Skill, strength and dedication should be the criteria of a real sporting champion, not performance enhancing sporting aids.

Rex W.D. Condon,

Ashwood, Vic

I can't see how allowing swimmers to use performance enhancing swimsuits is any fairer than allowing swimmers to use performance enhancing drugs.

Swimmers from more privileged countries already have the advantage of world class training facilities that are denied to swimmers from poorer countries. To give them an even greater advantage through the use of hi-tech swimsuits simply makes a mockery of the whole concept of a fair and equal race.

Simon Leeds,

Nicholls

NO 'FREE' PARKING

Paul Parrett (Letters, July 31) argues against the ''great expense to ACT taxpayers'' of public transport and then goes on in the same letter to argue for the taxpayer to subsidise private car parking in the Parliamentary Triangle. I seriously doubt whether the rest of the taxpaying public of Australia want to subsidise a small number of privileged public servants to park for free in Canberra while they themselves would have to pay for the same privilege in their home cities. There is no such thing as ''free'' parking. Somebody pays.

D. Shirley,

Narrabundah

VALUE IN MODESTY

I don't support the culture of misogyny that has evolved around the burka or, for that matter, the sartorial and ''coiffurial'' imprisonment imposed by many ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects on their women, even in Australia, but after seeing the picture on the cover of Times2 (July 30) I wondered if there's not some truth, some value behind modesty in clothing. I'm no prude; I just don't think the mostly naked woman, partly covered in sparklies, has any place on page 1 of a family newspaper insert. Especially when the photos inside have a consistently ''tamer'' flavour. If your editors chose to titillate rather than inform, then this is an extremely sad statement on Australian values, and it indirectly provides an endorsement for those who want to imprison and hide their women in various chains of modesty garb whatever nationality or religion they may be.

Judy Bamberger,

O'Connor

FEE ABOLITION A BAD MOVE

NAB's decision to abolish overdrawn account fees for personal savings and transaction accounts is a bad move. It is tantamount to rewarding customers who badly manage their bank accounts.

People who overdraw their bank accounts are effectively using someone else's money by the amount of the overdraw. There should be a consequence, a cost, for doing this. Overdrawn account fees are this cost. In abolishing these fees, NAB is effectively saying to its customers that its okay to do this. But it is not okay; it is wrong.

Instead, NAB should be taking active measures to encourage its customers to better manage their accounts so they do not get overdrawn. NAB (and the other banks) should also be looking at using technology to decline approval for transactions that would have the effect of overdrawing accounts.

Don Sephton,

Greenway

INSULT TO PRE-SCHOOLS

How ignorant is the Minister for Education in saying that Government preschools are merely low-cost child care centres (''ACT free child-care rate highest in nation'', July 30, p7)?

This is an insult to the professionally trained teachers (equally qualified to other teaching staff in ACT schools) who have provided a wonderful educational experience offered to our young children. Doesn't he know that Government preschools are part of the education system for which he has responsibility; and the preschool aged children have always had access to high quality teaching, even when preschools were autonomous? As a former teacher's assistant for 20 years I have had first hand experience of the high standard of educational programs offered to preschoolers by the early childhood trained teachers. Whilst preschools being amalgamated has benefits for both the preschool and the primary school involved and does give the opportunity for staff to share ideas and to build a strong united educational setting, it should not be as suggested by the Minister that it is to ''ensure that they have access to higher quality teaching from day one''.

Joy Hurren,

Macquarie

LABOR CLUB SALE

I find the current stoush over the sale of the Labor clubs very interesting and ironic. Traditionally it is the self-serving politicians who are trying to oppress the community in order to grab assets to sell off; in this instance it is the board representing those community members who created the asset trying to sell the asset being opposed and oppressed by the politicians.

Brian Rhynehart,

Charnwood

ASKING FOR EVIDENCE

Mark Diesendorf begins his article, ''It's power to the people on climate change action' (July 29, p11) with the cliche all alarmists love, 'Global climate change is accelerating'. I assume that he means warming. That is simply not true. But as a scientist I cannot accuse him of lying because nothing in science is ever ''settled''. But I am entitled to ask him on what evidence he bases his claim, and on behalf of CT readers I do so herewith.

Aert Driessen,

McKellar

CREDIT CARD FEES

Roger Quarterman (Letters, July 29) says I was wrong to say, in an earlier letter, that it's reasonable for shops to charge a fee for payment by credit card (or, put another way, give a discount for cash). Not so. No matter what he argues, the fact is that the fee merchants pay the credit card provider obviously has to be passed on to the merchant's customers, just like all his other costs either in the price of what he sells, or by a specific charge to the customer getting the benefit of paying by credit card. If he recoups it in his general prices, people who pay by cash are subsidising those who take advantage of the benefit of paying by credit card and there's no logical reason why they should.

R.S. Gilbert,

Braddon

DOCTOR DELAY

Note to all those politicians who continue to condemn citizens with the temerity to attempt to access the public health system when they are sick rather than visit their own GP: I have this day (July 30) made an appointment with my GP on August 17 that is the earliest he could see me.

No extraordinary circumstances just a case of demand for GPs continuing to outstrip supply.

It would be nice if our elected representatives, whose wages we pay, could be a little less judgmental about those poor folk who need to access the public health system in relation to anything less immediate than a heart attack.

Gordon Fyfe,

Kambah

NON-RELIGIOUS HOSPICE

In her letter on the sale of the hospice (July 26) Jenny Miragaya raises legitimate concerns over the possible sale of the hospice, I write as a retired medical practitioner of 43 years of practice, mostly in the public hospital sector. In July-August of 2008 I visited the hospice for 47 consecutive days to be with my partner Vivian who died there from a brain tumour. The service provided by the staff was very good, impressive; efficient, compassionate and friendly. A well-organised volunteer service ably assists. To be there I motored from Weston to Barton twice a day, occasionally thrice a day.

There is need for a second hospice, preferably now, but certainly in the near future. It should be located south of the lake and run by a non-religious organisation. It is not ideal to have all hospice beds under the management of a religious body. I am not aware of data that supports the contention of Archbishop Coleridge that Catholic Health Care facilities provide a special level of care not matched by lay nurses. He should cite the data to prove his point.

Within the public hospital systems I have seen some superb and sustained nursing care over a range of medical services.

There is every reason to accept that a hospice would be very well run if managed by non-religious staff.

Keith Powell,

Weston