These are some of the closing remarks ANU chancellor Gareth Evans made when he spoke at the Bruce Hall 50th anniversary dinner in 2011. Five years on and the ANU now plans to demolish Bruce Hall.

In the face of criticism about the demolition, ANU has repeatedly stated that the social heritage of Bruce is its most valuable and enduring feature. As such, ANU has encouraged students past and present to provide input into the design of the new building so as to capture Bruce Hall's "essence".

But despite lauding the Bruce Hall experience, ANU has made no attempt to preserve Bruce Hall's social heritage. If plans proceed, bulldozers will be brought in within months and residents displaced into alternative accommodation for at least two years.

When the new building is completed, the incoming students will have no experience of, or connection with, the old Bruce Hall. All that shall persist are the memories of thousands of alumni who called Bruce home. A strong connection between students and alumni will mean the difference between continuity and destruction in the face of momentous upheaval.

ANU would seem therefore to have an obligation to encourage and facilitate the preservation of Bruce Hall's social heritage. Yet with only two months before students leave Bruce for the last time, ANU has not yet contacted alumni.

The Chancellor may have wished Bruce Hall luck for the next 50 years, but he and the rest of ANU's administration appear content to do little else.

John Grant, O'Connor

So Australians aren't world competitive, and must give up time off and work 24 hours, according to Harold Mitchell ("Australians, we can't afford for you to relax on your days off", BusinessDay, September 2016, p31).

These would be the same Australians who have 120 million days off untaken, in formal leave eligibility, and who routinely work beyond any time in lieu or paid time.

These would be the same Australians who lead the major economies in labour productivity over the last 5 years by a big margin.Yes, we should imitate 'Asia' (apparently it's all one place, rather than a number of very different countries) and work 'harder and smarter'. Go on, Harold. Imitate 'Asia': reduce our labour productivity and take more time off.

Christopher Hood, Queanbeyan

Rather than argue about how many hens per hectare is "free range" why not make it mandatory for all "free range" producers to print a "hens per hectare" figure prominently on their egg cartons and let the consumer choose? It would be interesting to have a full comparison by also requiring "barn laid" and "cage" egg producers to specify how many "hens per hectare" they have in their barns and cage complexes.

Oleh Lukomskyj, Evatt

I, like Leigh Cox (Letters, September 2), posted a polite (and neutral, mind you) question on the Canberra Liberals Facebook page only to have the comment removed and my ability to comment/interact with the page blocked.

As a swinging voter, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss local issues with candidates and parties prior to the election. I have met with a number of candidates from all sides at shopping centre stalls and had a particularly engaging conversation with Paul Sweeney from the Libs regarding light rail. But this attitude of controlling discussion in what should be an open forum makes me wonder if the Canberra Liberals motives are genuine. Am certainly reconsidering my voting intentions.

Gary Lachonis, Bruce

You know that the road safety bureaucrats are running out of ideas when they start discussing lowering the (already low) speed limits around town.

Not content with land mining roads with endless plastic speed humps (one street near Manuka has about 10 over a two-kilometre stretch) the experts are now pondering whether the suburban speed limit of 50 km/h should not be further reduced to 40km/h. With deeply concerned expressions they talk about stopping distances, impact affects, travel times and the suchlike.

One thing they don't mention is how well nearly all Canberra motorists drive now compared with previous decades. And our reward for safe and sensible driving? Talk of even lower and more punitive speed limits!

What about considering sensibly increasing speed limits along certain routes (Bowen Drive in Parkes, for instance) to better aid the rapid (and still safe) transportation of Canberra's population?

Or will Big Brother decide at some time in the future to mandate our bed times, when the statistics point to us all being fresher and more alert when driving the next morning?

Mark Francis, Griffith

The Greens/Labor ACT government provides $12,000 per year for each government school student and only $2000 for each Catholic school student. Of the money available under the Schools for All program for disabled school students, NSW provides $1000 per year for each student in a Catholic school but the ACT government provides nothing, and the number of students with a disability in ACT Catholic schools has almost doubled since 2006.

Peter D. Hughes, Curtin

Dr Sue Wareham's lip-pursing (Letters, September 9) is unwarranted. Her cause would be better served by taking a more nuanced position concerning the forthcoming AWM "shed" Open Day.

I too loathe war but I nonetheless maintain an interest in all things military. These are not incompatible, let alone mutually exclusive.

I prefer to inform myself and educate my children about the causes, conduct and consequences of military adventurism rather than simply wish it all away.

A visit to the AWM Open Day no more glorifies war than does a visit to the doctor glorify Dr Mengele, or the application of eugenics theory, or any of the other error-stricken medical adventurism of the last thousand years.

Rob Westcott, Reid

Our current crop of federal MPs, including those errant ones who take the money from dubious sources would benefit from some intensive education and training ethics, due diligence, thinking before acting, how to balance incomes and outgoings, and how to be astute decision-makers.

But would this guarantee politicians understood the meaning and consequences of making decisions which compromise their integrity, which render them susceptible to corruption, and which undermine and debase national policy?

To get caught out, receive a slap on the wrist, apologise, and then to hope the matter subsides and people eventually forget, doesn't cut it.

G. Jarosch, Crestwood, NSW

Senator Sam Dastyari is either very naive or just plain dumb. His action in seeking a foreign organisation to pay a bill that "he didn't want to pay", opens him up to serious security ramifications. Most spies or serious criminals can only dream of such a coup, ie, a person of influence in their debt.

A government minister – or a person who may be one in the future – is pure gold to intelligence agencies, and might only come along once in several lifetimes! This episode has nothing to do with political donations, as the press commentators would have us believe, it does however put Australia's future security in jeopardy. Senator Dastyari will be a possible intelligence target while ever he serves in the Australian Parliament.

Dave Jeffrey, Farrer

Howard out of touch

It speaks eloquently of John Howard's moral compass that, as per his latest National Press Club speech, he regards the odd million for public electoral funding in our trillion-dollar economy as a price too high to pay for safeguarding democracy from its deturpation by local and foreign vested interests. And, just as importantly, from the least appearance of such corruption.

And it is disingenuous for Howard, while he strangely now attracts all this new limelight, to caution Australia against such "massive increases in public funding", when between 2003 and 2007 he had no reservations whatsoever in committing the nation to the huge expense of a fraudulently contrived foreign war.

The man must take a quaint view of the Westminster system, and must find it very compatible with hypocrisy.

Alex Mattea, Kingston

So John Howard believes that because women are the nation's "carers" they will never achieve equal representation in the national Parliament. What chauvinistic rubbish!

There are 76 senators and 150 members, and there are currently over 2 million women aged between 40-70: can he seriously believe that out of that 2 million-plus we can't find just 113 women who could make an outstanding contribution to our national life? To paraphrase Mathew 7.7 "seek and ye shall find".

Roger Dace, Reid

Peter Martin ("The ghost of Dastyari's past", Comment, September 8, p16) says if you click on the research button on the Australia-China Relations Institute's website, you won't see research, only fact sheets that urge Australia to adopt a range of policy positions in its dealings with China, including signing an FTA and not running joint naval patrols with the US in the South China Sea.

In less than two years ACRI has commissioned no fewer than six major research reports from the very best scholars in their fieldson topics from the beef trade to the state of Mandarin language learning in Australia. These are all freely available on our website. Just last week we released a report on Chinese-language media in Australia, a timely contribution that delves into Chinese soft power. ACRI has also produced peer-reviewed research on Australian public opinion towards foreign investment.

That both sides of politics have used the facts and arguments that ACRI has assembled to justify taking particular policy positions is something we are proud of. It shows that our research is relevant, rigorous and firmly in Australia's national interest.

How advocating that lowering barriers to Australian companies wanting to sell into the world's most exciting market could be spun as "pro-Beijing", as opposed to "pro-Canberra", is beyond comprehension.

Professor James Laurenceson, deputy director, ACRI, University of Technology Sydney

Others can demonstrate the legal speciousness of Sir David Smith's endlessly repeated assertion (Letters, September 9) that the Governor-General and not the Queen is our head of state. Smith has previously said the Queen is not our head of state but our sovereign. I don't want the Queen to be our sovereign. I want the Australian people to be sovereign.

Greg Ellis, Murrumbateman, NSW

Rhys Stanley's suggestion (Letters, September 8) that federal MPs are cultivated to support the presence in Palestine of the "occupying troops of Israel" is ludicrous. MPs travel to a range of foreign countries, including America and China, funded by groups wanting to promote greater ties. Perhaps Stanley would prefer MPs remained ignorant of a long-running conflict – or for this country to miss potential economic opportunities overseas?

Mark Kessel, Caulfield North, Vic

The Canberra Times wants to hear from you in short bursts. Email views in 50 words or fewer to letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au

HERE'S TIT FOR TAT

It is amusing to see Meegan Fitzharris describing the Liberal's health proposals as "lazy". They are probably better than Labor's tram proposals, which could well be described as "stupid".

J.J. Marr, Hawker

NO WAY TO WIN VOTES

If Jeremy Hanson is going to support Brendan Smyth's duplicitous appointment as international engagement commissioner ("Bar and his new recruit all business", September 9, p4), then I certainly will not be supporting him.

Ric Hingee, Duffy.

TRUE HEAD OF STATE

Wrong again, David Smith (Letters, September 9). The monarch is our head of state. The High Court did not say otherwise in 1907, and its judges would have been in no doubt that King Edward VII was our head of state at that time.

High Court Justice Stephen Gageler made it clear in the offshore detention case earlier this year that the monarch is our head of state and the Governor-General is the monarch's representative in the Commonwealth of Australia.

Frank Marris, Forrest

David Smith doesn't give up does he? At the risk of provoking a further response from David, I suggest he give it away; he is not going to win the argument. The Queen (of England) is Australia's head of state and the Governor-General is her vice-regal representative.

Don Sephton, Greenway

I've just found another compelling reason for Australia to become a republic as soon as possible. It's to stop David Smith endlessly banging on that the Governor-General rather than the Queen is actually Australia's head of state.

David Jenkins, Casey

WRONG GAS PEDAL

Regarding ActewAGL's "estimates", a few months ago we got a quarterly gas bill for over $200. Seems cheap until you realise we have not used natural gas for several years and at that time closed our account. Seems even non-customers are fair game for AGL's estimates of bills.

Malcolm Paterson, Greenleigh, NSW

HOW FLU DISCRIMINATES

Re rising influenza rates in Canberra, the Wellington Dominion Post reported on August 2 "Influenza rates drop around country, but Wellington and Christchurch on the rise", so perhaps the flu hits harder in capital cities and earthquake cities. Luckily Australia only has the former.

Murray Hunter, Titirangi, New Zealand

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