Haste over light rail could see project run off rails financially

There is zero mention of costs or of a business case to justify the cost, which will be at least 30 per cent more than that for Stage 1 (at $1.3 billion in 2016) and even less economic to operate.

Mr Barr has agreed to a blank cheque for Stage 2 of light rail. How sad for taxpayers, but the unions will love it.

Appendix 2 of the Agreement, the Labor Party platform, says "Labor's plan for an integrated transport network and better suburbs" includes "Completion of Stage 1 of light rail, to commence operation in early 2019, and commencement of design and scoping of Stage 2 to Woden".

There is no mention of signing a contract this term.

So which is it?

M. Silex, Erindale

Saudi Arabia has been re-confirmed as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee after more than 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi regime began its bombing campaign against civilians in Yemen in March 2015.

Millions more have been displaced, and urban areas and essential infrastructure have been reduced to rubble.

United Nations aid agencies warned on Friday that Yemen, after 18 months of savage bombardment in a US-backed war waged by Saudi Arabia and its fellow oil monarchies, is facing mass starvation. According to statements issued by UN agencies, over 14 million Yemenis, more than half the population, are living in hunger, while 7million are on the verge of starvation. What hypocrisy. Well done, Ban Ki-moon.

Rhys Stanley, Hall

Saudi Arabia has sent a letter to the United Nations and international aid groups advising them to remove staff from areas of Yemen under Houthi control.

The Saudi embassy in London sent the short note, saying the warning's intention was to "protect the international organisations and their employees".

This is an arrogant, oil-rich, country telling the world body it is making the rules in a third country against UN approval.

That same Saudi Arabia is supported by the US in its military bombardment of defenceless civilians in Yemen, another "regime change" under way.

Where is your objection, Australia or is the US still dictating our foreign policy as well?

Rex Williams, Ainslie

Ross Fitzgerald's comments about renewable energy underlines the challenge Australia faces – convincing people who think they know better about the remarkable technological progress that has been made over the last decade ("Labor's absurd renewable energy targets will give Australians an unpleasant shock in the hip pocket", October 28).

Renewable energy is now the cheapest kind of new power generation you can build today, which is why more renewable energy was installed across the world over the past year than fossil fuels. It is disappointing that the retired professor didn't acknowledge the once-in-50-year storm that took down more than 20 huge electricity pylons and three out of the state's four transmission lines.

But that's politics for you.

Alicia Webb, Clean Energy Council, Melbourne

The first bar (pun intended) to transparency in the Parliamentary Agreement between Labor and Greens is that while the head of the ACT Public Service "will provide a quarterly report on progress of the Agreement to Greens and Labor MLAs", other MLAs and, as importantly, the public will have to wait for Labor and Greens to "review the implementation of this Agreement every six months, and make a public statement on progress every year". I have little doubt how FOI requests for the former document will be treated.

Bruce Paine, Red Hill

A WWF report from Oslo estimates the world has lost 60per cent of its wildlife since 1970, with the principal cause encroachment on habitat by increasing human population. The decline is accelerating.

In spite of this, the government is still providing incentives to people to have more children! Providing taxpayer-funded baby bonuses and family payments to encourage increases to our human population is surely one definition of "insanity", if not of "evil" in this environment?

Margaret Atcherley, Forrest

You do not require florists or milliners (CT, October 21, p4) to create your own floral headpiece or crown.

All you need are flowers from your garden or an inexpensive bunch from the supermarket and perhaps a friend with origins in the Baltic or elsewhere in north Europe to show how to make your crown.

For centuries women in Latvia have made and worn crowns of field or garden flowers at the midsummer festival of St John. The men wear oak leaves.

Meta Sterns, Yarralumla

Communist China, where Christians are members of government-approved churches or worship in "underground" churches, uses a Christian festival to hold the biggest fair in the world! And Leanne de Smet of Bredbo Christmas Barn (CT, Private Capital, October 31) rejoices in thousands of Christmas-obsessed people making a pilgrimage to her retail outlet each year. Once a pilgrimage indicated a spiritual experience. Now it means spending huge amounts on trinkets. The two major Christian festivals have become massive opportunities for commercial gain, with no indication of their importance to Christianity.

Gwenyth Bray, Belconnen

An excellent character for distinguishing European wasps from honeybees (see letter October 31, Warning of Wasps), is that wasps have yellow legs and the bee's knees are black.

Dr Philip Spradbery, Yarralumla

The advertisement for the Voices in the Forest in The Canberra Times on October 28 tells us that "due to the likelihood of unsuitable weather conditions the concert will be held in Llewellyn Hall".

What it does not tell us is that tickets will cost at least $146. The theatre has 1335 seats. If all the seats are sold the total ticket revenue will be about $200,000.

If the average ticket cost at the Arboretum would have been $60 (last year I paid about $50) it would need about 3300 attendees to yield this amount.

I have googled "Canberra November weather 2016" and found that from Saturday, November 11 to Thursday, November 24 the forecasts are for temperatures not less than 20 degrees and rain on only two days, November 15 and 22.

This does not support the "likelihood of unsuitable weather".

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion the transfer has more to do with financial returns than weather risks.

It completely ignores that the attraction for many people is the wonderful setting at the Arboretum, the relative affordability of the tickets and the casual picnic and social opportunities that are features of the forest venue.

G. C. Shannon, O'Malley

Andrew Webster's article (The Canberra Times, October 29) headed "Payne missing on Cup has nothing to do with gender" is a mean-spirited rant full of unattributed statements and "whispers" to the effect that really she is not such a good rider, not in the class of Hugh Bowman, Damien Oliver, or James McDonald.

I would agree Hugh Bowman is peerless among Australian jockeys today. Kerrin McEvoy is pretty good too.

Oliver and McDonald have both ridden some pretty ordinary races and have had serial suspensions for careless riding.

When Michelle Payne has been given the (rare) opportunity to ride a first-rate horse she has obtained a first-rate result, and has left some very good male jockeys in her wake.

There's a whole string of "class" jockeys that Payne and Prince Of Penzance beat last Melbourne Cup. She rode a perfect race, keeping her horse out of trouble and positioning him and timing his run to be the emphatic winner.

Are women still supposed to grovel in gratitude for being treated equally with men? Michelle Payne's ride, and her comments, will continue to be celebrated as long as the Melbourne Cup continues to be run.

K. L. Calvert, Downer

Katy Gallagher, shadow minister for financial services and former chief minister for the ACT, in a recent discussion on the ABC into parliamentary hearings into banks, enunciated strong reasons for a royal commission. Calling it a very thorough and systemic look, she pointed out it would "also, importantly, allow a platform for victims, for want of a better word, to come forward and to be able to have the ability to cross-examine some of the organisations that have completely ruined their livesand have some platform to seek some access to justice. The current processes available to them have let them down."

This would sound familiar to many of the victims of the Fluffy debacle.

My members referred me to the Asbestos Task Force which claimed it had no mandate to look into the circumstances where ACT Planning in 2013 approved plans for an extension to our home with the family in occupation.

There are many twists and turns in the story and there would be many seeking justice and answers through a board of inquiry or royal commission.

Perhaps Ms Gallagher would like to make a recommendation to either the ACT Legislative Assembly or the federal government that they hold one or the other.

P. Sena, Kambah

The single largest minority group on the planet, and in Australia, is people with disabilities.

Yet the Sunday Canberra Times draws attention to a smaller than desirable presence of people from diverse cultural backgrounds in the new Legislative Assembly (Assembly's multicultural problem, October 30).

While the numbers of people from culturally diverse backgrounds is lower than their presence in the population, at least there is a presence.

There are no people with disabilities in the Legislative Assembly, and only two in Australian parliaments in total.

The recent federal election saw only two candidates with disabilities across the entire country, one in Victoria and one in Western Australia. No candidates with disabilities ran in the recent ACT election.

The Canberra Liberals ask candidates to declare they do not have a psychosocial disability.

Queensland Labor has just passed a resolution targeting increased diversity in preselection, naming LGBTI and culturally diverse people, while failing to mention people with disabilities.

Has nobody noticed the absence of people with disabilities? The largest minority group in Australia, 18 per cent of the population, is not participating in our legislatures.

Diversity is not possible without people with disabilities.

Christina Ryan, DisabilityLeaders

Church is not "holy mother" James Gralton, (Letters, October 29). Church is the Bride of Christ. Some parts of "her" are asleep but the rest is getting on with loving people and showing them the love of Jesus. What you see as irrelevance is the result of Western culture turning its back on its Christian roots.

J. Halgren, Latham

CARE OUTSTANDING

Hear hear Jan Appel (Letters, November 1) My dad is in Canberra Hospital and the compassion and care he and my family have received is simply outstanding.

Kirk Coningham, Barton

SUPPRESSION PLEA

Now the election is over could the Canberra community have the court-ordered suppression order lifted on the KPMG report about the Griffith Bowling Club and the Brumbies?

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

HORROR STORIES

On the day a man is doused in a flammable liquid and burns to death, a sick individual is sentenced to 36 years for horrific sexual abuse of his daughter. If Australia were genuinely a democracy we would have a referendum on capital punishment.

Anthony Reid, Murrumbateman

ASYLUM SEEKERS

Parliament should pass the government's legislation prohibiting refugees who tried to get into Australia by boat from ever getting here, with one amendment. "The Australian government shall not by any acts or omissions make it difficult for any asylum seeker to be accepted as a refugee in any other country."

John F. Simmons, Kambah

To get a win-win result for the present asylum seeker debacle:

1. Keep the boats stopped and the people smugglers out of business by implementing the tough "never to be allowed entry into Australia" as from today, or some particular date; no retrospectivity.

2. Lift all restrictions on bona fide asylum seekers who have already survived the voyage.

Then move forward by processing those held off-shore, raise our refugee intake and pursue the Malaysia proposition.

Malcolm Whyte, Weston

Having recently re-read The Gulag Archipelago with its harrowing portrayal of innocent people indefinitely jailed, I am appalled at Turnbull's latest attack on refugees. I cannot believe that anyone could sink so low as to curry favour with the ignorant bigots of One Nation, no matter how desperate he is to hang onto power.

Barbara Fisher, Cook

Charles Body asks (Letters, 1/11) how anyone with a modicum of decency could use the suffering of other human beings to try to score political points? The answer is they couldn't.

Fred Pilcher, Kaleen

BRING IT ON

Male Pregnancies? If seahorses can do it, why not? It's someone else's turn – that's what I often say.

Elspeth Humphries, Forrest

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