Apparently, they sometimes pressure officials and politicians to throw out the planning controls in master plans, which are exhaustively prepared for key development areas by government in consultation with the public. They can do that because master plans have no legally binding status.

We've seen that happen in Woden and Belconnen town centres, City Hill and City West, and are likely to see it at Manuka Circle. The Territory Plan permits "merit-based" assessment of development proposals, which the consultants apparently cavalierly exploit.

A reasonable interpretation of "merit-based" would be legitimate compliance with the intent, if not the letter/numeral of the Territory Plan's qualitative and quantitative provisions. Sounds reasonable.

However, apparently, the consultants can easily justify just about anything in those regards, by facilitating more money (lashings of it) derived from cosy "betterment" valuations of the land, flowing from massive increases in floor space, number of flats, and building heights, etc.

The results are often very poor in regard to community values, architecture, health, heritage, privacy, traffic congestion, noise, vibration, dust, overshadowing, lack of landscaped open space, etc.

A responsible balance between commerciality, and good planning and design has to be found, and we look to our elected representatives to achieve it, on the best expert, fully independent advice.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

With all the talk about the GWS Manuka stadium upgrade, I see everyone in this city has an opinion on an alternative location, including A. Smith (Letters, April11) suggesting Molonglo.

With all due respect to Smith, I can one-up this: Football Park in Phillip (on Launceston Street) is a ready-made black canvas location.

With an existing major bus interchange, ample parking, direct access to major roads and room for developers to do what they want, surely this location is perfect for a new stadium. It is even the same size as Manuka.

Everyone on the southside knows that Woden is crying out for some development.

The stadium could be built while games continue at Manuka. Perfect.

J. Jobson, Holder

Given that the ACT government pays the Greater Western Sydney Giants Australian Rules football team $2.3 million to play three premiership (and one practice) games in Canberra a year, I wonder if Andrew Barr could tell the taxpayers of the ACT how many employees the team has in Canberra?

Could he also tell us how many the Canberra Raiders and the Brumbies have? My understanding is that the Raiders, for instance, employ about 900 people!

Roger Terry, Kingston

In response to Leonie Kennedy (Letters, April 9), the new visiting schedule at the AMC is not a cost-saving measure but in fact reflects the growing population within the jail and the need to give every detainee equal access to visits. It is the case that within the current schedule, some detainees have more access to visits than others. It is also the case that under the current system, some detainees book visits well in advance, filling up the space within the visits centre and preventing other detainees accessing visits.

By further breaking up the schedule by accommodation units rather than solely by detainee classification (as it is now) we can ensure that all detainees have fair access to visits.

The new schedule allows two visit opportunities a week for each accommodation unit, of up to an hour each visit.

There is capacity in extenuating circumstances for the general manager to pre-approve an extended visit or altered visit time for a family member or friend who is travelling from interstate to visit a detainee, or in compassionate circumstances (for example, a family member has passed away). ACTCS will monitor the impact and feedback to the change in the visits schedule over the next six months.

Shane Rattenbury, Minister for Corrections

I agree with John Haydon (Letters, April 13) about our housing affordability crisis.

But let's go one step further and secure housing that is both affordable and desirable.

Sure we can claim "affordability" by cramming ever bigger populations into ever smaller spaces, in ever bigger high-rise buildings in ever more crowded cities. But don't our children deserve better than that? Housing that is both affordable and desirable should be our goal.

To this end, we should add lowering immigration levels back to the pre-2000 levels of about 70,000 a year, and end our addiction to bigger populations. We should seek to stabilise our population as soon as practical.

If we do this, and end foreign ownership of Australian residential real estate, then housing which is both desirable and affordable, once again becomes achievable for all Australians.

It really is as simple as thinking better, not bigger.

Martin Tye, Broulee , NSW

R. S. Gilbert (Letters, April 13) thinks nimbies should know their place as temporary inhabitants of their community and should not be allowed a say in how their suburbs develop.

In 2003, nimbies in Narrabundah objected to the development of the Hungarian Club and won an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The developer then on-sold the land to Madison, which asked the community what it wanted.

Madison then came back with three options: they could have built 74 units but came back with 31 townhouses. The community was gobsmacked.

A quality development was built and all parties were happy.

Madison profited and the suburb got a quality development.

Resident groups want a say in what is happening, which is something Gilbert objects to.

As an apologist for the development lobby, Gilbert should encourage early community engagement so a win-win outcome is achieved.

Who wants conflict, expensive legal fees and delays when sensible negotiation can prevail?

I tend to think that Gilbert would prefer the revolting temporary peasants be silenced.

Austin Lynch, Narrabundah

The ACT government has reached out to the community for help in developing an action plan to save the vulnerable scarlet robin from extinction.

At the same time, it is proposing to destroy habitat for the scarlet robin by building a new suburb in Tuggeranong, near Murrumbidgee River.

Little wonder people are scratching their heads about what the ACT government is trying to achieve.

One week it's proposing to destroy habitat for the scarlet robin with a new Tuggeranong suburb, and then the next week it's calling for protection of habitat because the birds might become extinct.

I have been bird watching in the area proposed for the new suburb of Thompson for the past five years and this is a stronghold for the scarlet robin.

If you want to protect this iconic species and save it from local extinction, you don't build in this location.

In the words of the ACT conservator for flora and fauna, Dr Annie Lane: "The main threat to the scarlet robin is the loss of its open forest and woodland foraging and breeding habitat."

Matthew Frawley, Kambah

It is somewhat ironic to read in The Canberra Times this morning ("Fluffy blocks go under the hammer as new phase begins", April 13, p 1 ) the quote from Planning Minister Mick Gentleman that, "the first auction was a significant milestone, marking the final phase of the government's response to Mr Fluffy".

To call this a final phase holds no satisfaction when an inquiry into why the Mr Fluffy debacle happened in the first place seems unlikely to eventuate. The solution to the problem of asbestos insulation in roofs by demolishing all the affected homes was surely a decision of enormous magnitude.

One would think this was reason enough for an inquiry into why this stuff entered our roof space in the first place.

M. McConnell, Giralang

They're at it again ("Top public servants want FOI reform to conceal frank advice", April 12, p1)! But the self-serving comments from the usual suspects might have more credibility if supported by some frank and fearless evidence, such as numbers andexamples of deliberative documents released under FOI that failed Martin Parkinson's test for good policy design.

Peter Shergold's reported views might too, if there were any evidence at all that fear ofexposure under FOI had aneffect on the pink batts scheme, rather than the factors identified in the several investigative reports on the scheme.

It's probably too much to hope that they will shut up, but at least they could try to put up.

W. Blick, Fadden

It is Theodore Dalrymple ("Muddled thinking on jailing", Times2, April 12, p1) who is confused about sentencing, rather than the president of the Australian Bar Council.

I can't say I follow his reasoning at all – fancy suggesting someone should have the prospect that they may have offended and gone uncaught before as a principle in sentencing? To all proponents of mandatory sentencing, I say they should sit in the public gallery of a sentencing court for a day andjust see what happens.

The variables to be taken into account are infinite, and the seriousness of the crime – theft of Fanta and Minties, which was the example used byMr Dalrymple – is at the endof the scale.

Aboriginal incarceration isso high because of complex socio-economic reasons and mandatory sentencing legislation introduced by somestates.

Jennifer Saunders, Canberra City

Theodore Dalrymple claims that the high incarceration rate of Aboriginals does not prove the existence of discrimination. He then suggests that only the "rate of incarceration per crime ... is important in deciding whether there is discrimination against a particular group".

Dalrymple thus assumes that higher crime rates within a community are not generally evidence of discrimination. There are three (very obvious) reasons why this is wrong.

The first is that higher crime rates are often the result of inter-generational socio-economic disadvantage and cultural isolation, and that these factors are frequently associated with (if not constitutive of) discrimination and prejudice.

The second is that higher crime rates can be the result ofthe police targeting particular groups.

The third is that higher crime rates can be the result of laws that unfairly discriminate against specific groups (such as mandatory sentencing laws which target crimes that are often the result of poverty and/or homelessness).

Although a high rate of incarceration may not provethe existence of discrimination, it can be evidence of discrimination.

Stipulating that we should pay attention to only the rate ofincarceration per crime iseither itself the result of muddled thinking or simply bad faith.

Ben Freeman, Reid

The Postcard Bandit, Brenden Abbott, is released from jail inQueensland and is immediately arrested by officers from Western Australia to face charges there. If there had been no state system, then he could have faced all the charges for his crimes at one sitting.

But the states jealously guard their power base, so we have the ludicrous farce of the police wasting time and money.

Extradition? What a joke!

The big mistake at Federation was not abolishing the states. They were already outdated and had served their purpose at this time.

Today we see this inefficient insanity demonstrated in cases like this, the GST, the Murray-Darling Basin and others.

Ian Jannaway, Monash

Lindsay Murdoch's article, "Military's iron grip tightens" (April 9, p12), misrepresents the situation in Thailand.

The Thai government respects freedom of expression and believes itisabasic foundation of a democratic society, but it is obliged to strike a balance between freedom of expression and the interests of society.

Only minimal and necessary limitations on media and social platforms are put in place to maintain public order and prevent social divisiveness.

The powers given to arrest and detain issued by the National Council for Peace andOrder authorised military officers from the rank of sub-lieutenant and above to act as crime suppression officers. The purpose of this order is toenable military officers to render their assistance to police officers in an effort to suppress organised crime. Itaims to neither stifle nor intimidate dissenting voices.

Defendants in such cases go through the normal judicial process, with police as the main investigator. Their trials are conducted in civilian courts. This order does not deprive the rights of the defendants to file complaints against military officers who have abused theirpower.

The order is in line with the government's overall policy to crack down on any influential figures involved in organised crime to bring order to society. Thailand is fully committed to move forward according to thethree-phase road map (reconciliation, reform, elections).

We are currently in phase two, and the focus now is to undertake comprehensive reform and lay a solid foundation to achieve people-centred and sustainable development.

A new draft constitution will be put to areferendum on August 7, which will pave the way for general elections in 2017.

Chirachai Punkrasin, Thai Ambassador, Yarralumla

Is the use of correct grammar arelic of the past? On TV on Thursday morning I variously heard: "There is some major issues", "What has been some of the sweetest moments for you?" (in an interview with Michelle Paine), and "There appears to be no suspicious circumstances in David Gest's death".

How can we NAPLAN test our children on the use of correct grammar when they don't hear it in the media?

Michele Quirk, Wanniassa

AN APT ACRONYM

Was Richard Griffith nervous mentioning "at this point in time" on three occasions in his quoted comments ("Uncertainty over government funding of Giants", April 11, p5)? If so, the acronym of the term ("atpit") also was appropriate about Manuka Green.

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

NAVY CAKE, ANYONE?

It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the navy needs to hold a million cake stalls to pay for a new submarine.

Tony Weir, Melba (with apologies to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom)

SMOKE RUINING THE DAY

Does the burn-off program around Canberra really need to be so intense that it has ruined what would otherwise have been a succession of beautiful autumn days?

Brian Smith, Conder

FOODSWITCH H-APPY

I want to commend the free phone app FoodSwitch for its support to coeliac and gluten-free individuals in discovering the safety or otherwise of many bar-coded food products.

Try it!

Jenny Grierson, Yarralumla

BIDGEE SCENIC GEM

If more people went down to "Bidgee below Hyperdome", there would be more opposition to its excision from the "corridor" , as it is a scenic gem.

Stuart J. McIntosh, Isabella Plains

ANTI-ABORTION INVITE

Jeff Popplewood (Letters, April 12) says he is yet to meet an animal liberationist who does not support abortion. Where would he like to meet?

Chris Williams, Griffith

CURSING IN WHYALLA

Mark Kenny is a good analyser of news reports. In "Whyalla in danger of being wiped off the map" (April 8, p5), he wrote that the city "appears to be entering the economic twilight zone, the pre-curser stage of being 'wiped off the map' ". I thought at first he meant "precursor" (forerunner), but no doubt there will be plenty of cursing when Whyalla disappears, so perhaps it was a brilliant pun, not a mistake.

Michael Travis, Bruce

BOTCHED OPERATION

Child Abduction Recovery International has been named as the firm behind the botched operation to recover two children in Beirut. CARI is run by an ex-Australian soldier, and it employs an ex-ADF general as an adviser. It does make one wonder about the ethics of Australian military personnel when they leave the Defence Force.

Rhys Stanley, via Hall, NSW

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.

Keep your letter to 250 words or less. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).