The ACT Heritage Council has hit an all-time low by supporting the demolition of the wonderful Enrico Taglietti's Flynn Primary School (''Flynn's school's cultural significance irrelevant: heritage body'', February 7, p3).
This is a building that would be treasured in any city of the world by those who love exciting and original architecture.
The Australian Institute of Architects strongly supports the preservation of this building.
Taglietti is one of the recipients of the profession's highest honour, the AIA gold medal. The AIA has placed the school on its register of significant 20th century architecture.
The Flynn school has considerable heritage value on the basis alone that this city has very few public building with true architectural integrity. We should treasure every one. In Barcelona, with all its wonderful Romanesque, Gothic and Moderista buildings, it was still considered essential to preserve and restore a 1930s art deco cinema.
We just ripped down our art deco cinema in Manuka and replaced it with the monstrosity that is currently in place. That was a long time ago, but it seems things have not changed, and unfortunately we cannot rely on the ACT Heritage Council.
Michael Coghlan, Campbell
Of course, heritage is predominantly a community issue. Apart from some esoteric but nonetheless important places and items, decisions on the preservation/restoration/reconstruction/adaptive re-use etc of most items from our distant and recent pasts must be driven by community concern. The community's voice on ''cultural significance'' must be heeded, and community concern needs to be, and usually is, bona fide, open and readily demonstrable. Look at the fights for the preservation of picture palace-type theatres across the world, for example.
Sadly, heritage legislation and institutionalised assessment are often more impediments than safeguards.
The ACT Government's treatment of the Flynn Primary School continues to be reprehensible. Talented people, such as its architect Enrico Taglietti, who designs good things for Canberra, contribute greatly to our cultural environment.
We shouldn't expect to see their works summarily knocked over by barbarians.
Jack Kershaw, Kambah
ETHANOL IN PETROL
Greg Jackson (Letters, February 7) may be applying heat to others in the ethanol in petrol debate, but very little light is being cast on the dark side of this proposal.
After deriding successive NSW Labor governments for poor policy and corrupt behaviour, Barry O'Farrell, just eight months after taking power, now engages in the same practices. In this matter, there is a stench of favouritism for political mates at the least, and downright corruption at worst. There is no competition in ethanol production in NSW, and the chief proponent is a favourite political party donator.
This sole ethanol producer has been given the same type of special favours as the builders of the cross-city tunnel received from NSW Labor - the consumer is, in the case of ethanol, forced to make a purchase (in this case, premium petrol) by a government controlling consumer choice by eliminating regular unleaded petrol as a purchase option.
Finally, most older cars and even modern motorcycles will suffer damaged fuel systems from using E10. O'Farrell and his National mates refuse to acknowledge that all four of the top Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have warranties which become null and void if fuel systems are damaged when ethanol is used in petrol blends.
Governments should be encouraging motorcycle transport in the city centre as a means of reducing pollution and traffic parking issues, not penalising them with stupid policy.
W. A. Brown, Holt
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