Time indigenous people 'stepped up and took control of their lives'

Taking aim at the the culture of victimhood, well intended but ineffective spending and the corrosive effects of drugs, alcohol and violence, Pearson said in essence that it was time Indigenous people stopped obsessing over past wrongs, took charge of their lives and made something of themselves, citing the way the Jews have overcome the horrors of the holocaust.

Encouragingly he was supported by Warren Mundine, indigenous adviser to Tony Abbott. It seems we have experimented with every measure except tough love in this area of social policy and it would be in everyone's interest if ruinous paternalism was ended.

H. Ronald, Jerrabomberra, NSW

Reference list for Ken McPhan (Letters, May 6) on the frontier wars between white settlers and First Australians: Forgotten War (2013) by Henry Reynolds (with copious primary sources); Conspiracy of Silence (2013) by Timothy Bottoms; Frontier (1996) ABC TV, readily available in full on the internet; pioneering 1970s writing by Humphrey McQueen, available on the Honest History website (honesthistory.net.au); recent research by Raymond Evans and Robert Orsted-Jensen (search on Google).

Even the Australian War Memorial admits to "about 20,000" deaths (while refusing to commemorate them) but recent work suggests the death toll may have been upwards of 60,000, in other words more Australians than were killed in the Great War.

David Stephens, secretary, Honest History, Bruce

I share the journalism profession's disquiet over the alleged (filmed) actions of three ACT police attempting to browbeat a National Indigenous Television reporter/cameraman into surrendering his camera after filming police intervention in Canberra's Anzac Day parade ("Media Union slams police treatment of NITV reporter", May 7, p2).

Is it possible that police have the right to confiscate such equipment from a member of the public who filmed possible police improprieties in public?

Gary J. Wilson, MacGregor

Katherine Powers' (Letters, May 5) queries what will happen to marriage in Australia should same-sex marriages become recognised by Federal law. Her concerns are far-fetched in the extreme.

She worries about the possibility of marriage equality leading to bigamy and the rise of prohibited relationships (the marriage of those related linearly by blood).

Legalising same-sex marriages is entirely unrelated to the laws concerning bigamy and biologically prohibited relationships.

Every Australian marriage celebrant, civil or religious must establish that those about to marry are of legally marriageable age, not in a prohibited relationship and not in an existing relationship with another partner.

There is no basis whatsoever for Ms Powers to assume that same sex couples would not maintain these sensible requirements.

It dismays me to think that people who already enjoy the comforts and rights of marriage want to deny those same rights and comforts to all loving couples.

Helen Nourse, civil marriage celebrant, Rivett

A comment relating to the government's recent Intergenerational Report – The Challenge of Change.

To effectively deal with our crippling housing affordability/sustainability problem, maybe the house building process here needs to be more like Uber and Airbnb – a freed-up, sensible, evolutionary, de-industrialised approach, with better, cheaper, user-focused products and services.

No more unproductive, cartel-like, profit-creaming developers, spec builders, estate agents, (especially those with in-house valuers and urban planners), absentee investors and landlords, opinionated money lenders, etc.

We need good-sized, sensibly-serviced land at wholesale prices, only for bona-fide owner occupiers, who are free to directly engage architects, allied consultants, hands-on builders and trades people, using Australian components.

Characteristic individuality, even self-building, should be encouraged.

Planning and building guidelines and regulations need to be open to change after expert assessment on merit.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

Tony Abbott, Education Minister Christopher Pyne, Human Services Minister Scott Morrison, and Treasurer Joe Hockey all contribute to ensuring Australians can compete in tomorrow's world, by providing today's young people opportunities for a relevant education and financial support to obtain that education.

This is needed for Australia to be "the smart country" our government repeatedly touts.

However, university students suffer significantly from Centrelink delays in providing support funding – sometimes jeopardising their education. We see this in our own backyard, as we rent to students who, without assistance from family and friends, without flexibility from us, might well need to give up their dreams for higher education.

The Department of Human Services' response about delays in processing education-related requests illustrates the absolute absurdity of our government – delays cause students to require emergency assistance; students should apply to Centrelink – part of DHS!

DHS causes the problem; another part of DHS will cure it? Why not just fix the approval process for Austudy/etc versus requiring another application and more processing?

Back pay is wonderful, but can students back-eat? Back-study? Back-enrol?

C'mon, DHS, there's no apparent reason a student must wait more than three months for approval.

Unless, of course, we really don't want to be the smart country.

Judy Bamberger, O'Connor

Graham Downie's article "Parties need to come clean" (Times2, May 6, p1) is the most accurate description of the light rail fiasco I have seen published to date.

As a long-time opponent of the light rail, I see Downie's synopsis as well-balanced and accurate. In particular, I agree with the fact that eight Liberal and eight Labor plus a Green Party member with the balance of power does not give either party a mandate to govern.

Julia Gillard hopped into bed with the Greens and that eventually lost Labor government and credibility ("there will be no carbon tax under any government I lead"). The ACT government, in its arrogance, is heading down the same track. Ministers Corbell and Rattenbury will go down in the annals of ACT history as being the conduit to reducing the ACT credit rating from AAA to B-.

This will take many years to recover from and at a huge cost to the ACT rate/taxpayer.

At the 2016 ACT election, neither party (Liberal/Labor) are guaranteed a majority. I don't care what the polling is showing, a certain amount of voters in the centre of the city will vote "green" – the rest is up for grabs. With the new five electorates and 25 members to be elected, I hope we do not go back to the situation when we had our first election for self-government and had a myriad of self-interest members elected.

W.G.Priestley, Amaroo

Congratulations to Graham Downie ("Parties need to come clean", Times2, May 6, p1) on a very thorough coverage of the issues of light rail.

The only issue I feel he did not cover was the four years the construction will take and the traffic mayhem caused along the route and a kilometre each side.

Thursday morning's traffic problems on Northbourne Avenue should be a good taster. Good luck North Canberra.

And by the way, Simon Corbell, a vote for Labor in 2012 was not a vote for light rail ("Govt claims mandate for light rail plans", May 7, p2). I am sure that if you proceed with this project before the election in 2016, you and your Labor friends will be in opposition – if you are in the Assembly at all.

R.Cunliffe, Condor

The Canberra Liberals are being disingenuous with their call to delay the signing of contracts until after the next election ("Coe calls for a pause on light-rail contracts", May 6, p6). Signing contracts to deliver light rail through a Public Private Partnership, with construction to start in 2016, was a key policy by Labor at the last election. The published policy from September 21, 2012, stated, "If re-elected in 2012, ACT Labor will establish the ACT's first large-scale private sector partnership to plan, finance and develop the first stage of a Light Rail Network for Canberra – the Capital Metro".

It also made clear that "Stage 1 is anticipated to be completed by 2018, with construction estimated to commence in 2016". Light rail was a cornerstone of Labor's election campaign and was reported on widely.

On September 22, The Canberra Times reported that ACT Labor had an "election promise of a light rail link from Civic to Gungahlin" that would be delivered as the "first public-private partnership on an infrastructure project in the territory's history". It stated that the policy announcement meant that Labor would "go to next month's election with light rail as a central policy position".

Labor's plan to build light rail from Gungahlin to City was clear on the timing and the costing.

Simon Corbell MLA, Minister for Capital Metro

Capital Metro Minister Corbell is quite wrong and continues to delude himself that his government has a mandate from taxpayers for the wasteful light rail project ("Govt claims mandate for light rail plans", May 7, p2). His government does not have such a mandate.

Anyone who cares to research the facts would know that. If he believes voters were so well informed about light rail before the 2012 election, maybe that accounted for Labor's very poor polling, the Greens losing three of their four seats and Labor having to agree with Mr Rattenbury's arrogant demand to start building Stage 1 before the 2016 election, so as to cling to government.

M.Flint, vice-chairman, CanTheTram Inc

In support of their pet folly, aka the light rail project, the ACT government has: (1) Legislated to prevent any formal public objection to the project – because such objections would demonstrate what a folly the project is; (2) Refused to hold a referendum on the project – because they know a referendum would reject the project; and (3) Refused to defer any contract signing until after the 2016 election – because they know they will not be in government after that election.

I suppose we should not expect anything different from such a two-bob government.

Paul Bowler, Holder

I do hope that NSW residents F.Seymour (Letters, May 4) and S.Garlick (Letters, May 6), worry about their own state matters as much as they are concerned about the ACT's.

It is interesting how opponents only talk about the cruelty of the cull. What about the 2000-plus kangaroos maimed by cars in the ACT last year?

An NRMA analysis found that car claims relating to kangaroo incidents in the ACT (90 per cent of all animal accidents) increased by nearly 30 per cent over the years 2012 to 2013, from 382 to 509. This is one insurance company only, and does not include those incidents not reported or uninsured. It is therefore estimated that the number of incidents involving kangaroos would exceed 2000 per year. The cost of repairing vehicles (averaging over $4000 per claim) and the medical costs associated with these accidents far exceed any culling costs.

Are opponents saying that the number of accidents is not related to the large number of kangaroos?

Or, that all motorists should have some special device fitted to cars to deter kangaroos, or perhaps we seek permission to drive across their land. Or, as S.Garlick suggests, spend millions (not from his state's budget) to "connect" large wildlife corridors? Even ignoring the costs, these are not viable option. As an avid bushwalker I see first-hand the damage done to fences by kangaroos and the yearly increase in their numbers. I do agree that there are other more realistic strategies we could use to prevent accidents, but we need to have a sensible discussion on this.

T.Mowle, Kaleen

Shame the Heart Foundation didn't see ahead of time that the media response to their report on obesity and inactivity would be the usual moralistic, shaming exercise ("Tuggeranong is fattest, laziest area", May 4, p3).

Shame the Heart Foundation once again points the finger at the easy target – individuals and their choices – rather than bravely and loudly advocating political change such as the regulation of disease-promoting food (like taxing soft drink), or changing sedentary working conditions (like those suffered by taxi, bus and truck drivers – some of whom live in Tuggeranong).

A focus on societal-level changes to food and tobacco (with little focus on obesity) has worked to reduce heart disease in the North Karelia area of Finland for over 35 years.

Shame the Heart Foundation is, politically speaking, the health equivalent of the cowardly lion in the Capital of Oz.

Helen Kinmonth, Cook

The lack of appreciation of the design of the Northbourne Flats is not the only case in Canberra.

The first solar homes built in Narrabundah were similarly despised.

It would be some time in the 1950s or '60s that 12 solar houses were built in Captain Cook Crescent.

We did not have our own government at the time but the federal minister involved was taken on an inspection tour of the project. He was completely disgusted that the government was building "chicken-coop houses."

Fast forward 50 years and solar skillion roofs can be seen on several of the new architect-designed, privately built houses.

I do not know whether there are any government-constructed new houses with this feature yet.

P. Linford, Narrabundah

LEAVE AVENUE ALONE

I invite Shane "the Onceler" Rattenbury and his underlings in Labor to take a walk down the middle of Northbourne Avenue. I took some photos of it last Friday because it just looked beautiful with the lush, green grass. They should see what they are planning to rip up and replace with a$700million toy train and some token weeds (native wildflowers). How the Onceler can call himself green I don't know. More power to Jeremy "the Lorax" Hanson.

Neil Dunn, Fisher

AMERICAN POLICING

Are we going American in our community policing ("Canberra woman alleges she suffered spinal injury in police custody", May 8, p1)?

Rajend Naidu, Glenfield, NSW

DEEP AMBER IRISH RED

If Canberra drivers who don't stop atstop signs ( "Stop signs mean stop: but drivers don't get it", May 7, p6) were DNA tested, many would have Irish ancestors. After enduring 400 years of British tyranny, Australian drivers with Irish ancestors loathe authority. In Ireland, there are no red traffic lights. They have green, amber and deep amber traffic lights.

Graham Macafee, Latham

VOTERS MANIPULATED

Anne Prendergast (Letters, May 8) can kid herself as much as she likes, but nothing will change the fact Australians did not vote convincingly to retain the monarchy in 1999 as shealleges but, voted against the manipulated model for a republic putto them by the Queen's man – John Howard.

Roger Terry, Kingston

Australia can be a republic and stillbe a member of the British Commonwealth, Anne Prendergast. Membership is voluntary and the majority of members (33) are alsorepublics.

Deborah Crossing, Curtin

OPPOSE THE FTA

United States President Barack Obama is facing feet-dragging opposition from Americans of all political stripes on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is time for Labor to grow some cojones and come out on the side of all Australians and oppose this iniquitous so-called free-trade agreement. The challenge to our democratic system by the dispute resolution terms is unacceptable.

Ann Darbyshire, Gunning, NSW

PRIORITIES WOULD HELP

I notice the subjects of SBS's StruggleStreet had plenty of money for smokes, drugs, booze, junk food, tattoos, hot cars, the latest mobile phones and acrylic nails! A lesson inprioritising wouldn't go astray.

Judy Bailey, Kambah

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