Canberra Times Letters to the Editor: Insulting the messenger

Of course, Pezzullo has a vested interest in pretending that all is well on Manus Island.

Keogh and McKenna, on the other hand, have no vested interest. They are motivated only by concern for a group of innocent men who have been locked up without charge for over four years.

They have made huge financial and emotional sacrifices to ensure the inmates' story is told and that they receive compassion, medical care and justice.

The "activists" Pezzullo blames include nuns, members of St Vincent de Paul, Amnesty, Save the Children, the UNHCR, the Human Rights Commission, doctors and nurses who have worked in detention centres and even former guards.

Does Pezzullo really think they are all simply self-interested activists?

Insulting the messenger has become standard practice.

Charles Body, Kaleen

I'm not surprised dogs kill people. If they were loved and cherished pets, they would respond in kind. But many dogs are kept in barbaric conditions – tied up on short chains in all weathers, never taken for walks, given little to eat and drink. These dogs come to regard humans as enemies, and attack them if the opportunity presents itself.

Ask the RSPCA.

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

Only last week the Vintage Reds attended an Anti-Poverty Week panel forum where senior ACT Government officers articulated what their various departments were doing to assist those in our community living in poverty.

I thought I was living in an episode of "Yes, Minister".

Not a meal, not a bed, nor a roof was/is being delivered by the ACT Government to assist those in poverty.

Yet Andrew Barr thinks it is a great initiative to pass $25m in tax relief to property developers.

At the same time, the ACT Government does not have enough Worksafe inspectors to ensure compliance on those same developers' worksites; nor does the ACT Government have adequate legislation and resources when it comes to prosecuting those same developers when accidents occur (eg the Gunghalin Drive Bridge collapse).

We the retired trade unionists of Canberra are disgusted with Andrew Barr and call for his immediate sacking.

Jane Timbrell, Vintage Reds of the Canberra Region, Reid

It is not what Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd sends to the Institute of Public Affairs that should concern senators and voters: (PS Boss defends links to think tank, October 24, p.1).

It is what the IPA sends to Mr Lloyd that should be the concern.

Judging by their once regular column in this paper the IPA is wedded to a narrow minded ideology: sell off public assets, reduce government functions and services and only allow private enterprise to decide what to provide to the public and to provide same.

We don't want John Lloyd losing the spring in his step and flexibility in his thinking do we?

Warwick Davis, Isaacs

When we start our careers, some of us are lucky enough to cross paths with people who through their sheer kindness and willingness, help you grow professionally and personally.

They open doors for you and take an interest in your development.

Steve Doszpot has played that mentoring role for me. I first met Steve in 2010 as a university student needing help to complete a journalism assignment.

As Steve was the ACT's Shadow Minister for Sport at the time I interviewed him about soccer in Canberra.

From there a friendship developed. Steve went out of his way to help open doors in my career in the media and in politics.

He didn't just do this for me, he did it for many others and it's been a privilege to work for him over the past few years.

Steve is a true advocate for people and his departure is a major loss for the ACT Legislative Assembly. Congratulations on a tremendous career, Steve.

Joe Prevedello, Queanbeyan East, NSW

How confused is the political world when ex-President George W Bush speaks up against the present leadership in Washington.

To condemn bigotry, white supremacy and fake news should be the cry of all politicians present and past.

When one of the Republicans' senior figures condemns the present Republicans I am not sure whether to be pleased that it has started or saddened that it has taken so long.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Vic

Keith Harkins (Letters, October 24) thought that should Kim Jong-un "go completely ballistic" and start a new Korean war that would inspire a remake of M.A.S.H. and that was more dire than a new war.

M.A.S.H. is still funny and has a point ... that pointless carnage shouldn't be allowed to happen again.

I hope that was the point Keith was trying to make because the guy with the weird comb-over in M.A.S.H. was at least funny, a nice guy and not lining us up for an extinction level event.

Hawkeye didn't have little hands.

Rory McElligott, Nicholls

By attributing the sterility and emptiness of Canberra's town centres to the failings of successive ACT governments, Jimmy Jack and Stan Marks (Letters, October22) ignore the underlying issue.

With its enviable budget and planning powers, even the NCDC struggled to develop the town centres successfully. Whether it was fixing the "outstanding planning blunders" of Belconnen in the 1970s, revitalising the "stagnant" and "leukaemic" Civic in the 1980s, or, ironically, constructing the Tuggeranong town "centre" in a location central to nowhere, the NCDC found it equally difficult to transform acres of asphalt and single-use precincts into vibrant concentrations of urban activity.

These days, it seems inevitable town centres in a car-dependent city would end up surrounded by walls of car parks and moats of arterial traffic.

How else can you develop and access decentralised commercial and retail nodes in a city seemingly allergic to decent public transport?

The hard reality is that many of Canberra's town centres are the product of now-outdated urban planning ideologies.

With Amazon on the horizon and office growth being absorbed by Brindabella Business Park, our town centres must adopt more sustainable forms.

They should be places where people can live, with well-trafficked spaces at a human scale. Higher densities, active street life and better public transport should take priority over suburban sprawl and parking structures.

Far more work needs to be done to guarantee the future viability of our city's town centres.

Ryan Hemsley, Wright

Vee Saunders (Letters, October25) refers to the risk of collisions when smaller vehicles back out from parking spaces, when parked beside large four-wheel-drives and trucks. It has never ceased to amaze me that local government has not legislated for parking spaces – on public land and in malls and residential complexes – be configured for 45-degree angle parking.

Granted, this means the loss of one space in every row, but the saving in frustration and panel beating costs would compensate for that loss.

Michael Adler, Gungahlin

Ronald Elliott (Letters October 23) seems to imply that "one divided by zero" equals infinity.

At the risk of really "doing his year 9 son's head in", I believe the correct answer is the ERROR message on his calculator. Dividing anything by zero would contradict the axioms of the real number system.

To divide by a number is to multiply by its reciprocal.

A number's reciprocal is the number that, when multiplied by the original number, equals one. Zero is the number that, when multiplied by any number, equals zero. So zero cannot have a reciprocal, because zero times its reciprocal would need to simultaneously equal both one and zero.

Ian Douglas, Jerrabomberra, NSW

People often talk about what is called "political speak". We have seen an example of this in a deceptive statement issued by Mr Matt Thistlethwaite MP, just appointed to be the first "shadow assistant minister for an Australian head of state". In other words a republic.

Mr Thistlethwaite is reported to have told News Corp that Labor wants to build a republic for the people, saying: "We'll make sure this time that it's not seen as a politicians' republic, it's not seen as something that's coming from Canberra."

He talks about going around the country – yes, spending more taxpayer dollars – to generate interest in a plebiscite and a referendum. If that is not political and generated from Canberra, pigs do fly.

The fact Mr Shorten sees a need to provide taxpayer funds to a politician to go around the country to generate support for a republic is clear evidence that there is no real interest among the general public at this stage.

Philip Benwell, national chairman, Australian Monarchist League, Sydney

It's not surprising that the Prime Minister has blamed Labor ("Malcolm Turnbull says the NBN was a mistake and may never make money" canberratimes.com.au, October 23) for the shortcomings of the NBN.

After all, this is the person for whom the buck always stops with someone else.

It is passing strange, however, that when the Coalition went to the 2013 election, it assured us that all would be rosy with the fibre to the node (NBN 2.0) model.

It's a bit late now to tell us that the plan was doomed from the start.

While trying to rewrite history, Mr Turnbull might consider whether it was such a great idea for Howard/Costello to privatise Telstra and thus make any broadband rollout much more complex than if the copper network had remained in government hands.

Mike Reddy, Curtin

I have received a letter from Telstra advising that my home is now ready for the NBN network.

Great news, the complete experience is here for you, we are here to help, dedicated team, etc, etc.

All this on very faint print which my senior eyes could just make out. Then at the foot of the page it said: "Please turn over."

That was when I had to reach for the magnifying glass.

Again on very faint print they had squeezed seven lines of text into the foot of the page. It was headed in tiny, faint green capitals: "Things you need to know."

They had the whole page available to let customers know these details which "we need to know".

I wonder if the area general manager, ACT and southern NSW, has any idea what is sent out to customers under his signature.

He should know and he should be embarrassed.

Rod Macleod, Isaacs, ACT

My heart goes out to Linda Burney over the death of her son.

No parent should have to bury a child.

It would be a very sad day for all concerned if anybody, in Parliament or outside it, tried to make political capital out of this family tragedy.

M.Moore, Bonython

NO INCINERATOR

ACT Chief Planner Ben Ponton says he is on the case in regard to mixed-use planning (ABC News, October 18). Obviously he is too late for current establishments but he could look to the future East Lake mixed use and not allow a proposed incinerator producing toxic ash and who knows what air emissions to operate 24/7 just 300 metres from residents and parkland.

B. Moore, Kingston

PLAYING THE MAN

What does this government not understand about playing the ball not the man (or woman).

Chris Lathbury, Chisholm

DOWNLOAD SPEEDS

In my letter published on October 25, I made reference to various download speeds measured in "MB/sec" or "GB/sec".

Of course, those should have been Mb/sec and Gb/sec respectively.

A download speed of 1 gigabyte per second would be truly phenomenal.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

THE END

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.

D. J. Fraser, Currumbin, Qld

SELF DEFENCE

Rod Matthews (Letters, October 25) is wrong. Japan should not "normalise" its military stance.

The world would be a better place if countries like North Korea, the US, and China had only self defence forces without offensive capability.

Reg Naulty, Hawker

PM'S TRAIN WRECK

Malcolm Turnbull is letting off steam over the current NBN "train wreck" that he caused.

John Davenport, Farrer

PERSONALITY FACTOR

It has been reported that men with nervous or emotional conditions earn 35 per cent less than average.

How about writing about personality inequality in the workplace for a change. It is an issue that deserves some recognition.

John McGee, Evatt

TURNBULL'S DONATION

Turnbull donated $1.75 million to the Liberal Party.

AFP raid anyone?

John Passant, Kambah

NO CHRISTIAN

On reading Ian Pilsner's ode to Tony Abbott (Letters, October 21), I would make one point.

The man claims to be a Christian so I find it incredible that he sought to give more to those who already have everything at the expense of life's disadvantaged.

I am glad he didn't get the opportunity to put it further into action.

Stan Marks, Hawker

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