In the ACT, many specialists do not have such arrangements with a health fund and charge more than twice the scheduled fee for operations. In some specialties, there is no doctor in the ACT with such an arrangement with a health fund, or with the health fund of a particular member.

In my experience, most people who are distressed when facing a large out-of-pocket charge for an operation in a private hospital wrongly blame the private health insurer, rather than the Commonwealth.

If the federal government wants to continue to put downward pressure on doctors' charges, it needs to find a way to protect health-fund members from price gouging. Otherwise, many will continue to opt for an operation in a public hospital, thus negating the policy of easing pressure on the public system.

David Weeden, Evatt

There is one simple reason for the unaffordability of private healthcare: "the gap" between how much the Commonwealth will pay of the consumer's bill and what the medical mercenaries charge, with no apparent limitation on their fees.

With its cartel practices, the AMA has done a good job to eliminate scrutiny of their over-the-top prices and has put the provision of health services well beyond the average family. They should be paid only what the market allows, as with all workers, and not a cent more.

Alan McNeil, Weetangera

Tax cheats

While I agree with the gist of Michael West's article "Transparency cure for tax evasion" (BusinessDay, November 12, p12), I cannot agree with the use of the word "avoidance" when applied to what the multinationals routinely do to reduce their tax bills. What they are doing when they charge their subsidiaries exorbitant rates for "loans", or charge them unreasonably high "management fees", or when they fiddle the prices of the goods and services they trade between head office and overseas branches, is lying to the tax man about the true nature of their business expenses.

If less powerful taxpayers were to do this, it would be seen – correctly – as the crime of tax evasion.

These powerful and extremely rich organisations are criminally depriving ordinary taxpayers of the infrastructure and services that their government would be able to provide if fair taxes were paid.

There would be no need to raise the GST if the multinationals paid their fair share.

John Walker, Queanbeyan, NSW

Little sympathy

So, the Family Office Institute's attempt to game the Senate into concealing the amount of tax paid by private companies with revenues of more than $100million a year has failed ("Senate repeals tax secrecy law after 'astroturf' revelations', canberra times.com.au, November 12).

Family Office Institute director Richard Gilbert said: "We are very disappointed with this outcome, which sends the wrong signal to free enterprise in Australia. It's clearly discriminating against one class of taxpayer over another."

Poor you, Richard, you downtrodden victim of government abuse.

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

Detention policy

It is amusing to see Immigration Minister Peter Dutton using the old tu quoque (you're another) reference to North Korean criticism. The many dictatorships who are legitimate members of the United Nations use the same approach.

The criticisms that should count come from the United States, Britain, Canada and Sweden, among other respected democracies. They should be taken seriously.

Trying to unload genuine refugees on much poorer countries because they arrived by boat is contrary to the UN Convention on Refugees. Detaining women and children for long periods is also contrary to at least two other UN conventions.

The latest fantasy is to use Tadjikistan where others have failed. It is a neighbour of Afghanistan with serious problems and a DFAT travel warning against it.

The mandatory detention policy needs very serious revision.

James Jupp, Hughes

Constitution gaps

It is quite extraordinary that in all the discussion of the dismissal of the Whitlam government by governor-general Sir John Kerr the question of our constitution has not been broached. How is it possible that constitutional lawyers do not agree whether the actions of the governor-general were legal or not? The answer is, of course, that our constitution is deficient. It does not contain any of the regulations that are normal in a constitution.

How is it possible that the rights and duties of the prime minister and the governor-general are not specified in the constitution? How is it possible that freedom of speech is not mentioned in our constitution? How is it possible that the judges of the High Court have to perform verbal acrobatics about an "implied freedom of speech"? Are we so indolent that discussing the very basis of our political life is deemed "too difficult", or even "unimportant"?

Peter Hill, Broulee, NSW

Myths of war

Gary Kent and Ken McPhan (Letters, November 12) stated popular misconceptions about Australia's war involvements.

Kent said "our servicemen and women ... left our shores to fight foreign aggressors". That was true for the war against the Japanese. In most wars, Australian servicemen and women were themselves foreign aggressors.

McPhan claimed "the first belligerents in the frontier wars", many of whom were Aboriginals, "were most likely not born in Australia."

Leon Arundell, Downer

Heritage restraints

Michael Pascoe's article "Heritage tsars blocking progress" (BusinessDay, November 4, p13) perfectly highlights the discrimination faced by those of us who own residential properties classified by ACT Heritage. The article correctly alerts to the fact that the unaccountable faceless bureaucrats behind heritage take it upon themselves to list the cheap box, period type of dwellings which fail today's standards of structural integrity, energy efficiency, health and safety and land use. This results in the owner being burdened with the cost of maintaining an out-of-date product and heavily restricted in his or her ability to add to or improve the dwelling.

If zoned residential, and thereby a private residence, why do we have to endure such restrictive antiquated guidelines? Why are we unable to create a family home to be enjoyed now and into the future?

These are people's homes not public buildings and yet there is no obligation for compensation for the economic drawback for choosing to live in the area.

Rates are levied on 100per cent of the value of the land and yet, at best, we are allowed to use only 30per cent of the area.

Today's building standards, specifications and quality of materials can recreate the look of what exists and would ensure a product lasting for another 100 years, but to save existing facades that are of such poor quality just for the sake of saving defies any aesthetic and economic logic.

Alf Alfano, Braddon

Light rail folly

I don't know whether to laugh or cry over the Transport for Canberra document put out by the ACT government recently. It's full of utopian assumptions and political spin.

Simon Corbell and his ilk seem to think that using politically correct language can obscure the folly of the light-rail project. For example, he claims that the document is guided by six principles, which all sound pretty good. The first, that transport should be integrated with land use planning, is a no-brainer but is undermined by the practice of developing new housing at the edges of Canberra, rather than use some of the empty land around Woden, Fyshwick and what is now the arboretum.

Stop land banking. The second is the Life Be In It notion of walking or riding to work and school. This utopian notion has been used by consecutive governments over many years to underresource schools in terms of car-parking facilities. Wanniassa Hills Primary School is a good example of this. The fact is that ACT Labor sold Canberra out to gain office. They should be tossed out of office for being poor negotiators, short-sighted and self-serving politicians, and for getting their priorities screwed up.

Bob Howden, Kambah

Housing costs

Rhys Stanley (Letters, November 11) rightly points out that "cashed-up" foreign buyers eagerly entering the ACT residential land market are substantially depleting housing affordability for local hopefuls.

Excited real estate agents reported recently that high numbers of foreign buyers, in Lawson and other suburbs, were enthusiastic bidders who paid mostly in cash. This trend has had and will continue to have a negative impact on housing affordability and must be discouraged by the ACT government.

To make matters worse, Canberra ratepayers are now subsidising these purchases by paying higher rates (around 42per cent) to meet the government's objective of reducing stamp duty. The redistribution of the revenue base surely was not designed to benefit wealthy foreign investors pushing up land prices to the detriment of ACT buyers. The government needs to redress this by increasing the rate of stamp duty to an additional 50per cent for foreign investors and to insert into the Crown lease that foreign owners must occupy and not sell the property for five years.

John Malouf, Hawker

LEADING QUESTIONS GUIDE

The "book" used to design the poll questions on the tram ("Tram polling done by book, company says", November 12, p6) must be that one on "How to Do the Very Best Leading Questions", given the good example about the Northbourne Avenue trees.

Marguerite Castello, Griffith

WATER REWARDS

Sorry Kevin Cox (Letters, November 11); water rewards sound like a good idea, but Icon will not separately meter water use in the many and increasing high-rise apartment buildings.

Patrick Ryan, Turner

M-RATED MISTAKE

For the life of me, I cannot begin to fathom why the Australian Communications and Media Authority thinks that exposing kids to more violence, sex, and swearing on TV ("M-rated TV content from 7.30pm", November 11,p2) better serves the interests of children.

Gordon Fyfe, Kambah

FLAW IN ARGUMENT

Ken McPhan (Letters, November 12) suggests the Australian War Memorial doesn't commemorate pre-federation wars because they involved colonial, rather than Australian, forces. Actually, the Sudan (1885) is an example of a pre-federation war covered by the memorial. It involved a NSW colonial contingent.

Frank Marris, Forrest

NAPOLEONIC HABIT

Nice cartoon of Turnbull as Napoleon by David Pope (Times2, November 12, p1). However, Napoleon habitually kept his right hand stuffed in his waistcoat, not his left.

George Beaton, Greenway

RAISING GST RISKY

The European experience does not suggest higher consumption taxes help economic growth. Raising our GST may very well hurt Australia's economy long-term.

Linda Vij, Mascot, 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).