From Whitlam until now we have been forced to suffer increasing degrees of the failed neo-liberal economics ideology enforced by both sides of politics. Whitlam ignored the previously quoted adage and his Liberal-Labor successors have ignored the adage, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I also hope we have a global tariff war.

Rod Campbell, Ainslie

Light rail advocate Kevin Cox (Letters, March 22) is wrong when he states that sharing vehicles from a driverless vehicle public transport fleet to the satisfaction of all concerned is not a technological problem.

To the contrary, it is technology in the form of a booking and dispatching system that can apply any sharing restrictions that a rider may want, such as women who may want to ride with other women.

His second point that we should ride-share our existing cars to light rail stops, is based on two false premises.

The first is that trams are the right form of large public transport vehicle for Canberra when clearly buses are preferable.

The second is that driving to a tram or bus stop is the right form of shared trip when clearly the entire journeys can be taken by car to the greater advantage of both driver and ride-sharer.

Cox has also failed to justify his assertion that ride-sharing our existing cars would help us move towards the efficient use of driverless vehicles. This problem has already been addressed in the Canberra context. It was shown that a fleet of 23,000 driverless vehicles could efficiently serve all trips taken by private or public transport today.

If we allowed a premium price of $50,000 per vehicle, a 23,000-strong fleet could be deployed for a total cost of $1.15billion, much less than what just the Gunghalin-Civic link of the proposed light rail network will cost.

John L Smith, Farrer

I assume that Mike Sargent (Letters, March 22) is referring to Jarod Croker as the player that should be dropped from the present Raiders team.

Jason Croker did play for the Raiders, however he retired from the game at least 10 years ago.

If my supposition is correct then I would disagree most strongly with this suggestion. Jarod Croker is the last player the Raiders should drop. He is a good solid player and organiser. His goal kicking in the Raiders' opening games has largely been responsible for them being able to draw so close to their opponents. He is the nucleus of the Raiders team and a vital cog in the Green Machine's engine.

The Raiders will come good, sooner or later, and my gut feeling is that it will be sooner rather than later.

Andrew Rowe, Florey

While I agree with John Burns (Letters, March 22) that one should not single out climate change as the cause of an event such as the Tathra bushfire, I do take issue with some of his other claims.

In May 2017 The Independent reported that India had cancelled in just one month plans to build coal-fired power stations that would have produced 13.7 gigawatts, roughly equivalent to the total energy production of Britain.

This was done because the price of solar-derived energy had plunged to levels "once considered impossible". Also in May 2017, the auction of a 500-megawatt solar facility realised a tariff of 2.44 rupees (4.9¢) per kilowatt-hour while the tariff for coal-fired energy from a major supplier was 3.2 rupees (6.4¢), or 33 per cent more expensive.

India is moving away from coal to solar-derived energy.

If the Adani mine were to go ahead it would, according to sworn testimony given to the Land Court of Queensland by Adani's own economics expert witness, only create 1464 new jobs. And this could come at the expense of many more tourism jobs if Adani's coal loading and shipping were to cause even more harm to the reef than the warming, increasingly acidic waters are already causing.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

The news that the NSW government was interested in running light rail from Canberra to Queanbeyan ("Next stop ... Queanbeyan?" Canberra Times, March 22, p1) gave a light-hearted touch to an otherwise mainly depressing dishing out of what's going on.

Considering first that the heavy rail from Canberra to Sydney is getting rolled by Murrays Bus Service, then taking into account that the Canberra to Cooma and points east heavy rail has been closed for years, the proposal to extend light rail to Queanbeyan will provide a good laugh to anyone who knows anything at all about public transport.

Again allied to the fact that more Canberra people are shifting to Queanbeyan because of extortionate land prices, if I was the NSW government I would consider a better option was to build up Queanbeyan's industrial infrastructure.

If that was to happen I think that we would finish up with a set-up like the border towns Albury-Wodonga. Melbourne which has, second to Moscow, the biggest tram network worldwide has never in well over 100 years ever turned a profit. Three consortiums have been offered the infrastructure free of charge if they could make a profit. The Victorian government is on its fourth consortium at the moment.

To my memory, Melbourne trams run within a 15-kilometre arc from the city centre. Civic to Queanbeyan would be outside that arc with a fraction of Melbourne's users. Truly the suggestion has an Alice in Wonderland quality that I am sure will appeal to the Mad Hatters in our ACT government.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

It would seem that any performance issues at the Australian Taxation Office are more the province of its senior management team than anyone-else ("'Unreasonable territory': ATO lashed for measuring staff performance by debt payment", March 22, canberratimes.com.au).

As most experienced performance management practitioners would understand, it is crucial to success that in setting objectives, individuals tasked with their achievement must not only accept responsibility for their attainment before they are locked-in, but also that the results are measurable and achievable.

The arbitrary imposition of objectives is a recipe for failure and a sure sign of a dysfunctional culture.

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

Lord Howe Island is among marine sanctuary cutbacks steered by the Turnbull government. Photo: Shutterstock

The Turnbull government has just announced its plans for Australia's marine sanctuaries, and they propose to cut back an area twice the size of Victoria.

This would be the biggest removal of protection for Australian wildlife in history — equivalent to removing every second national park on land.

Many of Australia's marine icons have been slashed: including to one of Australia's oldest sanctuaries at Lord Howe Island, to Geographe Bay in southwest WA, the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Kimberley. Worst hit is the Coral Sea — the cradle to the Great Barrier Reef and one of the last wild places on Earth where ocean giants still thrive.

Australia's national network of sanctuaries is the result of decades of science, work by all sides of politics, and overwhelming community support. More than 80,000 Australians made a submission to the Turnbull Government last year, rejecting their proposed cuts and asking for more protection, not less. This included more than 16,000 recreational fishers.

We must not let the government reverse these protections.

Sylvia Cooper, Bundall Qld

Further to recent letters about the concerted effort put into issuing parking fines to Skyfire attendees (March 20): what a shame that a similar degree of zeal can't be applied to the ongoing problem of littering.

For years I have observed the relentless dumping of fast-food wrappers and containers in the carparks and cycle paths around Cooleman Court.

As far as I can tell no attempt is made to target those responsible and instead the mess is cleaned up every morning by a team of workers who emerge from an ACT government van. Rather than indulge the perpetrators by constantly cleaning up after them (apparently at taxpayers' expense), why not send a team of inspectors to patrol and issue fines for this irresponsible and anti-social behaviour?

Having demonstrated that the skills and resources are available to plan and target "illegal" parking at a community event, surely these same skills and resources could be applied to tackle the (in my view) much more pressing and long-term problem of unrestrained littering.

Anne Laisk, Weston

Michael Koziol's discussion of projected Commonwealth funding to schools ("State schools blast Labor's funds pledge", March 20, p8) ignores basic facts on the Turnbull government's funding policy for ACT Catholic system schools.

The government has acknowledged the flaws in the modelling system, particularly its impact on ACT Catholic schools. It's the reason the model is currently under review.

These are the unchallenged facts: Federal funding to Catholic systemic schools in the ACT is cut over the next ten years. Funding per student will be around 35 per cent lower in 10 years. Costs could increase in excess of 30 per cent over the same period. Schools in the independent sector in Canberra are similarly affected.

In the ACT, Catholic system schools receive a third less government funding per student than government schools. Looking at it through an equity lens, how can the government conclude that this represents "overfunding" and funding needs to be further cut?

The lower government funding for each ACT Catholic school student is the biggest funding differential in any state or territory in Australia. The provision of short-term special funding to ACT Catholic system schools is a statement that the funding model is not equitable. Temporary cash top-ups to plug the flaws does not address the problem in the long-term.

Catholic education welcomes a needs-based model, and we are open to working with the government to remedy the problems as they affect the ACT and surrounding NSW Catholic schools to continue to give parents a real choice in education alongside government and independent schools.

Ross Fox, Director Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn

I refer to "Gilmore's strengths" (Letters, March 22).

Congratulations to both the chair and deputy chair of the board of Gilmore Primary for highlighting the school's strengths but it seems that you have chosen to blame The Canberra Times' reporting, rather than the ACT Department of Education. The idea of locating NSW students to some Tuggeranong schools is purely to increase numbers. The method of choice is not transparent to the community. Tuggeranong schools are competing with Woden schools for numbers because parents believe that large numbers equate to success. Once again the department needs to address priority enrolment areas in Tuggeranong and not use this method purely to supplement school numbers in other parts of Canberra.

Susan Swift, Kambah

I am a self-funded retiree who relies on franking credit refunds for 25 per cent of my annual income. My wife and I have worked and saved very hard and made great sacrifices for over 47 years to accumulate an asset base, including shares, designed to allow us to be self-funded in retirement.

We consider ourselves fortunate but not wealthy, and this is where the problem lies with this, and all similar debates.

What is the definition of "wealthy"? Are a totally self-funded retired couple with an income of around $50,000-$75,000 wealthy? Comfortable maybe, but not wealthy.

Current cash interest rates of around 3% preclude relying on interest for income and force retirees to invest in shares where they may earn around 7% plus franking credits to obtain a reasonable, but not excessive, income.

With costs of living forever increasing, why is the ALP intent on cutting the income of retirees and forcing them to supplement their income through the sale of assets which will then result in them relying in part or in whole on the aged pension?

I am not interested in becoming reliant on the state for my income. Just leave me alone to enjoy my retirement under the rules that I have been encouraged to use to save for this final part of my life. I hope there will be significant protests at this unfair ALP cash grab.

David Warner, Jindalee, Qld

I believe Jacqueline Burnett's memory is not correct, about deeming rates having been introduced to force banks to pay pensioners more (Letters March 21).

Rather, to howls of outrage at the time, the Howard government introduced deeming rates to coerce pensioners into seeking better returns on money they had been parking in low or zero rate accounts with the misguided purpose of circumventing the pension income test (the forgone returns were generally more than the extra pension received). Banks responded, for marketing reasons, with accounts that paid the official deeming rate.

Ian Douglas, Jerrabomberra, NSW

WRONG BACKER

Taxation law is complicated, and easily misconstrued (often deliberately) but perhaps the best argument against the Coalition's proposed tax cuts is that Pauline Hanson agrees with them.

Ian McFarlane, Wallaga Lake, NSW

DENYING THE SCIENCE

Is it a case of nominative determinism when John Burns (Letters, March 22) advocates for coal while denying the science on climate change and ignoring ample expert opinion that a very high proportion of renewable electricity generation is both achievable and necessary?

Peter Campbell, Cook

ROOM TO LEARN

I was impressed with the list of activities offered to pupils at Gilmore Primary School (Letters, March 22) : "Oztag clinic, swimming program, theatre excursion, school camp, fine motor skills fun night, school concert and the list goes on". I wonder: Do the children learn things as well?

Ed Highley, Kambah

HAVE A NICE LANGUAGE DAY

Paul E. Bowler of Chapman (Letters, March 22) makes many points about light rail.

I do not dispute his right to make them, nor his emphatic use of his middle initial. But, as a new student of the wonderful language of German, I must take him to task for leaving out the "h" in his reference to "the good burgers" of this city.

I agree with Mr Bowler that sometimes our elected representatives should be served in a bun, but our languages should not. Can I have fries with that?

Maria F. Hawthorne, Narrabundah