Letters to the Editor: Not everybody supports government’s gay platform

Whose resources? Besides the $500,000 plus being spent on an Office of LGBTIQ Affairs (was in the last budget speech by the Chief Minister, but not mentioned during the election), we now have $22,000 to paint two buses, $45,000 directed to "community engagement activities" and $105,000 on counselling of the LGBTIQ community. Then to top it off, the minister arrogantly and insultingly says opponents of SSM are free to fund their own "no" campaign, priced at $10,400 a bus and $600 a week for advertising space.

"Let them eat cake," she famously said, before losing her head six months later.

M.Silex, Erindale

Driverless buses are all very well. There seem to be plenty of statistics available for people who want to advocate their so-called "cost effectiveness".

There has, however, been no mention of the implications of drivers losing their jobs. People seem only too ready to sacrifice areas of employment for the sake of economic efficiency, and it is so easy for unaffected people to propose others losing their jobs. We already have a federal government hunting the unemployed in the name of economic efficiency.

The "bus driving" industry has been a huge area of employment for the ACT for a long time. Bus drivers have been part of the Canberra social fabric for a long time. Let's keep it that way.

Patrick O'Hara, Isaacs

I wonder if Canberrans have realised the full implications of the waste-to-energy incinerator proposed for the edge of Narrabundah. Even if there is no "stench" as discussed by William Gray (Letters, August26) and even if we are not particularly in need of a ski slope down its side as mentioned by Caroline Fitzwarryne (Letters, August29), there are questions our progressive, greenish territory government needs to answer for all its citizens.

The big question is, should we resort to burning our waste when other countries are tackling the waste problem more intelligently at its source?

There is embedded energy in much of our waste, so isn't it wrong to simply burn it for the small amount of heat energy it contains? Much of the material to be burnt is petrochemical, and petrochemicals are fossil fuels, so how does burning them create "green" energy?

Second, aren't we Canberrans worried about the inevitable emissions from such an incinerator? Of course, the cancer-producing dioxins and toxic-to-health heavy metals may be mostly filtered out or burnt, but do we have the level of monitoring and regulation required to constantly watch for these dangerous and often invisible pollutants? How are we going to ensure that the incinerator does not release them when the filters are cleaned or the temperature drops for some reason?

Are we going to take additional waste from NSW in order to feed this immense machine, and do we want to import such waste? Does this proposal contravene our role as a signatory of the Stockholm convention concerning dioxin and furan reduction? Has our health system thoroughly checked research about increases of cancer in regions where such incinerators have been installed? Where is the highly toxic "fly ash" from the incinerator to be distributed?

Has this latest incarnation something to do with the fact that Narrabundah – the nearest suburb to the proposed site – contains Canberra's largest proportion of public housing?

It feels to me as though this promotion of waste to energy in Australia is not unrelated to the current federal "Industrial Chemicals Bill 2017" which replaces much of our industrial chemicals regulation with "self-regulation".

Jill Sutton, Watson

Even if toxic emissions, including dioxin-like compounds and carcinogenic substances, from the proposed waste-to-energy facility at Fyshwick are much less than older generations of incinerators, who would still want to be located near such a facility? What if there is a malfunction or the efficiency of the plant declines over time? Who will monitor emissions round the clock? Surely a first sensible precautionary measure, if such a plant were to be built, is to not locate it next to Canberra's southern population.

Murray May, Cook

I read the letter (Doctors' greed is alarming, August 30) from Mr Kelly regarding the costs of seeing a family doctor in Canberra. Even though the rates of bulk billing in Canberra are slightly lower than national standards, the great majority of visits to a family doctor in the ACT are bulk-billed. The villain in the piece is the "Medicare freeze" initiated by Labor and continued by the Coalition until the most recent federal budget.

The cost of running a practice in Canberra – with its high rates, staff costs, medical indemnity, and all the costs associated with safe medical practice – is high. As these business costs have risen, the Medicare rebates available to patients have fallen in real terms.

It is pleasing to see patients are able to have long consultations with experienced family doctors, rather than have rapid, bulk-billed, 10-minute visits.

I certainly agree that low Medicare rebates are a "disincentive to look after yourself".

Professor Steve Robson, president, Australian Medical Association (ACT)

I would be interested to read the scientific basis on which David Pope would have us believe Hurricane Harvey in Texas was the result of climate change (August 30). Scientific analysis certainly moves quickly these days. Or will it turn out to be the same kind of debunked analysis that blamed climate change for Cyclone Sandy in New York in 2012 or our own Queensland floods in 2011.

H.Ronald, Jerrabomberra

Lately Mount Painter seems to be the spot to train for extreme cycling crazy speeds. Given that it is a place shared by walkers, dogs and children, it is not a suitable spot for 70km/h training runs. Please stick to Mt Stromlo, I wouldn't walk my dog there out of courtesy so don't usurp my space. The arrogance of some gives all a bad name.

I am not one for unnecessary regulation but maybe a speed limit for cyclists on shared pathways is in order. I rode motorcycles for years and the motto was that you needed to survive in order to argue the road safety point, not just assume the liberty of right of way, some cyclists need to heed this lesson it seems. What does the ACT government think on this issue?

Ian Shepherd, Cook

Well said, Jenna Price! ("The real reason Dutton wants to evict babies", August 29 p15). I also had great hopes when Malcolm Turnbull became leader of the Liberal Party. However, he and his government have been a great disappointment for several reasons. They have undermined the renewable energy industry, public education and Medicare. Their response to global warming has been pathetic. They attack unions but don't hold banks and the finance industry to the same standards. They seem to be determined to support big business and high-income earners while making it harder and harder for those on a low income. Their decision to hold a postal vote (poll) on same-sex marriage is divisive and shows a lack of financial responsibility.

And finally, their treatment of refugees is appalling. The Lucky Country? It doesn't seem so at the moment.

C Foster, Bywong, NSW

The sale and leaseback of the National Archives building ("Heritage for sale as archives move", August 29, p4) highlights at least two matters. Firstly, sale and leaseback is poor financial policy when the seller is committed to reoccupying the building it is selling (that is reportedly the case with the National Archives).

Prospective purchasers must be salivating at how much they will extract in rent from the Archives, which has no alternate home consistent with its heritage values. However, the public should be dreading how little money the Archives will have to build and display its collection. Secondly, despite the poor financial and heritage outcomes there is a predictable silence from Liberal senator Zed Seselja who is again putting his party allegiance ahead of the ACT's, and in this case also the national interest (of course Labor ACT senators have also done this).

This highlights that ACT residents are ill served by electing one Liberal and one Labor senator — each is effectively bound to vote with their party, which means the ACT's two votes in the Senate cancel each other out. It is reasonable to think that the ACT, and possibly Australia, might be better off if the ACT elects at least one independent to the Senate.

Bruce Paine, Red Hill

I read with interest of plans to sell East and West Blocks ("Triangle market cornered", August 29, p1). The Commonwealth, of course, has paid zero in rates to the ACT for the life of the two buildings, and will not face paying any change of use charge. The ACT has successfully negotiated the purchase of surplus Commonwealth property before; perhaps these buildings could be added to the list.

They are certainly of infinitely greater architectural merit and heritage significance than any block of flats in Northbourne Avenue.

Greg Friedewald, Isaacs

On Tuesday Slattery Auctions advertised for "expressions of interest" in Australia's biggest steam locomotive, 6029, the City of Canberra under the instructions of the liquidator for the Railway Historical Society.

As a member of a small team from the Railway Historical Society which put thousands of hours totalling seven years work into restoring this massive machine, I express my sadness and disappointment and frustration.

The locomotive was originally saved by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and made into a permanent static display at the National Museum in Canberra. Then, the National Museum sold it to the Canberra Railway Museum for $1 so it could be restored and maintained on display. We found a spare boiler in Victoria and in 2014, 6029 steamed again.

What a fantastic icon for Canberra. She has delighted thousands with her size and power. It would be great to see Canberra get behind efforts to save 6029.

It is "our big engine," restored by Canberra people and loved by Canberra people and should not not be lost. I know the liquidator has to do his job, but at what cost?

Howard Moffat, Weston

The account of Bradyn Dillon's life, and death at the hands of his father ("Horrific abuse before boy's murder revealed", August 30, p1) makes for truly sickening reading. Yet even more alarming is that a statement of facts tendered in the ACT Supreme Court details a catalogue of repeated assaults and punishments (more than 70 in all) meted out to this little boy by his father over a period of 15 months. Therefore, someone had to have known about this appalling situation.

Was it a government department, or medical practitioners, maybe even the police? Obviously, someone who was able to compile this list of injuries and how they occurred. So why wasn't this poor child removed from this horrifying situation and taken into care? It is heartbreaking to imagine the sheer terror and pain Bradyn endured because those with the power to help him did nothing.

Frances Cornish, Spence

What marketing genius. I was firmly committed to voting "no" in the upcoming postal survey. But then I saw a rainbow-coloured bus (painted at ratepayers' expense) and that convinced me to vote enthusiastically and to vote "yes".

Do any of you believe that? Thought not.

Bruce Wright, Latham

Sorry, I must have missed the ACT plebiscite authorising the ACT government to speak on my behalf on the Commonwealth government's Marriage Act responsibility and waste my rates on rainbow buses and crossings. Must have been in the fine print in their election material.

John Williamson, Gordon

A postal vote may determine who we can marry but nuclear proliferation will ensure love with gas masks on.

Matt Ford, Crookwell

Has anyone seen the actual wording of the question to be asked in the same-sex marriage plebiscite?

Don Sephton, Greenway

Had to laugh at your editorial, which points to heritage and history we are throwing away while we cling like limpets to inscriptions on statues, the exclusion of minorities and discredited fiscal theories. Who says we're smart?

S.W. Davey, Torrens

To all of those ACT government employees and contractors involved in the maintenance and development around the shores of Lake Tuggeranong in recent months, you've done a great job. It looks a treat and is being enjoyed by many. Thanks.

Sean Allan Unit, Kambah

Two water bills arrived for me the other day. One was from Icon for my Canberra house, the second came from Sydney Water for a flat in suburban Sydney.

Icon's price consisted of about 40per cent at $2.68 per kilolitre, with the remaining 60per cent at $5.24 to $5.38 per kilolitre. Sydney Water's charge was $2.04 per kilolitre, flat. Can the ACT government investigate this?

Paul O'Connor, Hawker

Listening to PM Malcolm Turnbull's Sales match confident assertion to Leigh Sales that he would win the next election despite 18 consecutive losses in opinion polls brought about a strange sense of deja vu.

I think it may have been related to Conor McGregor.

Tony Judge, Woolgoolga NSW

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