Someone needs to protest at the extravagant attack on ACT Health doctors and the public advocate by the ACT Chief Justice last week (''Judge slams Health over starvation case'', August 29, p1).
In this difficult and painful case, he could have given his judgment and obtained acceptance, or at least acquiescence with it, without such personal attacks on professional public people who cannot reply.
He made no acknowledgment of the agonising deliberations which they must have gone through before their approach to the court, and showed no sign of having had such difficulties himself in coming to his decision.
He showed no understanding of the subtleties of doctors' creed of ''do no harm'', nor of the dilemmas being continually faced by many members of the public in difficult life-and-death situations. I have no personal connection with any practising doctor. I support voluntary euthanasia and dying with dignity organisations, but this case, by definition, could not be about ''voluntary'' euthanasia.
Beryl Rawson, Braddon
Pension whinges
I am getting sick and tired of the constant whingeing by retired public servants and ex-Defence members that their pensions are linked to the CPI (Letters, August 31) unlike welfare recipients whose payments are tied to average weekly earnings.
Retired public servants display a base ingratitude to government ministers who publicly laud their bureaucracies by telling us how dedicated and committed they are. As for ex-service personnel, our Prime Minister is punctilious in attending ceremonies to see off our combat troops when they are sent into danger and welcoming them home when they return, whether in whole or in part, on all occasions being loud in his praise of their gallantry.
Funerals of welfare recipients receive no such privilege. And criticism of some welfare benefits is completely unjustified for instance, given Australia's population projections over the next 30 years and concerns about fewer workers to provide adequate pensions, the fact that 15-year-old unmarried mothers had their benefits raised from the CPI to average weekly earnings some years ago merely stresses the obvious our Prime Minister recognises that bonking for Australia should take preference over administering or fighting for it.
Bill Deane, Chapman
Train tracks
Patrick Troy's solution (''Rail held back by track'', August 30, p8) to making the Canberra train competitive is not the full picture.
Travel time is not the only reason why people don't use the train. Other factors are that it doesn't go to the Canberra city centre, it's a lot more expensive than the bus, only two departures each day, different times on different days, at inconvenient times, and inadequate bus connections in Canberra. All these need to be addressed to get people back on to the train, and moving the station further out of town won't help.
He also thinks that fixing the track will enable a travel time of two hours to Sydney. Most of the line has sharp curves which would severely limit the speed even with better track. A stronger track is needed and also several major deviations, separate track for fast trains between Campbelltown and Sydney, and tilt-trains (for the remaining curves), and possibly electrification.
We could wait for a very fast train, but it won't stop at most of the towns now being served, and won't take freight. It's time to get the fast train and upgrading plans back out.
Dave Kelly, Aranda
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