Paying $62 to hear Kristian Winther’s Bach in Canberra is less than Sydneysiders will pay to hear Nigel Kennedy’s ($169; $99 to sit up the back) or Yo-Yo Ma’s (for which a seat up the front will set you back $349).

And we think Winther’s Bach really does stack up against the best. At the festival, every seat in the hall is the same price and, if you are under 30 – I make no assumptions, Ian! – then every concert in the main program is available for $30. Still, we know not everyone can afford a ticket, and so there are some concerts where we do throw open the doors. The sunset performances in the James Turrell Skyspace at the NGA are free and not to be missed.

Without parting with a penny, you can meet the Penny Quartet, one of Australia’s most exciting young string quartets, in a recital in the gallery’s Fairfax Theatre. A gold coin donation, meanwhile, will buy you admission to a masterclass with Russian pianist Vyacheslav Gryaznov, or the French string quartet Quatuor Voce. We would love to see you there.

Alex Raupach, Canberra International Music Festival general manager

Ian Warden and I are of the same age and we probably came to Canberra around the same time.

Back then his scribblings were witty, but now, as with those of us striving to stave off age-induced irrelevance, his whinging has become a bit tiresome (John Hutchison, Letters, December 9). I suspect though that he is just a wicked tease. How could this not be so when he once lauded the unique beauty of Canberra as the bush capital, but now derides those who do not want it to replicate every other choked and bloated city

A. Whiddett, Forrest

John Hutchinson’s sentiments regarding Ian Warden becoming an embarrassment (Letters, December 9) were amply demonstrated in Warden’s column on the following page in the piece titled ‘‘New NIMBY Form’’, which forced other descriptors, such as irrelevancy, to spring to mind.

Sean Allan, Kambah

Julie Hanfield (Letters, December 9) tells us that she has structured her retirement finances to avoid reliance on government handouts. While she has saved enough to avoid the age pension, she is accessing the government handout called the dividend imputation credits cash-out. A tax loophole created in 2006, with no equivalent in the Australian tax system, or elsewhere in the world.

Everybody understands that Julie, and others in her situation, will not be as well off if this loophole is closed, but what we would like to know is why it should exist, and why Julie should be better off than retirees with the same income but from non-dividend sources. The principle seems to be a belief that individuals should be able to un-tax companies, or that without this loophole the untaxed profits of companies somehow ended up in people’s bank accounts. If earnings of self-funded retirees are too low to live off, then seek a raise in the cut-off for the age pension.

For context, to avoid the age pension, that tax-free income is more than twice the full pension, and more than 80 per cent of average wages after tax. The cash-out loophole creates an artificial income that is at least 20 per cent above average wages after tax.

Julie claims that politicians and public servants will be exempt from this policy. Perhaps what she means is that ordinary taxpayers, including politicians and public servants, can’t access the loophole so will be no worse off.

Peter Bradbury, Holt

The ACT government’s poor track record with planning and development issues does not bode well for its new planning strategy. I think the new strategy should include preservation of all open areas (since if it is developed the community never recovers the amenity of open area for walking, views, etc) and allowing infill on all existing residential leases.

Furthermore, all new residential development should be required to formally and in practice meet rigorous standards – protecting, for example, sunlight, privacy, the environment and construction standards. However I expect that, under the current government, powerful groups and organisations, such as developers, the construction industry and clubs will continue to get their way and the result will be that most infill will be via medium to high-rise unit complexes.

What we need is a government (and Assembly) that is willing to show leadership, imagination, rigour and actually ‘‘promote equitable and efficient use of land and greatest community benefit’’ (which the government is claiming it is intending).

Bruce Paine, Red Hill

While the Morrison governments formal recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is to be applauded, why not take the final step now and move our embassy to West Jerusalem. If, as the PM said ‘‘Foreign policy must speak of our character and values’’ Why kick the can down the road? A peace settlement and two state solution are still a long way off. Cement our relationship, and evidence our support for the only true democracy in the Middle East by moving the embassy now.

Owen Reid, Dunlop