Having failed to persuade a large proportion of voters that the Capital Metro scheme makes any sense, the ACT government is resorting to slogans and buzzwords. The latest are "choice" and "integration". "Choice" appears to mean that public transport users will be able to choose between buses, trams, taxis and Uber, in various combinations and with various adornments: in other words, what we have now, with the addition of trams.
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The buzzword serves the purpose of reminding Canberrans that trams will be just one element in the mix: in other words, it should dilute their unfortunate preoccupation with Capital Metro.
"Integration" appears to mean chiefly that trams and buses will be timetabled to ensure that they meet one another (which should not be too difficult, given that trams are supposed to run at frequent intervals) and that a single fare system will apply to both trams and buses (which likewise should not stretch the inventive brains of our planners).
Nobody seems to have asked the question: can anyone imagine, in 2016, a political party promoting a transport system that is not integrated?
Stephen Foster, Ainslie
Compaction an issue
Recent heavy rains point up the giant sleeper issue of the Australian landscape, soil compaction.
Huge amounts of run-off directly after rain is not natural. Before white settlement the land could easily soak up and store 100 -200 millimetres of intense rain.
Soil compaction under the hooves of grazing animals has rendered the countryside water repellent. Pressure, drying and heat turns clay into bricks. Vast areas around Canberra are now effectively a sealed ceramic pavement , rejecting billions of tons of precious water.
Soil compaction is a treatable illness. We can diagnose it wherever turbid, destructive floods are pouring off the land.
Peter Marshall, Braidwood, NSW
Caravans the go
Forget a passe, champagne-on-arrival, chocolates-on-the-bed hotel at the arboretum ("Plan for boutique hotel at the arboretum", June 6, p1). A well-managed short-stay caravan and cabin park ("The Stanhope Sylvan") nestling under the trees, and touching the earth lightly – that's a better idea for accommodation at the arboretum.
Then a wider range of Australian visitors could enjoy first-hand the ambience of the trees, and the national capital they paid for, without being shunted out of town for accommodation. It'd be a hit with international tourists too.
Jack Kershaw, Kambah
Controls essential
"Father" Robert Willson's clarification (Letters, June 6) still seems to deny the right of the secular state to assert appropriate controls over religious practices. He implies equivalence between secular control over religion and religious control over society. Religion is purely a private matter for the superstitious and the credulous.
Secular society should no more interfere in such private matters than it interferes in the operation of the local bowling club. But it can and must restrain religion from asserting special rights or consideration in society at large – including the right to pretentious titles. There is no suppression of democratic ideals in subordinating religion to democratic society.
Mike Hutchinson, Reid
Editorial off track
I was disappointed to read your editorial "Duplication of highway still down the road" (Times2, June 6, p2). I hoped that your newspaper would give strong support for duplication of the Barton Highway. It is not a local road used only by "residents of Murrumbateman and Yass who work in the ACT" or "residents who rely on the highway to get to jobs in Canberra". And I might add by the hundreds of children to get to schools in Canberra and Yass because there is no school in Murrumbateman nor Catholic secondary school in Yass.
It is the major route out of Canberra for its residents driving to and from Melbourne, central and western areas of Victoria and NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Queensland via inland routes. And it is the route for residents in those areas (over half of the country's population) to visit their national capital.
This highway is also an important and busy freight route which will become even more so as Canberra's population continues to grow. You only have to witness the procession of Woolworths trucks to see its importance in bringing food to Canberrans. There may be "numerous roads throughout the country carrying vastly more traffic", but they do not have the national or regional importance of a road connecting well over half the country with its Capital Territory.
Ian Morris, Yass, NSW
Your editorial lends only tepid support to the full duplication of the Barton Highway. The Barton Highway is in truth a two-faced beast. Placid by day, deadly at dusk and by night. Fine for a doddle out to the wineries on a dry, sunny day. In less favourable conditions, something the ancient Romans might indignantly disown. Especially for anyone inward bound from Yass to Canberra in the early evening against that endless flow of headlights making the commute back from Canberra, the Barton Highway is only one thing: scary.
Nor is the highway and its regional feeder roads just of legitimate concern to local commuters. These roads are part of the much travelled inland routes from the national capital to central and northwestern NSW and Queensland via the Newell and New England highways.
It wasn't always the case, but the Barton Highway and Lachlan Valley Way from the Yass turn-off to Boorowa are now easily the two worst sections of the entire 1350km journey from here to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. The passing lanes are few and miserly. The road surface patchy and uneven with a near absence of comfort stops.
On the edge of Canberra, the so-called highway is not lit to modern freeway standards. And, for added white-knuckle fun, there's that "wheel of misfortune", that unending "work in progress", the Barton Highway/Gundaroo/Sir William Slim Drive roundabout to contend with.
Car owners here and elsewhere pay their share of taxes. Our region is again being short-changed because governments have squeakier wheels to oil or think they can look the other way with impunity. Yet another sad fail on the inter-governmental relations scorecard.
Bob Bennett, Wanniassa
Leaders should follow their inner voices, not those of focus groups
Desmond Manderson's article "Questions our leaders avoid" (Times2, June 3, p1) clearly voiced concerns I've shared increasingly in recent months. When there are difficult issues to confront and embarrassing questions to answer, our leaders try their best to avoid them and pretend they are not there. If they are not discussed, they can be safely ignored.
If anyone is brave enough to try raising them publicly, their voices are quickly suppressed and threats are issued. Alarmingly, much of our media appears to be complicit in this quasi-fascist conspiracy of silence.
Both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten lack the courage to tell us what they really stand for and we still don't know what values they are prepared to defend. At heart, they are both decent men and I assume that neither truly believes that it is right to continue inflicting cruel treatment on innocent asylum seekers languishing in Manus Island and Nauru, thereby crushing their dreams and seriously damaging their mental health.
However, they have chosen to follow the advice of their "focus groups" that they will lose votes if they adopt a more humane approach. "We can't be seen to be 'soft' can we?" If they aspire to be strong and effective leaders, they should summon the courage to voice their convictions and lead public opinion. If they have the guts to dump their "focus groups" and stand up for what they know is right, they will attract many more supporters, not lose them.
Andrew Walker, Tura Beach, NSW
I agree with the issue raised by Desmond Manderson. In the context of the Australian elections, by analogy with the US elections, political elites and a very large part of the media appear to collude in covering up the urgent existential risk of runaway global warming, already exceeding 1.5C, and which, in the words of Professor Joachim Schellnhuber, Germany's chief climate scientist, threatens the very life support system of the planet.
Nor do most politicians and much of the media refer to the threat posed by the odd 15 000 nuclear warheads worldwide, the release of even a small part of which would threaten life on Earth. Which planet do these people think they are living on?
Dr Andrew Glikson, Kambah
Go back to basics
Neoliberal economics is so ideologically driven that, as pointed out by Mark Hearn ("Oh, so you want us to actively manage the economy?", Forum, June 4, p7) it has negated the only effective remedy for today's stagnation.
John Maynard Keynes showed a long time ago that the economy can enter a stable state of too low a national income to maintain full employment. Production of goods is too low to fully employ workers but demand cannot increase because wages are flat or declining. Under these circumstances, no business is going to invest in more productive capacity no matter how low the interest rate. Keynes likened monetary measures alone in this situation to pushing a piece of string.
The only way out of this morass is direct government investment in infrastructure and boosting the incomes of the poorest through the tax and social security systems, and through job creation schemes. Unfortunately, neoliberalism has such a hold on society that such otherwise orthodox concepts are now portrayed as radical.
David Bastin, Nicholls
It's about coal quality
Douglas Mackenzie (Letters, June 3) has some misunderstandings about our proposed Carmichael mine. Proposed dredging is not near reef, and is within the existing operating port limits, with dredge material to be used onshore. Using Australia's more efficient and lower ash coal in our super critical and ultra super critical generators to meet India's growing power demand, rather than using more lower quality coal from India and elsewhere, will create lower emissions.
The Land Court of Queensland recently found that the impact of Scope 3 carbon emissions would be marginal. Mr Mackenzie suggests it would be smarter to put more innovative effort into developing better and cheaper technology in solar and export that technology to India. Adani, as provider of both thermal and renewable power, has already commissioned the world's largest single-site solar 720MW generation plant. We are also building a plant that will produce 1.2 gigawatts of commercial standard solar panels every year, and with that experience and technology we have proposed four solar sites in Australia as well.
However, given the massive demand and growth, more affordable thermal power will remain a core energy source in India for the foreseeable future – just as it is in Australia. The overall outcome is simply better if we source Australia's better quality coal as part of a growing energy mix that will help lift hundreds of millions out of poverty in India through electrification, while creating thousands of jobs in Australia and $20 billion in taxes and royalties to be reinvested back into the Australian community – as part of a strictly assessed and conditioned Australian project.
Jeyakumar Janakaraj, Adani Australia CEO
Not a simple equation
John Burns (Letters, June 6) provides a dose of reality in relation to climate change and how little Australia can actually contribute to making a difference.
His equation "decent standard of living = coal dependence = the loss of the Great Barrier Reef" is bleak. However, is Burns' equation too narrow?
Are there variables in the equation, such as lower expectations on standard of living, new technology, and lower population growth that could yet save the Great Barrier Reef and other ecosystems that sustain us. The future depends on what humans can do to in relation to these variables. Why criticise Jenny Goldie and others for their efforts to take us in this direction?
Robyn Vincent, McKellar
Well said, John Burns (Letters, June 6). To suggest that Australia should just clean up its act and the Barrier Reef will bounce back to health is nonsense. As with most things associated with climate change, it is hard to get to the unvarnished truth of the matter.
H. Ronald, Jerrabomberra, NSW
The best way to fix education standards
Harold Mitchell ("We need to pay teachers more so that our children can have a better future", BusinessDay, June 3, p10) has rightly pointed to the necessity for highly qualified trained teachers. In the ACT I have spoken to several of my ex-students from various colleges who announced they were training as teachers because, due to their low scores, they couldn't get into any other courses.
I have supervised teacher trainees who were clearly unsuited to the classroom and against my recommendation were nevertheless accepted to walk into a classroom, shut the door and take our children's future into their fragile hands.
On the other hand I have worked with many brilliant and dedicated teachers who could have mentored and supervised new teachers so as to give them the best possible chance to sharpen their skills. But school staffing is always so tight that such a "luxury" is impossible.
When will the government stop pretending that they don't know how to fix dropping educational standards? They know the countries that leave us behind require Masters Degrees of all their teachers and pay them accordingly. How hard is this lesson to learn?
Glenda Naughten, Farrer
Cleaning obsession
Our supposed cleaning obsession, fuelled by relentless media advertising, seems indeed to be leading us down the path of a society with no immune system. Dr Maya Shetreat-Klein ("Mud, glorious mud gives children's immune systems a fighting chance", June 4, p15) is correct, children should be exposed to the outdoors, to dirt and mud and animals. And we need to let go of this compulsive cleaning as though a shiny surface makes the world better. I fear that by constantly cleaning and feeding the microbes with products we are instead breeding a superbug impervious to such chemicals, a situation that now exists with antibiotics.
Joe Murphy, Bonython
TO THE POINT
CHILDCARE HOPE
If we can have a government-run education system, why can't we havea government-run childcare system?
Gordon Soames, Curtin
NAMING AN ABUSE
Another cadet publicly named for rape before conviction ("ADFA cadet charged with sexual assault", June 4, p2) and thus his military career ruined. Why doesn't the RSL and the Australian Defence Association speak up against this abuse?
Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla
DEATH UNACCEPTABLE
Unbelievable. You go swimming at 10.30pm, ignoring all the warning signs, and get taken by a crocodile. The crocodile is euthanased.
Susan Cowan, Yarralumla
SEEING RED ON GREEN
Canberra's green spaces are under attack. First Manuka Oval now the Arboretum ("Plan for boutique hotel at arboretum", June 6, p1). Enough is enough!
Dave White, Deakin
WARMING FIGURES
I thank S.W. Davey (Letters, June 3) for his kind invitation to comment on warming. The average annual temperature at Acton from 1912 to 1939 was 18.9 Celsius; the airport from 1939 to 2010 was 18.6 Celsius; Queanbeyan from 1910 to 1956 was 19.3 . The last few warm years (from a new station) may be a start in gettingthe low averages back to normal.
Brian Hatch, Berrima, NSW
ALI AN INSPIRATION
Pat's editorial cartoon (Times2, June 6,p1) shows Muhammad Ali escaping the Parkinson's throw net that can affect a person's mobility and balance. However, you can live with Parkinson's.
With medication, a nutritional diet, social activity, and daily exercise, many of our members lead fulfilling and productive lives.
Michael Dwyer, president, Parkinson's ACT Support Group, Melba
Congratulations Pat and The Canberra Times for your recent sensitive and poignant drawing of the great boxer. We will all miss him, but it was a privilege to share the planet with him.
Probyn Steer, Hawker
LAW OF THE LAND
Father Robert Willson (Letters, June 6) thinks that I think that he thinks that religious groups are above the law. I don't. I merely asked him to specify the laws (in addition to anti-discrimination laws) from which they should be exempt. He didn't.
Mike Dallwitz, Giralang
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