Pine Gap is still integrated into the American military communications system. So, the NSA, if it turned its beady eye-in-the-sky on me, could locate me to within three metres. There is an American military base in Darwin, part of the "China noose".

Are General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles deployed there? Could be. Donald Trump could take out Ken Griffiths at any time, no problem, and any family, friends, fellow restaurant patrons or mall-shoppers unfortunate enough to be collateral damage.

So, fellow Canberrans, don't stand next to me (or each other), just in case.

Kenneth Griffiths, O'Connor

Does anyone know where these stupidly named venues are?

For example, GIO Stadium, UNSW Canberra Oval, Lottoland (I'm not kidding), 1300SMILES Stadium, Blundstone Arena, Pepper Stadium and Patersons Stadium.

Believe it or not, these are "commercial" names for various elite sporting venues in Australia. How low our sporting administrators (and the ACT government too) have stooped in rebadging historic venues in their crass pursuit of commercial sponsorship revenue. I'm certain most people, other than sporting fanatics, haven't a clue where these venues are.

What a lack of any sense of history, tradition and local loyalty.

Personally I refuse to utter any of those stupid titles and certainly try not to support any of their commercial partners.

It is woeful to see what the Australian horse racing industry, supposedly steeped in 150 years of history and tradition, have done to the traditional naming of our classic carnival races. The Fosters (who?) Melbourne Cup, James Boag's Premium Australian Oaks (and I thought fillies only drank light).

A further example, the Tab.Com.Au Stakes run during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, a race that was previously the historic Linlithgow Stakes run under that title for nearly 100 years.

Who let these idiots take over our traditions.

What next? Canberra Casino Questacon, the Poweraid Powerhouse Museum, Dominos Pizzas MCG , the Heinz Baked Beans Canberra Balloon Festival and probably the Adani Group Australia Federal Parliament.

John Mungoven, Stirling

Since coming into power the Liberal Party has worked towards restricting public knowledge of the consequences of climate change.

One of the ways they have achieved this is by cutting approximately 300 CSIRO climate research positions.

It is not a surprise to me, therefore, that Dr Neville Exon's letter on April 15 demonstrates little understanding of the seriousness of climate change. He makes a totally unsubstantiated statement that coal from the proposed Adani mine will not add to the climate problem when in fact the reverse is true.

I refer to the overwhelming majority of independent national and international scientists who say that the one thing we must not do, in order to reduce the already extremely serious consequences of climate change, is open new fossil-fuel mines.

The actions and statements of the current Liberal government, Queensland state government and federal Labor opposition demonstrate that the vacuum created by the silencing of our scientists has facilitated a proliferation of propaganda by these compromised political groups.

Unrestricted, mainstream climate scientists must be the ones to provide the data, analysis and direction of energy policy not Dr Neville Exon, Malcolm Turnbull nor Barnaby Joyce for that matter. Dr Neville Exon says he is irritated by a cartoon; I on the other hand am outraged that the direction in which we are heading is due to ignorance of the facts.

Chris Hansen, Rivett

Now that they realise their hurtful, specious arguments against marriage equality continue to fail, and that many of their own followers increasingly support it, religious leaders are crying foul over corporations supporting marriage equality.

This is hypocritical, considering that religions use their power, resources and influence to fight against marriage equality and other socially progressive issues, and often do so to shape law and policy within our secular system of government.

They also don't seem to have a problem with their tax-free status, while enjoying many taxpayer-funded benefits courtesy of taxes paid by corporations and secular Australians.

Religions should stop interfering in the lives of others who don't share their beliefs.

Socially progressive policies and championing of them by corporations not only reflect the admirable intent of those who drive them, they make good business sense too, and so, contrary to what some religious leaders are saying, are in fact core business considerations.

Religious leaders and their followers should show the same respect and tolerance towards others they expect for themselves.

Richard Roberts, Farrer

Eric Hunter asserts that atheism or disbelief in God is based on significant scientific evidence.

James Allan defines faith as a belief in something without any evidence (letters, April 16).

Both correspondents continue to recycle tired and puerile arguments from the New Atheist playbook against Christian belief.

They believe that only science offers access to true knowledge, including answers to the deeper questions of human existence.

Perhaps they are ignorant of the limitations of the scientific method. Many areas of human interest and experience are simply not amenable to experimentation.

Science itself ironically accepts non-verifiable metaphysical assumptions at its very centre, such as the unprovable premise that only material things exist.

Eric and James ought be more circumspect and hopefully better informed before preaching to others.

Richard Rowe, Isaacs

My wife and I recently received notices that we owed Centrelink $3467.96 between us for overpayment of an age pension. That's quite an overpayment, given that we only ever received $290 age pension from them.

That we received any age pension at all occurred because a Centrelink staff member did not enter into their computer a small income stream that we had declared when we applied (on paper) for the age pension at the end of 2015.

A Centrelink staff member who contacted me to explain why our age pension was cancelled in August 2016 told me that.

That mistake (by them, not us) was discovered when the data matching service found it. So the data matching service worked. In September 2016 we wrote a letter to Centrelink offering to pay back all the age pension we had received — a total of approximately $290.

We did not receive a reply or even an acknowledgement until last week when we received a notice to repay an "overpayment" of $3467.96.

How can the minister defend a system like that?

It's broken.

Neville Bleakley, Chifley

In early February I received my gas bill for the period 11 October to 9 January.

On February 7 , I rang them and explained that the bill, which was based on an estimate, was incorrect and requested a meter reading.

The ActewAGL representative said that she would request a reading and that it would be completed within 10 days.

I rang again on March 7 and was told that meter had been read on February 10 and that I would receive an amended bill by March 24.

Rang again on March 20 and was told that a new bill was being raised that day.

I rang again on April 11 and was told that a new bill had not been raised.

However, a credit note had been issued.

I was also told that the meter had been read, again, on Friday, April 7, and that a new bill would be emailed within the next two days.

Thought that I was on a winner when an email from ActewAGL appeared in my email inbox on April 13.

No such luck. Instead of sending a new bill, they requested that I complete a customer satisfaction survey.

I still haven't got a new bill.

Don Richards, Hackett

I have read about the pressure the National Disability Insurance Scheme has created for those of us who are over 65 years of age in the area of deafness and poor sight and blindness of people in our community.

Unfortunately I am now legally blind in one eye because of the impact of a macular hole.

Fortunately I was in a position where I could pay the cost of having the hole repaired to retain some limited peripheral vision in my eye.

Because there is little known about the causes of holes and less known about how to prevent the condition I am left with the real possibility of the same condition occurring in my good eye.

I am not eligible for any benefits under NDIS as I am over the age of eligibility.

Where do I go to seek advice and guidance when our community support organisations cease to exist without funding?

Paula Calcino, Oxley

Many of Jack Kershaw's previous comments on Canberra's development have appeared well-informed, but his comparison of developers to emperors, tsars or holders of feudal tenure (Letters, April 15) is as absurd as it would be to characterise residents' action groups as being dominated by elderly nuisances wallowing in their own sense of grievance.

Although I have often had the impression that opposition to many development proposals seems driven more by resentment towards developers as a group than by problems with the proposals themselves, I am still surprised to find this stated so openly.

Is the (real) problem that there are people who presume to make a living other than by drawing a public service pay packet?

Helmut Simon, Watson

Why is it OK for the USA, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan and Israel to have nuclear weapons but not North Korea?

Why is it OK for these nations to have the right to defend themselves or deter others using nuclear weapons but not North Korea?

The nuclear club wants to remain exclusive.

They will not admit new members because to do so means weakening their power.

Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself against an aggressor.

That right is not abrogated or diminished because we don't like the country's politics.

It is not restricted to conventional weapons and it cannot be taken away by some sort of plebiscite of other nations.

In other words, sanctions by the United Nations against North Korea or any nation which seek to prohibit or restrict this right are illegitimate.

I don't particularly like North Korea's military dictatorship but if I were Kim Jong-un I would be developing nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them through ballistic missiles as quick as is humanly possible.

Adam Bonner, Brogo, NSW

Yuppie hopefuls seeking a trendy address are the people who will be duped into purchasing residences in the artified precinct of the old brickworks.

The brickworks is not a heritage site.

It is an old factory which, considering the technology of the day, can be nothing more than a massive asbestos mausoleum.

It is best left undisturbed.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

HISTORY LESSON

You learn something new every day. Never knew the US had invaded South Vietnam until D. J. Fraser's informative letter of April 17. We supported the North I assume?

M. Moore, Bonython

NOT A GOOD MIX

I was absolutely disgusted to see the cartoon called "Easter Spirit" (Forum, p.1, April 15). It would offend any church-going person. Good Friday is a very sacred day, it has been for centuries.

By all means, have your fun with politicians, but keep religion out of cartoons.

Anne Prendergast, Reid

I was shocked and angry at the cartoon by Mr Pope in Forum on Saturday. It was in very bad taste, making light of the most sacred symbol of Christianity at Easter. The cross is the symbol of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for humanity.

Rosemary De Bear, Higgins

DON'T TOUCH

Leave penalty rates alone.

David Bibo, Canberra City

DUBIOUS RECORD

Mr Turnbull probably holds the record for the greatest number of ideals sold (out).

Meta Sterns, Yarralumla

CLOSE GOVERNMENT

Rather than calling on the government to close the refugee concentration camps we should close down the government to force them to.

John Passant, Kambah

POLITICAL EGO

I wonder if Shane Rattenbury ever wakes up in the morning with the dreadful thought of "OMG, what have I done; 1288 poor souls forcibly relocated to satisfy my political ego".

Norman Lee, Weston

TERRORIST LABEL

Interesting how the terrorists who bombed the Dortmund football team's bus are being labelled as "right wing extremists". It seems as "terrorist" is exclusively reserved for Islamic extremists.

Khizar Rana, Walkerville, SA

WAR GAMES

As two children in adult bodies play a game of brinkmanship on the Korean peninsula and Middle East all we can hope is their adult minders stop them from taking us to war.

D. J. Fraser, Currumbin, Qld

LABOR'S COAL STANCE

Unfortunately, Jill Sutton (letters, April 15), Bill Shorten is opposed only to government funding for the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine, not to the mine itself. Labor's hands on this issue are not much cleaner than the Coalition's.

Patricia Saunders, Chapman

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