So Canberra's waiting list for public housing is high and rising (''Hundreds of properties sit empty as tenants wait'', August 16, p1). What a surprise.
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When our government pondered how to extract more money from this modest-sized, government-dominated town it was reminded that average income statistics suggest we're among the richest in the land. After all, it had big spending aspirations: billion-dollar Rattenbury trams, etc to build.
Answer? Take steps, via a land-development monopoly, to boost land/home prices (and stamp-duty revenues) in these sheep paddocks in the middle of nowhere, up to Sydney's astronomical median levels - and still claim home affordability as high, because average incomes are high. That is, it decided first-home buyers here can afford being ripped off.
But what about those in the lowest 20-percentile of Canberra incomes: Labor's traditional constituency? Could they afford concomitant burgeoning rents?
Seems not. Too bad; so sad. Let them eat cake.
Cuthbert Douglas, Bonython
Talk the walk
I have some sympathy when police have to do their job knowing it will make no difference to the illicit drug trade in the long term (''Police hail raid on large-scale ecstasy lab'', August 14, p1).
Police say the discovery is ''extremely significant'', however the ANU's Dr Tim Legrand is more realistic saying ''it was unlikely to disrupt supply''.
The ingenuity of drug manufacturers, sellers and even consumers is not limited to a manufacturing warehouse in Hume. Even if this raid has disrupted ecstasy supply there is always the internet's dark web. The ingenuity of manufacturers, dealers and users, together with the high profits, guarantees there will always be a market for illegal drugs.
Many already recognise that fact. AFP Commissioner Tony Negus said in April this year that it isn't a problem law enforcement can arrest its way out of.
Prime Minister Abbott understands the futility, and said ''it is not a war we will ever finally win [it] is a war [we] are going to lose''.
Let's hope the PM takes the next logical step and looks for an exit strategy for this war we have lost. A good start would be for our members of parliament to have an open and honest discussion looking for better alternatives.
B. McConnell, Higgins
Abortion debate
John Popplewell (Letters, August 13) says that abortion is indefensible. Has his life been so cosseted that he is not aware of how many girls, women and handicapped people are raped? Is he oblivious to the fact that even when caught and found guilty (a rare occurrence), rapists are not disarmed and can continue to abuse women if they have the chance?
Does he really believe that the average person would want to have their loved family's genes joined with those of an antisocial, female-despising lowlife?
Is he likewise uninformed about the heritability of some personality traits, criminality for example?
Perhaps Mr Popplewell is also not cognisant of the many males whose only interest in their children arises around the time of their conception.
The majority of lone parent households in Australia (many in poverty) are headed by women.
M. Aken, Holder
Enough is enough
The ACT Court of Appeal has added a couple extra years to prison sentence of the Belconnen Library serial child sex offender. The report (''Belconnen library child molester to serve extra three years minimum jail'', canberratimes.com.au, August 18) stated ''It was his sixth conviction for offences against children.''
At what point do we say enough is enough, this obviously isn't working?
Who is delivering these services and who is responsible for ensuring that offenders are allowed to re-enter the community without further harming our children?
Tim Bohm, Watson
Bigots have rights too
Oh dear. In an otherwise reasonably sensible article, the Canberra Times' resident agony aunt Jenna Price joins the mob and slightingly refers to George Brandis as ''Minister for Bigotry'' (''Why the Treasurer's budget is beyond salvation'', Times 2, August 19, p5) A little thought will reveal that Voltaire's approvingly oft-quoted ethos, regarding fighting to the death to defend the right of someone to state opinions with which others may disagree, is entirely consistent with Brandis' claim that one has a right to be a bigot.
Thus, those who disagree should be willing to fill a jerrycan with petrol, buy a box of matches and tell us which books they are prepared to burn. Perhaps they could begin with the favourite reading of kindly Pope Frank - a man apparently stubbornly intolerant with regard to female priests, married priests, gay priests, same sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, etc - a well-known part history, part instruction manual.
Bill Deane, Chapman
ATO negotiations
Noel Towell (''PS move to cut 'duds' in ranks'', August 18, p1) reports that an ATO official and executives referred to ''dud'' employees as part of enterprise bargaining negotiations on performance management processes. The ATO was not approached for comment on this story - had we been shown that courtesy by your reporter, we would have taken the opportunity to set the record straight. Our bargaining team has not and would never use that term to describe underperforming staff. In fact our bargaining team repeatedly made it clear during negotiations that the term was inappropriate. Our priority is to keep our staff informed with accurate information. Inaccurate articles such as Mr Towell's only add to uncertainty in the bargaining context. We continue to bargain in good faith with unions and employee representatives as we negotiate a new enterprise agreement. Many public service agencies are facing challenges as they meet their commitments to government to reduce expenditure and staff numbers.
In this climate, the ATO rightly expects The Canberra Times to report fairly; to have the nous to take into account the motivations of some commentators; and to give agencies the respect of a right of reply, so we can avoid alarmist and misinformed comments being reported as fact.
Geoff Leeper, second commissioner, Australian Taxation Office
Our reluctance to embrace renewable energy shameful
Most Australians would have been proud of the bag of gold medals earned at the recent Commonwealth Games. Less laudable is that we have topped the global league table for per capita greenhouse gas emissions and, hence, contribution to global warming, emitting twice the OECD average and four times the global average emissions, in irresponsible disdain for the future of our species.
Julian Cribb (''Beware the dragon's breath'', Times2, August 18, p1) warns us of the danger of runaway global warming from the escape of methane as a feedback heating effect that has lurked for millions of years in Arctic tundra.
Who really benefits from the weakening of the Renewable Energy Target, which would make a fair contribution to our mitigation of catastrophic global warming? That's a question asked by the Climate Institute, Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF-Australia: $8 billion additional profit to coal and $2 billion to gas generators; additional carbon pollution of about 150 million tonnes to 2030 (equivalent to adding nearly 4 million cars to the road) with additional pollution costs of over $14 billion; and loss of $8 billion in new renewable energy capacity. This modelling highlights the cynical self-interest behind power companies' calls to weaken the RET, and the inability of our government to see the road sign ''Wrong Way Go Back''.
Bryan Furnass, Hughes
I await with dread the findings of the review of the Renewable Energy Target. The review panel is chaired by a climate denier, Dick Warburton, and it seems he was put there by the Prime Minister for the specific purpose of gutting the target from the previously bipartisan-agreed 41,000GWh of electricity from renewable energy, mainly wind, or 20 per cent by 2020.
Yet down here on the Monaro we have plenty of wind and solar energy, waiting to be tapped and to provide much-needed jobs in the region. Here, and on the southern tablelands, renewable energy has provided 950 local construction jobs and 70 permanent positions. It has driven the wholesale price of electricity down and can continue to do so if duly developed. Each wind or solar project puts $10 million back into a community during construction and $3 million annually once operational. Even without the need to move to a low carbon economy because of climate change, there is the added need because oil prices are likely to rise once the US tight oil boom is over, possibly as early as 2016. We will have to shift much of our transport over to electric vehicles as oil becomes increasingly unaffordable.
Jenny Goldie, Michelago, NSW
Label a nonsense
In his article ''PS move to cut 'duds' in ranks'' (August 18, p1), Noel Towell says Public Service Commissioner Stephen Sedgwick is on record as preferring the term ''lower value employee''. I hope you are wrong, as this has to be the most nonsensical and meaningless term for what even the union wanted, namely ''underperformer'', which describes precisely what is under consideration. If this is the sort of nonsense the commissioner is happy with, I know how I would rate him.
Eric Hodge, Pearce
Just one man's opinion
Congratulations to Bev Cains (Letters, August 15) for supporting Senator Eric Abetz and criticising Tony Abbott for caving in to the feminist lobby on the abortion-breast cancer link. She has rightly pointed out the AMA has no position on the issue.
Many people would not have realised Dr Brian Owler was merely expressing his own opinion. However, one would expect the Prime Minister to be better informed.
Anne M. Kirkwood, Attadale, WA
Jennifer Hogan (Letters, August 14) is ''appalled at the vilification of Senator Eric Abetz for his daring to mention that some research points to a correlation between pregnancy and breast cancer''. Unfortunately, we humans at times use what appear to be throwaway lines on subjects of which we regrettably are ignorant.
Unless the senator can produce the source of the research and who funded it, the scientific community would not accept his argument as more than hearsay. On the same basis, Hogan's categorical beliefs equally can be dismissed.
Politics is about beliefs and notions, sometimes to the exclusion of rational thought.
Science is about research based on what we know and bit by bit exploring possibilities that might lead to an extension of knowledge based on supporting evidence. On the other hand, research often indicates we need to do more work or we are on the wrong track. Both results are valid.
Are Abetz and Hogan right in their belief? I don't know, as I have not seen evidence either way. Until I do I won't be brave enough to voice an opinion.
R. Akhurst, Campbell
Unfair to target Muslims
So, Prime Minister Tony Abbott reckons ''everyone has got to be on team Australia'' ('''You don't migrate to this country unless you want to join our team': Tony Abbott renews push on national security laws'', canberratimes.com.au, August 18).
If the Prime Minister was genuinely concerned about the safety of this country, including our young people from all walks of life and different faiths who might be tempted to get caught up in foreign adventures, he would stop singling out those of the Muslim faith and introduce legislation making it illegal for any Australian citizen to take up arms, except as a member of our armed services.
Such an approach would make it very clear that the government isn't simply engaged in a cynical ''dog-whistling'' campaign to drum up support for its latest anti-terrorist legislation, whilst recognising it is not only young Muslims who suffer from conflicted or misguided loyalties and get caught up in foreign military adventures.
John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW
Good riddance to flats: let's start again
Anyone who thinks the ''Dickson Towers'' (the Dickson Flats) on the corner of Northbourne Avenue and Morphett Street are of ''architectural merit'' (''Dickson architect protests'', August 18, p3) should have their eyes checked. The flats are just plain, old, three-storey cubic boxes with a central stairwell and small flats inside. I suggest we let the ACT government demolish them and build something with ground-level commercial and community uses and more than twice the current number of residential apartments (with many being for public housing tenants). And the new tenants will have great access to the new tram.
John Widdup, Lyneham
Tram-line irony
So Katy Gallagher has finally admitted (''Labor-Greens pact: tricky issues remain'', August 19, p2) that the tram line was a political decision that has nothing to do with economic or social benefits to the ACT.
''Construction is to set to begin before the next election in 2016, as agreed'' as part of the post-election deal.
This decision to spend what will surely cost at least $1 billion was made before any analysis of its worth as a sop to some weird Greens ideology.
As this decision was made to ensure that Labor stayed in power it is, in effect, the most expensive job-support scheme in Australia's history. It's $100 million per Labor MLA, just to keep their jobs.
Earlier this week
Ms Gallagher was bemoaning the fact that the public had little respect for politicians; now that's irony.
Les Neulinger, Farrer
TO THE POINT
SHUT OUT OF THE TEAM?
I am not wealthy, but I have a car and drive over 16,000km per year. I also have Scottish heritage. Do these mean I am not a member of Mr Abbott, Mr Hockey and Mr Morrison's Team Australia?
Ian White, Cook
HISTORY REPEATS
As Tony Abbott's star seems to be fading, that of the admirably capable Julie Bishop is rising. Is history about to repeat itself?
Sylvia Marchant, Lyneham
ABBOTT A HYPOCRITE
Which is the real Tony Abbott and which is the phoney Tony Abbott? Tony Mark I will rescue 4400 Iraqi refugees from Islamic State tyranny. Tony Mark II imposes state tyranny on 6600 refugees held in detention.
Graham Macafee, Latham
FOOT IN MOUTH REMEDY
On the second level of the recently refurbished Health Centre in Tuggeranong there is a section that advertises its function as the care of Dental-Podiatry.
I had reason to be in the vicinity lately, and I would have expected to see a line-up of federal politicians awaiting attention to their foot-in-mouth symptoms, but no, there was just one old ordinary citizen waiting outside the door. Perhaps they are all being treated in private facilities elsewhere?
Leon Webcke, Gordon
DO THE MATH
Who has run the figures on all social security recipients' vehicle ownership and driving distances to disprove the Bureau of Statistics' advice to Mr Hockey? If no figures have been run - why not?
Jennifer Hogan, Kaleen
DON'T BE A DOPE
Better be careful, David Hewett-Lacon (Letters, August 18), or you might be charged with conspiracy to smuggle dope.
Juha Turunen, Queanbeyan, NSW
SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT
Wealth flows up to those who can hold onto it, while taxes and charges flow down to those unable to pass them on.
Maybe those doing the lifting should ask the leaners and those who aspire to join them how much wealth is required to fulfil their sense of entitlement.
Andrew Roberts, Kambah
RURAL DILEMMA
Clearly, to fully justify their name, rural villagers in Australia have to oppose solar panel arrays, because they obstruct their bucolic view to cleared, overgrazed, weed- and rabbit-infested paddocks.
Jochen Zeil, Hackett
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