What?! How are Watson residents going to benefit? More traffic, less available parking at the shops, more ugly units in the suburb.

Infrastructure is defined as "the fundamental facilities and systems serving an area such as transportation, communications, power and schools".

I can't imagine that the Morris property group is going to provide this. So, Mr Reid – please explain.

Peter Cullen, Watson

Annabel Crabb ("Guys with a few things in common", November 13) says Donald Trump wants to "deport a whole class of immigrants."

Annabel shows that she still doesn't get it, and that she is part of the problem.

The people Donald Trump wants to deport are not immigrants. They are people who illegally entered the US or entered legally but did not depart when their visa expired.

All countries have immigration laws for a reason, to protect the people who are in the country legally. If you have no immigration laws, you don't have a country, you are asking to be overrun by anyone who wants to come in and take over.

Certainly, some of those there illegally are nice people, but many are criminals, some violent criminals. All of them have broken US law in at least one way.

Some of them may have voted in the election.

There is a balance between "a diverse population" and a free-for-all where others decide the make-up and morals of the country in which you live.

Annabel is a very smart lady, but she is also a whiner who loves to tear down her opponents by using ridiculous arguments.

Alan Gray, Jerrabomberra

One does not need to be a town planner, architect or lawyer to see from the photo that a dump with stinking mounds of garbage four to five metres high within about two metres of a paved footpath in the middle of a light industry area is worse than idiotic ("Firms rubbish 'hazardous' tip", November 13, p6).

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

In response to ACT residents (M.Silex et al, Letters, November 13) who are voicing concerns at the financial and social effectiveness of the Gungahlin Light Rail project, well it appears that it's too late.

The cards have already been dealt with ACT residents recently re-electing the ACT government, fully aware that re-election would confirm the proposed construction of the light rail project.

Furthermore, ACT residents were also aware that provision was made by the government for ACT residents to be liable for the funding of any financial shortfall in the construction and running costs of the project by way of additional charges to residential rates or an increased budget deficit.

The big issue now is for residents to demand the ACT government provide accountability on the financials of the light rail project by reporting to media in a timely – say, six monthly – fashion via an Auditor-General-approved cashflow statement detailing running revenues and costs of the project and any net amount residents may be required to pay and how?

A government that would not willingly provide such information would be subject to an absolute avalanche of justified criticism if ACT residents were committed to making the ACT government totally accountable for its actions.

Wayne Grant, Swinger Hill

What M.Silex fails to understand is that the Greens (and their Labor friends) can't afford to let facts get in the way of a good ideology.

Public transport good, private bad. That's all you need to know.

The best part of this folly (apart from the cost) will be the seamless building of it. Think Constitution Avenue "upgrade".

Maria Greene, Curtin

Surveys indicate declining levels of satisfaction with health insurers and 10 per cent of policy holders planning to leave in the next 12months ("Health insurance on the nose", November 13).

This indicates a growing tendency to "the getting of wisdom" regarding healthcare! What "reasonable person", AKA "the man on the Clapham omnibus", in these straitened times, with purchasing power going backwards, wages diminishing, employment precarious and austerity a virtue, would voluntarily recruit an agency to duplicate a service already provided via the Medicare levy?

Otto von Bismarck, perceiving the wisdom of nationalised health, introduced bills to provide services over 1883-89. England, too, calculated the benefits of a socialised system.

Whitlam introduced Medibank in 1975, which was immediately white-anted by private funds.

As part of the "social wage", Bob Hawke reintroduced Medibank, as Medicare.

In the late '90s, health fund members were demonstrating worrying disaffection with their usefulness, and abandoning premiums. Howard instituted a 30 per cent rebate rescue initiative, now costing $6billion annually. This, combined with a tax penalty on uninsured citizens, stemmed the exodus, now it appears, temporarily.

A considered state and federal policy of slowly starving public health funding pressures people to use private services and jump the (artificially created) queue for public treatment.

WHO constitution enshrines: "The highest standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being." Importantly, this statement presumes equity of access, regardless of wealth!

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan

It is sad Ross Kingham (Letters, November 13) had such a hard time connecting to the NBN.

I had a completely different experience. I applied online for NBN fibre to the node and was told it would be installed in two to three weeks. Four days later, the Telstra TV box arrived in the mail and I had it running in an hour.

Two weeks later, Telstra tech "Steve" called to say he would come to install the new modem in an hour. That took about an hour, and less than a week later, NBN changed me over and I was running at 100 Mbps.

A speed test shows downspeed 93.87 Mbps and upspeed 37.95 Mbps. I'm stoked! Thank you Telstra and NBN.

Alan Gray, Jerrabomberra

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