So as a step towards saving $20 billion the Department of Defence is to axe Duntroon's Beating the Retreat scheduled for 24 and 25 September (''Beat it: bean-counters march off with Duntroon tradition'', August 18, p1).
I bet they're breathing easier now they've made that decision. Are we to learn the percentage saving achieved by this, or are we to assume that the saving will be significant? What utter nonsense.
If Defence wanted to make a real saving why don't they abolish the Australian Defence Force Academy?
With no ADFA, officer cadets would be assigned directly to the RAN, Army or RAAF colleges when, after proving their suitability for military life and after a significantly shorter period than the one they would have spent at ADFA, they would graduate as commissioned officers and be posted to a unit in their service.
After proving their military potential in their respective services those deemed suitable would be selected for tertiary studies at a civilian university. Huge savings to be made, and military potential realised before academic training provided: probably too sensible for the minds which believe that axing Beating the Retreat will have a significant effect towards saving $20 billion.
John Bonnett, Canberra City
UN bid
In his article on Australia's candidature for election to the UN Security Council (''Grand Duchy threatens to derail Australia's UN bid'', August 18, p11) Nicholas Stuart has shown little understanding of the way in which countries are elected to councils of the United Nations General Assembly.
His conclusion that Australia's international reputation is so low that we will battle to defeat Luxembourg in what he calls a ''free vote at the UN'' shows a deplorable lack of understanding about how international diplomacy is conducted.
The bottom line is that whilst voting for non-permanent positions on the UN Security may appear to be free, the result is in fact fairly well stitched up beforehand by the way in which informal groupings of UN member states put forward slates of election candidates.
Australia is competing for a place which, notionally, is ''allocated'' to a country from the regional group known as the Western European and Others Group [WEOG]. Australia is one of the ''Others'' in the group, along with, for example, Canada and New Zealand. Our membership of this group is an historical hangover from the early days of the UN and reflects our cultural and other links with the Western part of WEOG. The effect of our being in this group is that we are continually competing for office against countries which, at least geographically, are close to each other, and prefer their own, such as Luxembourg, to an ''Other'', such as Australia.
Incidentally I am not a betting man but if asked I would put my money on Finland as a stronger opponent to our candidature than the Grand Duchy.
E.L. Fisher, Kambah
Registration notice
The Road Transport Authority sent my wife a few days ago a registration renewal reminder about her car.
Registration is due on August 24.
The notice was accompanied by a slip headed ''Important Notice!'' announcing that from July 1 new CTPI providers will be able to enter the ACT market.
It says that ''the new reminder notice will provide you with premiums for all CTPI providers licensed to issue CTPI in the ACT.
You will be able to select your preferred CTPI provider at the time you renew your registration''.
But this reminder notice shows only NRMA Insurance as the provider.
I telephoned the RTA and was told the new providers would not be named till September. The woman I spoke to could not tell me whether the insurers, the RTA or the ACT Government were responsible for this bungle.
I telephoned AAMI, with which we are insured for other things, and was told it had not even been advised of the proposed change.
Sounds as if the bungle is the Government's.
It would have been reasonable for the notice not to be issued till the new arrangement was made, or to ensure that the arrangement was made by the promised date.
I expect that a new provider will charge a lower premium than NRMA does, but my wife is deprived of this advantage.
Michael Travis, Cook
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