Canberra Times Letters to the Editor: Fine-tuning of bicycle helmet design would help improve them

In 2010 I had an accident with another bike rider on a shared path in what would normally have been regarded as a minor incident. Unfortunately though, the "collision" resulted in me sustaining a severe spinal injury causing permanent paralysis from below my neck (C5/6 quadriplegia).

My helmet had brushed up against the other rider and had got caught up in an item of clothing or a section of his bike. The action of the helmet being suddenly jerked backwards forced the chin strap to instantly and violently pressurise my neck thus causing the catastrophic injury.

I'm not advocating the wearing or otherwise of bicycle helmets, only that some greater thought might be put into their actual design with particular emphasis being placed on making them much more difficult to be caught up in external objects.

Lud Kerec, Forde

As a regular driver in western Europe I note David Campbell's letter (March 5) on road preferences in Amsterdam.

The regulations he described making Dutch drivers responsible for other people's behaviour and other excessive regulations (a bus transfer between a wharf in Amsterdam and a hotel was almost two kilometres for a point to point journey of 300 metres) has resulted in Dutch drivers being the worst in Europe.

They are simply unable to deal with any situation where there is no instruction on what they should do; country roads with no centre lines are beyond them.

I have no problems with mountain passes, swarms of motorcycles in Barcelona's peak period, the Paris Peripherique, German autobahns (at 200km/h-plus), Italian autostradas, eastern European trucks or cyclists elsewhere but the sight of a yellow, ie Dutch, number plate anywhere in Europe raises a fear factor.

Giving an absolute unnatural preference to any road user leads to problems when that right is exercised without thought, it is dumb to blame the innocent.

In France pedestrians catch the eye of an approaching driver before stepping on to a crossing which means that their priority is by mutual action (toujours la politesse).

They would not dream of riding a bicycle or running on a crossing; cyclists do not deliberately impede other traffic and other traffic gives them space; trucks keep to the two side lanes; merging zip fashion is the norm.

We need thinking road users not regulated out of our minds.

Michael Lane, St Ives, NSW

The sneaking feeling that Canberra is becoming less and less the "Bush Capital" was underlined, for me, on the weekend when I parked outside my old Mr Fluffy house in Lyons.

The almost completed duplex that replaces my bungalow takes up about 85per cent of the block.

The remaining 15 per cent will be taken up by a concrete driveway and paving.

There will be no space for grass, shrubs, or trees on the site. The birds and insects for whom this land was habitat will be homeless. The lawn where the magpies foraged for grubs is gone.

The massive grevillea that provided shelter for the blue wrens was bulldozed. The loquat tree that fed the currawongs (and a fruit bat) is no more. Every drop of water that falls on this block will run off the hard surfaces into the drain.

When multiplied by the 1000 other Mr Fluffy houses and the innumerable knock-down/rebuilds in the inner suburbs the effect is massive.

There is less shade, fewer birds, more stormwater, and the urban heat island effect is exacerbated.

I applaud the ACT government's efforts on renewable energy but it is presiding over a transformation that is making Canberra a less green city.

Mike Reddy, Curtin

In his article "ACT clubs do the hard yards to fund sport", (canberratimes.com.au, February 28) Gwyn Rees' claim that clubs in the ACT maintain 20 bowling greens is now out of date.

The number has been reduced by 15 per cent. Canberra City Bowling Club, founded 90 years ago by, among others, Canberra Times founding editor Arthur Shakespeare, is no more.

As reported some months ago in The Canberra Times, the management of The Ainslie Group, who promised the bowlers of Canberra City new facilities at Gungahlin when they sold the greens and clubhouse at Braddon, subsequently decided that it would be "too risky" to spend money on facilities that were not certain of making a profit. The "too risky" label apparently also extends to the recommendations of a study the same management commissioned which suggested the need for flood-mitigation work at Gungahlin.

Mr Rees should revise his list of member clubs (now one less) and his views on his member clubs' support of sport.

J. Howard, Cook

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee is speaking openly in terms of, "information to form a view on the treatment's cost-effectiveness". ("Drug for cruel disease is millions of dollars out of reach", March 5, pp2-3). As heartless as this perspective might seem when applied to a child nearing his third birthday, it is inevitable within a state-run medical service.

It would be irresponsible not to assess the wisdom of perpetuating the genes responsible for spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease, with a drug which "would cost at least $1 million just for initial treatment".

Heart-rending "me too" appeals for life-saving money for various conditions seem to be arising almost weekly.

The well must run dry eventually.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor, ACT

The Kingston Foreshore development gobbled a chunk of Lake Burley Griffin via land reclamation to create a near useless boat harbour and a previously non-existent island now covered in multistorey apartment buildings — a nice little earner.

The West Basin development proposal will reclaim a further 2.1 hectares of our lake.

This newly created patch of dirt will also be given over to developers. Where does it stop?

The boardwalk along the new shoreline will sit over the water, presumably so as not to reduce the prime development acreage.

The park area designated for public recreation is but a small fraction of the overall basin area. I fully support the proposal to put Lake Burley Griffin on the heritage list and urge the NCA to get behind this important initiative.

Heather Stewart, Weston

On Monday (March 5), the ABC's Four Corners program conducted a "Cook's tour" through the already known effects of climate change on many aspects of our living on this continent.

An expert from the Bureau of Meteorology pointed out that temperatures have been rising and heat records are being set more often than ever since the mid-20th century.

A farmer from near Braidwood who has weather records dating back to the 1890s, said that the weather had become more erratic since then, and average temperatures have risen about 2 degrees.

Cherry farmers and grape growers have seen harvest times arrive earlier and earlier. In one South Australian vineyard, for example, grape harvest is a month earlier than it was 34 years ago.

Businesses are being advised by organisations such as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Reserve Bank that they must take climate-change risk into account to fulfil their responsibility to their shareholders – and to themselves.

Rising sea levels, another facet of climate change, caused the spectacular beach erosion and loss of houses at Collaroy and Narrabeen in June 2016.

This is having an effect on real estate values and on insurance premiums.

Heatwaves have become more frequent, intense, and longer lasting, especially in the last 40 years, with dire health consequences for the very young and the elderly and/or frail.

According to firefighters, bushfires are appearing earlier and becoming more intense – so much so that the new fire risk category of "catastrophic" had to be added.

We and our politicians all need to take climate change seriously.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

On Radio National recently there was an excited hubbub about Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium (ours not excepted). But some obvious questions were not asked.

What is happening in Trump's business empire right now? In particular, is he building any more hotels?

Yes, he is, so has he finalised all arrangements and contracts regarding the structures of these hotels?

And where did the steel for these structures come from?

In very recent times he opened a shiny new hotel in Washington DC. The structure of the building was made of cheap Chinese steel.

Like any devotee of market economics who will prevent competition whenever he can, Donald Trump knows that he doesn't need any rival hotelier doing the same. Especially when he himself has more hotels on the way.

So he makes sure that other people's hotels (in America, at least) will be much more expensive than Trump hotels to build, therefore much more expensive than Trump hotels to stay in.

He got his, and now he has to make sure that no one else will get theirs.

G.T.W. Agnew, Coopers Plains, Qld

I am puzzled at the way people are suddenly becoming concerned by the possible effects the ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) mechanism of the TPP might have on Australia's law-making ability ("TPP deal may expose legal risks", March 5, p20).

Your article was one of a number I have seen recently, after dead silence on this problem from Steve Ciobo and the other proponents of the agreement.

I remember attending a public lecture given by Professor Thomas Faunce, of the ANU College of Law, some time in the early 2000s (possibly 2004), when he pointed out how this section would allow corporations to sue governments who enacted laws for the benefit of their citizens which interfered with, or had the potential of interfering with the profit-making ability of the corporation, and not in a normal court of law, but a shadowy tribunal comprising "arbitrators hired for that case only" (Washington Post, Monkey Cage, Oct. 6, 2015).

But it does not provide for governments to sue the corporations. Interesting.

Margaret Lee, Hawker

I write regarding numerous recent reports about deficient franchise employment practices, particularly in relation to Caltex and Retail Food Group.

The retail sector is the second-biggest employer in the country but when hundreds more food, coffee and fuel outlets are found to be underpaying and mistreating vulnerable workers, why is the federal Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Michaelia Cash, strangely silent?

("Franchise failure fix urgent as staff suffer", canberratimes.com.au, March 5)?

While the Fair Work Ombudsman continues to expose and condemn systemic breaching of workplace laws across several major industry sectors surely the minister should be directing her energy, anger and criticism at the many employers, franchisors and franchisees whose endemic underpayment of staff, poor payroll record keeping and other fraudulent employment practices are a national disgrace.

Sue Dyer, Downer

Who selected the photographs to accompany the article by Michael Idato on the Oscars? (March 6, p4-5).

Where are the actual winners of best male and female actor?

Can you imagine such an article on medal winners in the Olympics? No photos of the winners, just of other competitors in tight lycra clothing.

This shows why women still have a very long way to go before they can expect to be treated as equals in the workplace.

Congratulations to Frances McDormand and Gary Oldman, the latter who only gets a brief mention. I'm sorry you are not sexy enough to be shown.

Elizabeth Chisholm, Red Hill.

While politicians continue to argue about climate change and what to do about it, if anything, it was interesting to see on Four Corners (March 5) that farmers and the insurance industry accept the climate is changing and are endeavouring to adjust to these new climatic patterns.

Gay von Ess, Aranda

SOLD? PROBABLY NOT

The item, "South Jerrabomberra formerly South Tralee 'reset' sees dwellings scaled back" (canberratimes.com.au, March 6) refers to blocks of land having been sold before the development applications for Stages 1 and 2 had been approved. This suggests that, at the time of sale, the developer did not have the right to subdivide the land. Legally, therefore, parts of the land involved could not be sold. Expressions of interest could be made and a deposit paid to demonstrate good faith but surely it is incorrect to refer to the land as having been "sold". This is common parlance but is misleading.

Robyn Coghlan, Hawker

CLEAVAGE WINS

Oscars 2018: A clear victory of cleavage against sexism.

Richard Manderson, Narrabundah

CULINARY BIASES

Ronald Elliot (Letters, March 6) should be careful of his ethnic culinary biases. Both Charlotte's Web, and the film Babe, depend for their dramatic tension on the human monopoly over the lives and death of characters evading fulfilling their potential as pork and bacon. "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

Peter Curtis, Waramanga

TRUMP SPOT ON

Donald Trump is correct in implying that some countries have become rich by selling goods to America, at America's expense.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield, Vic

NO MANDATE FOR TRAMS

There was no mandate for the light rail, neither on the Gunghalin nor Woden route. With the election results tied between Labor and Liberal, and Shane Rattenbury, the only Green MLA, holding the balance of power, Katy Gallagher gave into him and the light rail to retain her job as Chief Minister. She then went on to greener pastures.

Mary Robbie, Aranda

BAD READ ON PRESIDENT

Given Turnbull can't read Australian politics; why would putting on a bow tie and lionising Trump help him read Trump on tariffs?

Jeff Bradley, Isaacs

JOYCE SHOULD PIPE DOWN

Barnaby's right. The baby question is nobody's business. So why does he keep talking about it? He's now thrown his yes/no/maybe partner under a moral bus, not to overlook the as yet unborn child.

Keith Hill, Kaleen

ENOUGH, PLEASE

What was Barnaby Joyce thinking when he publicly questioned the paternity of his partner, Vikki Campion's, unborn child. The last thing this lady needs right now is a wave of speculation over whom she was sleeping with and when.

M. Moore, Bonython

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