He is, after all, the man who castigated the residents of Yarralumla for opposing the initial plans for the Brickworks site that would have seen a hill levelled, a road grid imposed, 1800 dwellings squeezed on to the site, and the heritage structures abandoned.

What was particularly sad about Warden's article was that he was ecstatic about the opportunity to let his new dog frolic in the water elsewhere on the lake's edge — an experience he will be denied on West Basin if the ill-considered plans come to fruition.

Alan Robertson, Canberra City

I was disappointed that the Sunday Canberra Times simply copied an article from The Washington Post ("Scientists warn carpageddon could get out of control", Sunday CT, February 26) without putting things into context to inform debate among local fishermen, conservationists and others.

It reminds me of the controversy in 1996 when American researcher Professor Alvin Smith wrote to the prime minister John Howard protesting that the release of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus would be widely harmful, even among humans.

Despite the bad press, Australian scientists held firm on the basis of their research and today we have far fewer rabbits, great benefits to livestock production and conservation, and no disease spread to other species. Release of another rabbit virus to help maintain these advances is imminent.

CSIRO and government authorities have similarly invested years of work in determining that the koi herpes virus (KHV) will only affect carp while also thinking through the likely outcomes of its planned Australian release.

In contrast, the overseas critics who are so alarmed claim no experience in this area and appear ill-informed about KHV in general. KHV is present in more than 30 countries worldwide, so adding Australia to the list won't greatly alter the imagined risk of it "spreading into the world's oceans and harming other species in the long term".

If commentators from England had been trying to eradicate KHV from English and Welsh lakes on that basis, their criticism of work here might be more believable.

Brian Cooke, Waramanga

The piece by Europe correspondent Nick Miller ("Sweden beyond the Trumpverse", Sunday CT, February 26) would only convince those who have read nothing about Sweden's growing problem with increasing numbers of Islamic immigrants.

Perhaps the most telling development was a recent government-sponsored advertisement that implored Swedes to not only welcome the unauthorised arrivals but to adapt to the new reality which ended with the image of a Muslim woman in a hijab.

Among other things this enraged many Swedes who are not ready to jettison their culture and simply roll over to the new chaotic order prescribed by out of touch politicians. Sound familiar?

I suspect that unless Sweden gets a grip of this issue, they will be in for a very rough ride in the coming years.

H.Ronald, Jerrabomberra, NSW

I was heartened to read Mark Kenny's article ("Indonesia key to Australian prosperity", Sunday CT, February 26). While Indonesian President Joko Widodo's weekend visit to Australia didn't have all the soft power razzmatazz of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Australians should take note of the significance of this relationship reset.

With both leaders on the weekend focusing on stronger economic relations and setting an example for people-to-people ties, we can only hope this signals a much larger positive shift.

With the foreign policy white paper just months away, let's hope a new Australian foreign policy reorientation advances Australia's longer-term interests.

I am confident Mark Kenny is attuned to when we might expect the dominant security and conflict narrative vis-a-vis Indonesia to be more counterbalanced with a wider focus on opportunity and

co-operation.

It is well overdue for Australia to lead, not lag, on tapping into the dynamism and growth of Indonesia. So far news of an Australian consulate opening soon in Surabaya is reassuring.

I now look forward to the day when there will be more business analysts sitting on flights to Surabaya than security analysts behind desks in Russell.

Equally, I look forward to the day when there will be more curious Australian students on Indonesia campuses than incurious Australian protesters at anti-Muslim rallies.

Craig Hodges, Kingston

The Chief Minister plans to can the Convention Centre project because the benefit cost ratio (BCR) is only 2.4.

I wouldn't complain about that. If it needed federal funding it wasn't much of a project anyway.

But it is clear and irrefutable proof that the tram which, on normal criteria, has a BCR of 0.47 and, using the inflated methodology of the government, could only generate 1.2, really is a dog.

The pity is Shane Rattenbury cannot also see the point.

What really is required is an apology to the Can the Tram group, which the government criticised as out of touch when, now, it is clear that they were right.

Stan Marks, Hawker

The easy solution for this drama of the scientists having to move to Armidale ("Scientists reject move to Armidale", CT, March 1, p5) (and) to placate both Andrew Barr and Barnaby Joyce in one move, is to build the new National Convention Centre in Armidale.

That way Mr Barr can get on with his pet project "the tram" and Barnaby Joyce still gets to pork barrel in his electorate with a $900million construction.

Either way the ACT rate/tax payer cops the brunt of politically inept decisions.

Warwick Priestley, Amaroo

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attached file. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

Keep your letter to 250 words or less. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).