Regrettably, no actual evidence accompanied the story, such as whether a survey had shown there was an increased incidence of health problems for regular shop patrons.

I know of many Ainslie shoppers still seen out and about with walking frames and suchlike, and still battling on. Some are in their nineties. My wife and I are veterans, each of us with 50 or more years shopping at Ainslie.

Although slightly worn down, we have no plans to avoid the area.

Given the many older folk still seen at Ainslie shops, it may even be patrons run the risk of having increased lifespans. Then younger folk will have to put up with them for a little bit longer.

Roy Darling, Florey

In 2016, pre-election, Chief Minister Andrew Barr vowed to protect the heritage buildings of Manuka Circle Park both inside and outside the oval.

In 2017, post-election, Mr Barr's avaricious Land Development Agency is set to demolish the heritage "chapel" (the 1948 Switch Room, the only one of its kind), for a multi-storey privatised parking station at the Kingston Arts Precinct.

This is an appeal to Mr Barr that he offer equitable protection to heritage at the community Kingston Arts Precinct as he has offered to the elite sporting heritage of nearby Manuka Oval.

The "chapel" is in excellent condition and is in use by our world class Glassworks.

B. Moore, Kingston

The "hilarious" Department of Finance video (canberratimes.com, March 1) really is one of the worst I have seen.

I set up and ran the graduate program for the Department of Primary Industries and Energy and can tell you that the Finance video bears little relationship to the truth.

In truth, graduates have a tough time fitting in with workplace culture, are regarded by many as having a privileged path, have to contend with bullying and denigration by old-style managers and work colleagues resistant to new ideas and fresh approaches, and are highly dependent upon the good fortune in being appointed a supportive and intelligent mentor.

The only refreshing moment in the video was when one of the female managers showed she had resisted intimidation by the politically correct, including previous Australian of the Year, David Morrison, by calling the mixed group of graduates "guys".

Ric Hingee, Duffy

Given that Chief Minister Andrew Barr has defended the ACT government's decision to shelve the proposal for a new convention centre on the basis that the project could no longer be justified in cost benefit analysis terms ("Convention Centre shaky", February 28, p.1), I suggest unless the government can demonstrate the Parkes Way realignment aspect of the City to Lake Project really does stack up in cost benefit analysis terms it should, for the sake of consistency, also shelve that aspect of the project.

In order for the government to demonstrate that the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to realign Parkes Way is justified, it would be necessary for the Land Development Agency to publicly release the full, unexpurgated version of ISG Projects Rapid Appraisal of the City to Lake Project, including the cost benefit analyses for the six realignment options that were blacked out in the original, expurgated version.

Bruce Taggart, Aranda

An employee of the Catholic Church breaks a fundamental rule ("Priest accused of improper touching", March 1, p.3).

In any other job he would have been dismissed summarily and left to his own resources or those of the welfare state.

But this employer seems to have relieved him of the obligation to work (whatever that means in that job), provided him with free housing, arranged his medical attention, and no doubt supports him financially.

They still do not "get it", these arrogant god-bothering hierarchs.

Mike Hutchinson, Reid

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has considered professional development activities within the Catholic Church in Australia.

I would like to propose that a Catholic bishop be seconded for a period of 12 months to one of the better Commonwealth government departments.

This secondment would provide the bishop with insights into management and organisational ethics that could be of benefit to the Catholic Church in Australia. Such a scheme has existed in the past in relation to non-government sector executives.

Frank Mines, Nicholls

In 1992, Aboriginal property rights, read native title, on all vacant Crown land and other tenures that do not by its terms extinguish any exiting native title rights, became an essential ingredient of the law of the land.

The ACT government is the only jurisdiction in Australia that has formally stated that all native title rights have been extinguished; allowing unhindered sale of land and ongoing doubtful dealings.

No wonder the LDA could proceed to sell off land in the ACT so quickly.

All other Australian jurisdictions have to proceed through the Native Title Act.

The Commonwealth is complicit by its silence of this lone startling extinguishment position from the ACT government.

The Racial Discrimination Act demands compliance to not unlawfully racially discriminate against any Australian.

Where are our champions or any decent lawyers or their representative bodies who constantly mouth that the law must apply equally to all Australians?

The bounce of the ACT economy is built on racial discrimination. But it's only the seat of government, the capital of Australia, and who cares because it's only Aboriginal rights?

George Villaflor, Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO, Queanbeyan, NSW

The Therapeutic Goods Administration last month ruled to keep e-cigarettes illegal. As vaping is around 85 per cent less expensive than smoking, and 95 per cent safer, this decision seems rather an odd one.

E-cigs could have eased the financial hardships, and benefited the health of millions of Australians.

Why in today's enlightened society do we ban a safer alternative, yet real cancer-causing cigarettes are freely available at every supermarket and corner store?

It appears that our government may in fact be addicted to the ever burgeoning cigarette tax.

It's just too hard (for them) to quit.

Andrew Bennett, Casey

The Coalition government claims to be committed to accepting advice from independent umpires such as the Fair Work Commission.

Why then have they ignored the recommendations of an independent selection panel and proceeded to appoint MsVanessa Guthrie, chair of the Minerals Council, to the board of the ABC/SBS?

Ms Guthrie did not even appear on the final list of people recommended for the role by the independent panel.

Are recommendations of independent bodies only considered when those recommendations align with government wishes?

Annette Gilmour, Melba

Why is there so much criticism, including from the Prime Minister, of Ahmed Fahour's pay packet?

Let's see: even ignoring the Medicare and budget repair levies, he's up for about $2,500,000 in income tax. So, having steered Australia's biggest fish and chip shop into the black and handing Scott Morrison a healthy contribution towards his budget repair ambitions, the man still gets pilloried.

Ahmed Fahour deserves the Prime Minister's and our praise, not calumny.

Bronis Dudek, Calwell

John Warhurst's article, ("Labor-lite, Nationals-lite or One Nation-lite? The Liberals' inevitable drift from the sensible centre", canberratimes.com, March 2), describes the LNP as "centre right" and Labor as "centre left".

Mr Warhurst must have a very short memory; neither has been anywhere near those for many years.

Labor is now further right than the LNP was, say, years ago and today's LNP couldn't conceivably be described as anything other than far right with tendencies towards the extreme. Australia desperately needs a party of the left to offer alternatives to the growth-is-good trickle-down snake oil on offer by the major parties.

Fred Pilcher, Kaleen

The editorial "Credibility gap on robo-debt just got worse" (March 2, p.14) detailed an ANAO report into the Department of Human Services.

It indicated DHS's claimed retrieval of payments is exaggerated, possibly by as much as a third.

The credibility gap is worsened by the story of the same day that another DHS data-matching exercise, specifically targeting criminals through an interface with Austrac, part of the AFP criminal intelligence system, which has retrieved far more overpayments than the robo-debt system, is to have its funding withdrawn in 2019 ("Restored $8m won't save crime busters", p4).

This is really another minor issue considering the Oxfam assessment mentioned in the editorial said "tax avoidance by multinationals had cost the federal government $6billion in a single year".

The alleged illegalities and inequities of the robo-debt system need to be corrected but that does not mean that it is "targeting honest, hard-working Australians" as Linda Butney, Labor's human services spokeswoman, histrionically claimed.

The editorial's point – that we want to see some serious strikes against the big guys, not just a small bucketful of hits against petty thieves and small-time crims – is incontestable.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

On the news this week I saw a homeless man showing his home of the past three weeks to a television journalist.

The man said, "It's a tent, but it's better than nothing."

No, it's not. In this country, nothing could be better than a roof over one's head.

Annie Lang, Kambah

I invite Meegan Fitzharris to walk around Campbell. I advise her to wear a safety vest and bring a pad and pencil, so that she can note the 150 places (at my last count) where footpaths and nature strips are obstructed by illegal landscaping or by illegally parked vehicles.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Super Rugby is super in name only. Rugby union is blighted by technical rules that are open to sometimes baffling interpretations and which produce far too many stoppages.

Hence, the code has the highest percentage of stoppage (boring) time and, conversely, the least percentage of active (exciting) play of Australia's four major football codes.

The attacking team, confronted by a wall of 14 skilled tacklers camped right on the advantage line, usually gets tackled to a standstill and then has to kick for touch, whereupon play stops (completely) for a line-out.

Then, if the opposition wins the ball, the roles are reversed. But the game's excitement level rarely gets above low.

Crowd numbers and television audiences for Super Rugby have declined to such an extent that the competition's economic viability is now in jeopardy.

The ARU has had to consider whether to cut one Australian team, most likely the Brumbies or the Western Force, from the competition.

I have previously suggested (letters, August 1, 2016) that the ACT government's proposal to construct a $200million football stadium on the Civic Pool site is very difficult to justify on the basis of last season's crowd numbers for Raiders and Brumbies games at Canberra (GIO) Stadium.

Now, when the Brumbies are at risk of being cut from the Super Rugby competition, there is even less justification to proceed.

Bruce Taggart, Aranda

LOCKABLE LODGINGS

So a priest accused of inappropriately touching children was moved to live next to Canberra primary schools because "there was nowhere else to put him". I can suggest alternative accommodation: it's in Goulburn and has very high walls.

Wendy Rattigan, Weston

ENGAGED ELSEWHERE

Wow. So the $300k-plus per annum Commissioner for International Engagement has surfaced after many months and is apparently doing some Engaging with our Cousins over the Ditch.

Brendan Ryan, Mawson

KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

After seeing a film at Palace Electric I arrived at the parking machine to find a queue because the machine was not taking notes or 50¢ coins. But I and others were saved by a charming woman who left the queue to provide change for us. How annoying machines can be! How kind some people are!

Maureen Bettle, Duffy

NET INVESTMENT

I now understand why Centrelink uses aggressive debt collection. They need money to pay for trawling social media to identify welfare recipients who dare to voice criticisms.

Thos Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

MOTION TABLELANDED

I hope there's no truth in the rumour that Barnaby Joyce is planning to move Parliament House to Armidale.

John Milne, Chapman

FOR THE RECORD

I am looking forward to the Treasurer releasing the full tax details of big business. Just to set the record straight, of course.

John Passant, Kambah

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attached file. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

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