They have all served both federal and state bureaucracies with distinction and I am proud to call them my all friends.

Our membership base, however, also includes community members, public servants, academics, journalists, businessmen, people who self-identify as members of Labor, Liberal and Green political parties, as well as numerous young men and women.

Cox rightly asserts they are a pressure group, collectively made up of concerned Canberra citizens, many of whom are women, who rally against the lack of a political mandate for the $2billion light rail, seek deferral of any decision till after the next election, believe ACTION buses do a magnificent job, and query the total cost of the project to the ratepayers of Canberra.

Whilst he is correct to maintain that it is vital in a democracy to allow a legitimate administration to govern, it is, in fact, a minority one that should take this contentious plan to the people and reveal openly and transparently the true cost of the concept at the election. Frankly, Andrew Barr's own Labor supporters deserve better than leaving a legacy of generation debt to us all.

Julian Fitzgerald, Farrer

Kevin Cox said we should follow "professionals" and support light rail. I presume he means professionals like Infrastructure Australia, who reported in August 2013 that light rail was both unsuitable and uneconomic for Canberra, resulting in the refusal of the federal Coalition and more recently federal Labor to promise any outside funding towards the debacle. Yet elsewhere the feds are now funding rail projects.

Perhaps only "elderly males" have the time and professional expertise to suggest overall improvements to Canberra's public transport system and thereby counter the views coming from the millions of dollars being spent by CMA's spin doctors.

Chris Emery, Reid

Yes, Kevin Cox, the government can be voted out at the next election over the issue of light rail. There will very likely be a mandate given to the Liberals to tear up light-rail contracts. They will be obliged to do just that. That is democracy at work.

On the question of economic vandalism, Labor would be in a class of its own if it were commit to light rail before the next election, knowing the course of events to follow. On the further question of Labor acting in our best interests – that is a joke: we all know that the sudden switch to belief in rail was about individuals clinging on to power by any means possible, and hang the consequences for the people of Canberra.

Terry Werner, Wright

I am glad my colleague Dr Jamie Pittock ("Put the bush back into the bush capital", Times2, September 30, p5) finds the flowers of Australian grassland and woodlands pretty, and have no doubt many residents of Canberra likewise agree to their prettiness.

Of course those 10 to 15 per cent of the Australian male population who are colour blind cannot see the apparently dramatic colours of these native flowers and would not share this appreciation.

But it seems that Dr Pittock has his own form of aesthetic-blindness as he cries against the National Arboretum of Canberra, suggesting parts be sold off to developers to turn into hotels or some such money-making venture.

Fortunately, the average of about 1000 visitors a day must see the beauty in the arboretum complete with its trees, landscape design and world-class national bonsai and penjing collection.

Research has consistently found that humans feel safer and are healthier in the presence of trees.

These effects do not seem to be tree species or native/exotic specific, and certain tree shapes are deemed to be attractive to all humans, regardless of nationality. Canberrians need not be limited by a philosophy that only natives are good in Canberra, and certainly the city is better off with the National Arboretum and its "100 forests and 100 gardens" than with Dr Pittock's suggestion of a replacement hotel.

Associate Professor Cris Brack, Australian National University

My friends invited me to accompany them to the "Festival Indonesia" at the Indonesian embassy on Saturday. This event was highly publicised and unbeknown to them, and some of my other friends, other embassies in the vicinity were also open.

I texted them to say I would be visiting other embassies that day but would not join them at the Indonesian embassy for the reason that Indonesia is now at the very bottom of the list of countries I would ever visit again.

This is because of their execution by firing squad of Australians Chan and Sukumaran (and others) in April this year and an experience I had with corrupt officials at the airport on my first visit to Bali as a tourist in 2008.

Judging by the huge crowds at the Indonesian embassy, I realised that the executions were no longer on the minds of Australians as they ventured into the grounds of that embassy. How soon we forget.

Well, I hadn't forgotten.

Sebastian Cole, Ngunnawal

Obviously acting at the behest of a developer, some genius at Canberra traffic has managed to turn the perfectly safe and simple intersection at the corner of Bowman and Redfern streets, Macquarie, into a total dog's breakfast.

There now exists a confusion of white lines, concrete banks and merging lanes – all with a wooden telegraph pole sitting precariously in the middle. One can only speculate as to when the pole will become a traffic casualty.

I am taking bets on when, after the inevitable series of accidents at the new intersection, Canberra ratepayers will have to fork out for yet another set of expensive and ubiquitous traffic lights.

R. Foster, Cook

With non-government social service organisations seeking poverty reductions ("Call for action to cut number of people living in poverty", October 12, p6), why are we accepting more refugees who must increase these disadvantaged?

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

The Dutch Safety Board is due to hand down its report into the downing of MH17 this Tuesday ("Identity of missile that downed MH17 obvious", October 11, p10) but don't look to it to allocate responsibilities for this tragic event. Consider the facts. If Malaysian Airlines had not chosen to fly over a war zone – to avoid additional flight costs – the shooting down could not have occurred: its share of responsibility?

If the Ukraine government had not publicly announced that its air force would be used against the rebels, those rebels might not have sought access to anti-aircraft missiles: its share of responsibility?

If the Russian military – with or without the Kremlin's approval – had not made the missiles available to the rebels: its share of responsibility?

If the rebels had not fired the missile: their share of responsibility?

The allocation of percentages of responsibility is never going to happen, so far better to move on and try to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy. Perhaps if the UN were to "declare" war zones and recommend civil air lines avoid them by a specified amount, perhaps a 200-kilometre separation zone, then any repeat event would clearly be the responsibility of the airline involved.

Roger Dace, Reid

I regularly have a drink in a bar in Green Square, Kingston, on Saturday nights. Three policeman invariably walk through around 10.30pm. They are usually no more than 5 foot 6 inches [1.68 metres] tall.

When my brother-in-law joined the NSW Police in the early 1960s, recruits had to be a minimum of 5 foot 10 inches tall [1.78 metres] and weigh around 140 pounds [63.5 kilograms]. One of his first tasks as a probationary constable was to take on the wharfies at Woolloomooloo Bay with his truncheon. How times have changed.

D. N. Callaghan, Kingston

Richard Denniss ("More debt will pay off", Forum, October 10, p6) writes "The idea that public borrowing is in some way harmful to the economy has no basis in economics". Nothing could be further from the truth. Public borrowing takes money from the pool of money that would otherwise be used by free enterprise to fund development projects, provide new jobs, and increase productivity.

In addition, public borrowing must be repaid by citizenry the with the additional cost of the interest expense. The idea that "... governments don't ever have to pay off their debts ..." leads to paying an ever increasing interest bill forever, as more and more public borrowing is undertaken for "good ideas". Of course, public borrowing can not continue forever, and when the end comes (think Greece, Argentina) it will be a very nasty end. The politicians who have saddled us with this debt will be long gone before the end is upon us.

Bruce A. Peterson, Kambah

For once, I agree heartily with the Australia Institute's Richard Dennis "It is responsible for governments to fund assets that last for decades with borrowed funds". And the arguments he puts forward in support of this are impressive, and perfectly valid. However, he fails to put the most important and simplest reason of all: that infrastructure such as roads, dams, better schools, etc, will benefit future taxpayers, so it's reasonable that they (through loan repayments and interest) pay for them, rather than current taxpayers through additional taxation.

R.S. Gilbert, Braddon

Make no mistake, the VW emissions fraud has been caused by a failure of VW's corporate governance (assuming it wanted to behave ethically) combined with a failure of regulators to have appropriate preventative controls in place. Having a code of ethics, suggested by Tony Butt (Letters, October 12), is but a subset of good governance.

More interesting is how the regulators have let the community down in so many ways, resulting in Australian dealers selling, in good faith, an estimated 100,000 offending vehicles to their loyal clients.

The buyers of these vehicles have an asset of reduced value that is technically not roadworthy. The community should be very concerned when they are in the vicinity of one of these defective vehicles in confined spaces, such as underground car parks.

While VW has said they will fix the problem, they have also said they do not have a solution yet. While our federal regulators are making motherhood statements about the issue, our local ACT regulators are deafeningly silent. Little wonder a class action is being planned.

Bill Gemmell, Holder

I completely agree with Jasper Lindell's (October 8, p.4) insightful and articulate article about the negative effects of debating on the human mind and behaviour ("School debates ruin politics", Times2, October 8, p4), particularly when training people who will end up in positions of political power. I can offer a ray of hope in response to his despairing, concluding statement.

The highly regarded method of teaching thinking skills called Philosophy for Children provides a fabulous way to teach logic, reasoning, civilised disagreement, nuanced argument and flexible thinking to young people in primary and secondary schools. It is based on collaboration rather than competition and truth rather than lies.

Schools that have implemented this program have found that incidents of playground disagreements are in sharp decline because students have learned to listen and find common ground with others. They solve their own real problems.

Dare we imagine what politics would be like with this as a training ground for thinking and behaving?

Holly Godfree, Kambah

Why is it that we keep holding up the Muslim leaders and communities as alone responsible to do more to prevent young Muslims being "radicalised' while the rest of us get to sit back without taking any responsibility?

The very act of singling out the Muslim community as responsible in this way highlights an unhealthy finger pointing, disconnect and alienation amongst us. We are all responsible for ensuring that people belong, feel connected and supported and able to develop and use their skills constructively within the community. Don't we all need to reflect on how as a community we can do more to nurture healthy relationships, greater acceptance and unity in diversity and a sense of belonging? A community that is connected, accepting, supportive and unified in its diversity is a healthy one in which radicalisation would, I believe, be much less appealing.

Alison Coster, Jerrabomberra, NSW

Recently my wife and I were returning to Australia on a flight from Dubai. We were seated next to an elderly lady from the Indian subcontinent who was travelling alone. We were handed an Australian immigration form and an Ebola questionnaire. I completed the immigration form and questionnaire at which time the lady next to me passed over her immigration form indicating that she would like me to fill it in. I asked for her passport. It was evident that she spoke no English.

I showed her my Australian passport, she reached into her handbag and handed me her passport. I was amazed to find that it too was an Australian passport. I pointed to the question on the form asking for her Australian address. She showed no understanding of what was required so at that point I called a stewardess to take over. Eventually a hostess fluent in Hindi was called and, with some difficulty, completed the immigration form.

My understanding is that a prerequisite for Australian citizenship is that the applicant must have been lawfully resident in Australia for four years, have a basic knowledge of the English language and have passed a test. This Australian passport holder had absolutely no English. Around the world, Australia has a reputation for being a tough place to gain citizenship. My brief encounter has shown me that this is clearly far from the truth.

Michael Cavenor, Bribie Island, Qld

APP FOR COMPLAINTS

The citizens of Indonesia are now using a mobile phone app to report numerous complaints and infrastructure damage direct to the local authorities. In doing so, it cuts out the bureaucratic red tape with almost instant results. Not a bad suggestion for our local councils.

Gerry Coleman, Bassendean, WA

A POOR TRADE-OFF

Do I understand Ross Gittins ("This trade pact won't change much either way", October 10, p15) correctly? Australia risks giving away a bit of its sovereignty to protect public health and the environment because of the TPP investor state dispute settlement mechanism for pretty paltry trade benefits?

Peter Tait, O'Connor

DISCONNECTED

According to the report "Victim had40 injuries after partner assault" (October 10, p5), the accused in that case snapped his former partner's mobile phone in half when she tried to call for help. What prospect does this example hold for the 20,000free mobile phones to be distributed by the government to enable victims to call for help when under attack? Sadly, this is another reactive decision, hastily announced without serious thought as to its effectiveness.

David Nolan, Holder

MINISTER CONFUSED

On Radio National on Monday morning, Barnaby Joyce described the CFMEU as the progenitor of the Builders' Labourers Federation. As any stockbreeder would say, it's rather odd to have an Agriculture Minister who doesn't know the difference between an ancestor and a descendant. Since he's also Water Minister, it might be an idea to check on his knowledge of which way the rivers actually flow.

G. T. W. Agnew, Coopers Plains, Qld

BRIBERY BY A NEW NAME

It seems to me that the $1000 payments for "industrial peace" for work on the Majura Parkway project are more like bribery. I haven't heard of any other of us being paid extra to complete a job they were hired to do in the most efficient and productive way.

J. Wilson, Duffy

PLAYING THE MAN

Why is it that H.Ronald upsets so many on the left? Perhaps because the opinion and arguments – which reflect those of a conservative bent – are articulated so well. The usual suspects reply with snide and vacuous remarks devoid of any real argument. They play the man and not the ball.

Owen Reid, Dunlop

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