Supply after light

The ACT government has rushed to sell numerous sites in the corridor and its near surrounds to developers, ACTPLA has facilitated prompt and generous planning approvals and developers have rushed to get projects finished and onto the market.

The federal government plans to depopulate Canberra by moving some public service jobs out of the capital. Soon there will be more units and apartments available than required by the Canberra market, prices will fall and the ACT government should use this unique opportunity to repurchase in the corridor. Pepper and salt!

The ACT government clients will be happy in new "digs" close to good facilities in the inner north and the tram will get extra customers.

The government will save money by not having to build new residences in distant Holder, Chapman etc. They will also avoid pesky consultation processes with the NIMBYS, and the currently anxious residents in Weston Creek and elsewhere will love it.

Problem solved!

John Mungoven, Stirling

I attended the WVCC meeting on May 3 and pointed out that with 20 years of free electric buses and bus services being unreliable, the light rail will simply add to the chaos of unreliable public transport.

I suggested to put more buses on the road and make them reliable or to develop free solar-powered buses. Light rail is unaffordable, with Canberra already rating as the second-highest city for homelessness. Our city is sure to rate as the highest in homelessness as a result of the hikes in rates and tax increases needed to pay for it.

Light rail will have high maintenance costs that buses don't. Trams won't bring vibrancy into Woden as everyone is leaving Canberra because it is already the most unliveable, most expensive city to live in. There won't be anyone left to use light rail.

It has already been stated that light rail is not suitable for Canberra. Canberra is supposed to be the Bush Capital but the light rail is destroying the Bush Capital and wildlife habitat.

Dump light rail. It's outdated and a waste and abuse of taxpayers' money.

Nora Preston, Weston Creek

While I share her frustration over the quality of our contemporary politicians, Audrey Guy (letters, May 7) badly misunderstands the nature of representative democracy.

Elected members are not mere delegates of constituents, required to reflect only those constituents' wishes. They are supposedly elected to form and use their own judgment in the wider public interest.

Of course it would be preferable for them to understand their constituents' views broadly in reaching considered judgments. Too many do seem merely to accept undue party discipline, consult narrowly only with like-minded interests, or elevate their personal religious views over those of the public interest.

Mike Hutchinson, Reid

The current West Basin public open space is still at dire risk of being buried beneath concrete, despite the statements attributed to the NCA, National Museum of Australia and Andrew Barr ("National Capital Authority's vision for Acton Peninsula unveiled", CT, May 2).

Public open space in cities has been a premium commodity for at least a millennium – unfortunately selling it is a very easy way for the ACT government to "make ends meet" until the next ACT election in three years. The ACT's voters also have some responsibility, and should ponder the legacy we are leaving future generations.

Bruce Paine, Red Hill

It's bad enough that Claire Orange ("The 13 reasons why not", CT, May 9, p16) chose to inflict her solipsistic drivel on her sons, but what did we do to deserve it?

Confessing to having no words, she set about proving it with a litany of cant, emoting and outright rubbish. The only good thing about her tacky self-advertisement is that desperate parents will know to steer well clear of her company. That cutesy, trendy 4 in the title tells all.

Matt Gately, Rivett

The poor old Canberra-bashing camel. The last straw cometh.

On morning ABC radio news on Monday (May 8), Bill Shorten in a statement about federal funding for Catholic primary schools intoned (twice) that parents' money "was going to Canberra".

Not to the federal government or the ATO or some legitimate receiver. But "to Canberra".

A few months ago on TV, a federal politician, speaking in the chamber, complained the problem he was speaking about was because of "Canberra". Not the parliament, not about him as a parliamentarian, but Canberra.

How about we Canberrans (the source of all the country's ills?) run a class action on 18c? No other identifiable few hundred thousand population in the country, being religious, ethnic, or racial, would be permitted to be so abused. 18d does not apply because Canberra bashing is not "fair comment".

This little bashed Canberra puppy has had enough.

Roy Bray, Flynn

Julian Cribb's proposal on this vital issue is timely – declaring Australia to be at war should be a responsibility of federal Parliament by a combined vote of both houses (Canberra Times Comment, May 8, pp 12-13).

Currently the decision is taken by the Prime Minister and a few ministers, probably because our federation fathers considered at the time that assembling Parliament would take a week or more. Neither side of politics has since updated the process. Are PMs and potential PMs attracted to the idea of becoming a "war-time PM"?

The process is clearly undemocratic. John Howard's decision to go with then US president George Bush in 2001 has cost billions of taxpayer dollars, plus the lives of scores of military personnel and veteran suicides and PTSD cases, far more expensive than most other projects the government has been engaged in this century.

Yet Australian voters and their MPs did not have a say in the decision to get into that war.

All recent Australian prime ministers have taken unilateral decisions they must now regret. When new trouble starts overseas, I shall feel safer if Australia's involvement is decided by our 226 senators and members rather than by whoever is PM (or acting PM) at the time.

John Brummell, Duffy

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