West's article about Shell not paying tax despite earning $20billion ("It's a Shell game when it comes to tax", BusinessDay, August 9, p8) begs the question: was it legal?

If so then the only conclusion one could come to is that our governments (our two major parties) allowing this to happen is tantamount to criminal negligence or incompetence at best, or worse still succumbing to some sort of political bribery.

If the tax avoidance/evasion is not legal then the ATO is clearly to blame for not enforcing the law. The government oversees the ATO so again the buck stops with them. In this case the problem can be fixed by the ATO revisiting these companies for audits and recovering the lost billions in tax.

Max Jensen, Chifley

Couldn't the conundrum about the Canberra Services Club location be solved by allowing them them to rebuild (in conjunction with a developer) on the same site. Or are there other more important issues, like money?

Steven Hurren, Macquarie

Our Prime Minister is a man so out of touch with community attitudes that he ignores the 70 per cent of Australians who are pro gay marriage. When will our MPs realise that they are not in Parliament to push their own barrows but are supposed to reflect our (the community's) opinions. Increasingly the decisions, particularly of this government, show an arrogance and disrespect for the very people they are there to represent. In addition, we have a Prime Minister whose attitude can only be described as autocratic.

I appeal to all politicians to listen to their constituents, stop putting snouts in the trough and get on with the real business of honest government.

Stop being partisan about the most critical issues, stop behaving like unruly children in the playground and grow up. The Australian public is heartily sick of the antics of this self-promoting, indulgent mob.

Vee Saunders, Weetangera

I thought that members of Parliament were elected to represent the people in their electorates, not themselves, yet this is precisely what they will do if allowed a conscience vote on gay marriage.

I am under the impression that the majority of Australians are in favour of it. Tony Abbott reckons that he announced before the last election that he would allow such a vote, in which case every prospective candidate should have made it clear in their electioneering how they would vote. Those who didn't have been involved in inaccurate electioneering.

Every time Abbott makes a silly decision I am reminded that he boxed and player rugby when younger, both sports involving the risk of head injuries.

Audrey Guy, Ngunnawal

On the 7pm ABC News on Sunday, Tony Abbott was commenting on recent events that have led to a drop in the polls for him as leader. He said "It's never about me ... everything that this government does is about the long-term good of the people of Australia".

So why then is the Abbott government so opposed to renewable energy which is definitely in the long-term interests of the nation. With New Zealand recently announcing they are shutting down their last two coal fired generators, isn't it time that Australia also moved away from its dependence on both the use of coal and its export. We have an abundance of sun and wind in Austrlia and could easily lead the world in renewable energy. And guess what Mr Abbott, renewable energy creates jobs.

Unless we end our reliance on fossil fuels we will see more disasters such as those experienced in south-east Queensland where experimentation with coal gasification by Linc Energy has led to unbelievable levels of contamination to water and prime agricultural land as well as health problems due to exposure to toxic gas.

This is a wake-up call that it's time to transfer to renewable energy for "the long term good of the people of Australia". While our overall carbon dioxide emissions rank 13th out of the top 15 emitting countries, our per capita emissions are the highest in the world. This is a disgraceful fact that our government tries to ignore.

Barbara Godfrey, Lyneham

At the Copenhagen climate change meeting in 2009, Australia joined around 150 other countries in committing to ensuring that global warming did not exceed 2 degrees.

Experts have estimated that this equates to a total world budget of 565 billion tonnes of carbon emissions. Australia's share of this would be about 10.1 billion tonnes beyond 2013. It sounds like a lot, but with no significant reduction from the emissions of some 550 million tonnes yearly, our budget would be used up by about 2032.

The Abbott Government's announcement of a new target of 26 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 (based on 2005 emissions) will only marginally improve that situation.

The new emissions reduction target translates to a numeric target of 450 million tonnes a year for the year 2030.

Assuming a steady drop in emissions from now to 2030 (and how this will be achieved is another question entirely), we will have used about 8 of our 10.1 billion tonnes by 2030.

The remaining allocation of 2.1 billion tonnes is likely to be used up by 2034 or 2035.

We can expect huge international pressure to remain within our 10.1 billion tonne allocation.

On this basis, therefore, we should aim to transition to a zero-carbon economy by 2035. A gentler transition to a zero-carbon economy over 30 or 40 years is possible, but only if the targets set now are more realistic and robust, say 40 per cent or 50 per cent by 2030.

In this context, Tony Abbott's comment that the 26 per cent target is both economically and environmentally responsible does not actually stack up.

He is simply making it much more difficult for future governments to manage a smooth transition to a zero-carbon economy.

David Rossiter, former greenhouse energy and data officer, Royalla, NSW

Nicholas Stuart's suggestion ("Subs on a mission to the bottom of the pork barrel", Times2, August 11, p5) that Defence is being used as a "cash cow" for political purposes is wrong and offensive. Decisions that this federal government make regarding defence will always be made in the national interest.

If Mr Stuart's contention were true, why would the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, say that this announcement, "provides certainty for not just the naval shipbuilding side of things but it also provides certainty for planning, not just within Navy, but within the Australian Defence Force"?

Mr Stuart's article also ignores the welcome by shipbuilders and industry groups of this historic announcement, including public statements of support by ASC, BAE Systems, Austal, Raytheon Australia, SAAB Australia, the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council, Engineers Australia and the Australian Industry Group.

The government's continuous shipbuilding program gives greater certainty to the Australian naval shipbuilding industry, provides opportunity for shipbuilding workers, and equips the Australian Defence Force to meet current and future challenges.

Kevin Andrews, Minister for Defence

Canberra's nature parks and reserve offer many delights for the walker. At this time of the year, perhaps the greatest is the display of flowering wattles. Acacia baileyana, in particular, is now at its showy, glorious best. Yet in the Mount Pleasant and parts of the Mount Ainslie Nature Parks, someone has been felling and ringbarking these beautiful shrubs. We are a mere two hours' drive from Cootamundra, for which this wattle is named, yet the local plant police have declared the species "arbor non grata", an unwelcome invader! How ridiculous!

These short-lived shrubs are doing what wattles have evolved to do, act as pioneering species that colonise disturbed land, fix nitrogen and provide cover for longer-lived species such as eucalypts to establish.

They should be welcome in the Nature Parks for their beauty and as part of the natural plant succession, a sign of regeneration of what was formerly land cleared for grazing or degraded bush cut over for timber or firewood.

The public-spirited people who turn out for park care projects do a great job in eliminating non-native plants such as briars, but plant purity can be taken too far. I implore you, when the primal urge to fell a wattle wells up in you, take a deep breath, retreat to your own native garden and practice your plant purity perversion in private! Please leave the wattles on public land alone.

Peter Randall, Campbell

Barbara Fisher (Letters, August10) thinks informal votes are wasted. I disagree; they have a therapeutic effect.

When politicians say or do stupid or despicable things, it's comforting to know that one didn't vote for them.

I'd consider a formal vote if I found a candidate with sensible and humane policies. But there would still be potential problems: the distribution of preferences to other candidates, and non-core promises.

Mike Dallwitz, Giralang

CAN'T AFFORD IT

Try living on the aged pension, like I do, Andrew Barr, and see if you would consider a $100 dinner not exorbitant ("Strident Barr defends rates hike", August 12, p2).

Ken Wood, Holt

HAD HIS DAY

The real reason Michael Clarke was asked to depart as Test captain was selectors finally realised that "Pup" was actually just an old dog like the rest of us.

Wayne Grant, Swinger Hill

DINOSAUR DECISION

Tony Abbott has demonstrated the Liberal Party is being led by one of Clive Palmer's dinosaurs ("Abbott kills gay marriage vote", August 12, p1).

David Grills, Kambah

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Eric Abetz needs to be introduced to the US ambassador to Australia ("Eric Abetz says gay men don't want to marry", canberratimes.com.au, August 11).

Bill Gillespie, Wamboin NSW

PLEASE EXPLAIN

So far the Greens have completely escaped close examination of their spending on "entitlements". I am interested in why Senator Sarah Hanson-Young claimed $2700 for a number of trips to the Sydney Mardi Gras parades and how as a taxpayer I benefited from this expenditure.

Ric Hingee, Duffy

BIRTHDAY WISHES

On Tuesday morning, this message was radioed to the No.1 ACTION bus, and others: "Attention drivers, it happens to be the dribbler's birthday, so if you see him around you may have an opportunity to wish him happy birthday". It just does not get better than that.

Howard Styles , Kingston

TAX DIFFICULTY

I'd like to add my voice to the criticism of the MyGov website ("Government in denial, say frustrated MyGov users", August 11, p4). After numerous difficulties trying to do my tax return I resorted to getting a tax accountant to do it for me. MyGov is hopeless. The previous e-tax system worked well. Why the ATO chose to integrate into MyGov is mystifying.

Robert Hancock, Jindabyne, NSW

PRAYER VIGIL

If God is everywhere, why is it necessary for people protesting against reproductive choice to hold their "prayer vigil" outside the Moore Street clinic, rather than in their own homes or a church? It's clear the "prayer vigil" is nothing of the sort, but rather an unchristian attempt to harass and intimidate women visiting the clinic.

Andina Faragher, Macquarie

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