Canberra Times Letters to the Editor: Chickens lacking head

The position adopted by our national, state and territory political leaders is clearly one of do as I say, not as I do.

Examples of corruption, rorting and dodgy deals by politicians are fed up to us on a daily basis, and clearly, as the recent actions by the ACT Chief Minister highlighted, our politicians do not appreciate this level of scrutiny from the fourth estate.

We can only wonder what impression is left on school groups when they visit Parliament.

Is the conduct that the students (and we) witness in Parliament to be considered acceptable behaviour by the students when they return to their classroom?

If so, it's not very hard to work out how we reached where we are now.

Meanwhile, as politicians exhort business and government agencies to practise greater efficiency we are treated to such Byzantine processes in Parliament as divisions to count contested votes by voice.

Best practice elsewhere has votes being registered by an instant electronic process, allowing the people's representatives to quickly (efficiently) move on to the next item of business.

The Australian cricket team's travails and the associated dent to our national pride suggest there's probably no better time for some leadership by example from those whose job it is to provide it. Otherwise, like the "leadership group" of the Australian men's cricket team they might consider alternative employment.

Ian Pearson, Barton

If you want a role model for bullying, just watch question time in Parliament House.

Susan MacDougall, Scullin

Steve Smith has not shown the self-discipline to put the game of cricket ahead of immediate results.

He is not fit to lead the Australian team, and may never be.

He can't even see that his actions reveal the primacy of personal self-indulgence; just what we do not need in our leaders.

However, he has admitted he did wrong, and shown remorse. This is more than Roman Quaedvlieg can do.

In fact, this is more than any of our political, security or business leaders can do.

Smith may not have what it takes to lead our cricket team, but he has more of it than the people who actually shape our destiny.

S. W. Davey, Torrens

So, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Australian cricket team ball tampering scandal is a "shocking disappointment" and he wants the game's governing body to take "decisive action" against the cheaters ("PM Turnbull wants 'decisive action' against Aussie cricket cheats", canberratimes.com.au, March26).

Mr Turnbull is clearly perplexed as to where the "leadership group" of our nation's pre-eminent sporting team acquired its "win at all costs" values.

We can only hope that the electorate will enlighten him at the earliest opportunity.

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

For the edification of some of our politicians and some commentators the following hypothetical example is submitted: Two 70 year olds each own 50 per cent of a company. One holds it in his superannuation fund and his investment was made from funds on which he only paid 15 per cent tax. The other doesn't have superannuation and his investment was made from money collected after full marginal rate of taxation. The company has a profit after all deductions of $200,000 before tax and pays the company tax at 30 per cent, i.e. $60,000.

All the remaining profit is distributed to the two owners, each receiving $70,000.

On doing their tax the superannuant who doesn't pay tax and therefore gets to keep his $70,000 and also receives his share of the tax imputation back from the Tax Office, i.e. $30,000. He has retained $100,000, i.e. all of his share of the profit.

The non-superannuant also has an income $100,000 on which tax payable is ($19,822 + 37 per cent of $13,000) $24,632. He receives a refund from his $30,000 imputation tax of $5368. Total income $75,368.

Under the ALP proposed tax amendment the superannuant would only get $70,000 and the non-superannuant $75,368. (Good they have been getting away with it for too long.)

The imputation system is not the problem. The problem is the non-taxing of superannuation.

It has been going on for 11 years.

And is the main cause of our deficits.

At the moment superannuant = leaner, non-superannuant = lifter.

Max Jensen, Chifley

The government's attempts to persuade us that huge company tax cuts will stimulate the economy are just another instance of the right's dedication to "trickle-down" economics.

Trouble is, "trickle-down" doesn't work.

Ever since Reagan and Thatcher, though, right-wing politicians have been wedded to this failed idea. It's politically convenient. It offers a kind of specious justification for rewarding your mates and punishing your enemies. I hope the Senate has the wit to see that there is no economics here, just political plotting.

Gordon Soames, Curtin

In July 1941, at one of the darkest points of World War II, British prime minister Winston Churchill told the Nazis: "You do your worst and we will do our best."

The immensely brave and self-sacrificing action of slain French Gendarmarie officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, who swapped places with a woman hostage, perfectly personifies Churchill's attitude. This attitude is the only proper and effective response to Islamo-fascism.

Dr Bill Anderson, Surrey Hills, Melbourne, Vic

I read about the City Gateway Proposal, which includes the intention to downgrade Northbourne Avenue from an arterial road to a two-lane pedestrian boulevard, but this appears to be without any consideration for the future transport needs of residents of North West Belconnen.

I recently FOI'd the traffic impact studies for the Ginderry development situated at the end of Ginninderra Drive.

The study concluded that the impact of the development on Ginninderra Drive would be an additional 10,000 car movements per day or four to five additional lanes of traffic. Ginninderra Drive currently connects North West Belconnen residents to the City via Mouat Street onto Northbourne Avenue.

There is also other development proposed on the CSIRO land bounded by the Barton Highway and Owen Dixon Drive estimated at 10,000 dwellings.

The impact of this development on traffic utilising Ginninderra Drive connecting to the city via Northbourne Avenue is unclear but presumably substantial.

Some questions arise: How are north-west Belconnen residents expected to get to Civic if their arterial road link Northbourne Avenue is downgraded?

Is light rail ever coming to the largest satellite city, which is growing 3.7 per cent from the last census?

Will the capacity of light rail (if it ever arrives) replace the lost capacity of the downgraded Northbourne Avenue? If not, why not?

It appears that the Gateway proposal is proceeding in isolation from the broader city wide impacts, and the scheduled consultation is currently aimed at the inner north only. Finally, does the Belconnen Community Council have a view? If so what is it?

Rohan Goyne, Evatt

Would Kevin Cox (Letters, March 27) consider the alarm clock as a hubristic technological solution to the human problem of waking up, or the calculator a hubristic technological solution to the human problem of erratic long division?

Shared electric autonomous cars are a technological approach to reducing pollution, road trauma, congestion, dominance of urban environments by roads and the cost of transport. Manually co-ordinated ride-sharing typically loses the battle against the human desire for flexibility and convenience: transport needs to satisfy a wide range of regular and varied requirements.

At the recent Geneva Motor Show, Renault joined the many other manufacturers announcing their autonomous future, unveiling their "EZ-GO" concept car as the model for their city-based shared door-to-door, 24x7, on-demand service.

Seating six in a U shape, the concept model provides walk or roll-in ramp entry. Renault will focus on encouraging shared trips by making passengers safe and comfortable.

The economics of such services have been modelled by many academic and industry analysts as a key reason they will rapidly displace traditional transport in cities such as Canberra: at around 20-35¢ per kilometre all up, costs are less than half those of private cars.

The most optimistic analysis of the Stage 1 tram business case shows it costing the community around $1 per passenger-kilometre travelled, and two-thirds of peak-hour travellers won't even get a seat.

Stage 1 is now a sunk cost, but digging an even deeper hole is pointless.

Kent Fitch, Nicholls

I must take issue with Pat Power and Rita Joseph (Letters, March 22), and Philip Robinson (Letters, March 26) who, whilst moralising about abortion, use words like "tiny new human", "infanticide" and "murder" to deliberately mischaracterise blastocysts as human beings.

A clump of cells that has been dividing for several weeks is no more a person than blueprints and planning approvals are a house. It has the potential to become a human but is indistinguishable from a cow, a chicken or a fish embryo at a similar stage of development. It isn't until 21 weeks that a human foetus has any chance of surviving outside the womb, even though that chance is effectively zero. Up until this point those cells can be regarded as belonging to the mother.

The endless campaign to restrict access to these unpleasant but necessary services results in women taking matters into their own hands, sometimes with devastating consequences. Abortion isn't a desirable thing, but we decided long ago that it's a woman's right to choose what happens to her own body, and no one should be forced to do anything against their will for nine months, least of all something involving such massive physiological stresses. What's next? Conscription? Slavery?

James Allan, Narrabundah

The article "Ticking time bomb", March 26, p2) about a young man with a life-threatening head injury being sent home from Calvary Emergency with no apparent assessment for that head injury is very concerning.

As a point of comparison, when my husband came off a bicycle at speed in France, his superficial injuries were quickly treated. He was then kept under observation overnight and given an X-ray and CT scan, even though he had been wearing a helmet (damaged in the accident) and, apart from an initial loss of consciousness, showed no signs of concussion or other head trauma.

On discharge we were given clear instructions on possible indicators to watch for.

That this young man was assessed as intoxicated is also worrying, given that according to the report he was first assessed five hours after he presented, and even if he had been drinking, he would probably have sobered up by then.

This young man's treatment is so different from my husband's experience in France three years ago, it is hard to accept that Calvary's actions in this case constitute good practice.

Nancy Olsson, Lyneham

Today I received in the mail a "Canberra Gold Award" dated March 14, 2018, and signed by Andrew Barr, "in recognition of 50 years in our community". I've lived in Canberra considerably longer than that, so how do I interpret this?

Does it mean that in the preceding years I was not a good citizen?

Are these awards being sent out randomly? Had it arrived in the correct year I probably would have been pretty chuffed, but under the circumstances it just looks like some pointless and badly administered PR activity.

Dave Rowell, O'Connor

How quickly we forget. Wasn't it only last July Putin expelled 755 US diplomats and technical staff from Russia?

M. Moore, Bonython

YOURS TO COMMAND

As the US military alliance countries join efforts to isolate Russia in preparation for the US-engineered World War III, Turnbull and Bishop tag along as we have all come to expect when the US and UK demand obedience from their historically sycophantic lapdog.

Rex Williams, Ainslie

TREAD CAREFULLY

The Coalition continually bangs on about a trickle-down economy. Trickle-down economy? Sounds like a broken septic system – and we all know what that's full of.

Martin Klavins, Crafers West, SA

RIGHT, NOT RIGHTEOUS

I'm sorry to read the letter about me by Laurene Edson (Letters, March 26) for being so self-righteous in my letter of March 21.

That letter was not about self-funded retirees crying poor (although most are by no means rich) but about highlighting the inequity of Mr Shorten's planned confiscation of imputation credits that rightfully belong to shareholders, declarable as income, taxed accordingly and refundable according to taxable income.

M. Flint, Erindale

CLUTCH YOUR PURSE

As an Australian grandmother, I must thank Kelly O'Dwyer, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, for her warning that Labor's proposed dividend imputation tax plan is "snatching at my handbag".

Kelly, I am alert but not alarmed.

Janet Cossart, Stirling

AND THE POINT IS?

Jenna Price has never been stopped at the airport for the explosive test and thinks this is because she is white. Well, this (older) white woman has been tested several times, more times than not; so now I almost resign myself to be tested, which is no great burden.

Most people who I see being tested are white, so what point is she making, except that she has never been tested?

Julie Macklin, Narrabundah

BEWARE THE A&E

How tragic that in this country our hospitals still don't have a clue about the basics ("Teen with brain bleed sent home by hospital", canberratimes.com.au, March 26). My friends are on notice not to send me to any ACT hospitals, ever.

I am considering a chest tattoo to this effect.

V. Lauf. Bungendore

WATCH UNDER

Thank you, John F. Simmons, for the parable on trickle-down economics (Letters, March 26).

It is profoundly simple to understand.

The government is selling company tax cuts claiming the trickle down will create more jobs and higher wages.

If successful, they will be trickling down on us from a great height.

David Groube, Guerilla Bay, NSW

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