About that bridge. It seems to be accepted without question that we need to honour our migrants with some monument. Can someone explain why? Our migrants have come here for one of two reasons: either to escape persecution, oppression in their own country, or simply in the desire to find a better life here. Having come here they have settled down to make a life, as is only natural, and in the process, equally naturally, made and are making, a contribution to this country.
Given that they should, as most no doubt do, thank their lucky stars for their good fortune in being allowed to settle here, one might think that the balance between moral obligation incurred and contribution made is about even.
Seeing that we seem to need a monument to anything and everything, we could just as well have one to honour the contribution to Australia made by people who were born here.
Dennis Palmer,
(£10 Pom) Deakin
Australia seems obsessed with constructing expensive memorials of no functional value and with little aesthetic appeal.
A case in point is the proposal for a white elephant Immigration Bridge over Lake Burley Griffin (David Pfanner, Letters, April 2). In these constrained economic times, why not create a structure which would commemorate migrants to Canberra in a useful way, and be of lasting value to future generations, involving combined government and business investment?
My suggestion is to construct a six-star state-of-the-art memorial indoor swimming complex to replace the neglected and now defunct Oasis Swimming Centre in Deakin, within easy reach of a densely populated area. The pool complex would be available for learn-to-swim and lifesaving classes, school swimming programs, aqua-aerobics and for anyone wishing to improve fitness and mental relaxation through lap swimming.
From the hostile letters concerning the proposed Memorial Immigration Bridge in your columns, this might prove to be a more appealing alternative to Canberra migrants, including my own family who arrived in this beautiful city in 1961.
If only the ACT Government would listen to and take action on public opinion!
(Dr) Bryan Furnass,
Hughes
The proposal for a Memorial Immigration Bridge to be built over Lake Burley Griffin appears to have little popular support.
This is disappointing, as critics speak only of the bridge impinging on the natural landscape of the lake and/or the depletion of its heritage value. How is it possible for a man-made lake to have natural landscape qualities or any significant heritage value?
It's just a river valley filled with water.
Let us not forget that it was migrant labour and expertise that built the harbour bridge (now that is an ugly structure) and it is migrant labour which continue the hard toil required to construct our homes, offices and monuments.
It makes sense not to hide their (migrant workers') achievements under a rock or on some suburban wall so why not build a bridge monument where all and sundry can observe and think about what a better place migrants have made this country?
I believe migrants have earned their place in Australian history and we need to show a little respect for all migrants, and special recognition for those who lost their lives helping to build a better place for the rest of us to live.
David Cavill,
migrant, Kambah
If we must have a memorial to immigration, adding to or duplicating the existing Welcome Walls in Sydney and Fremantle, then I can understand the powerful symbolism of a water crossing in the nation's heart.
But a bridge across Lake Burley Griffin would be a barrier to yachts, or a tall piece of visual clutter against the open sightliness of the lake.
Regardless of any positive personal views on immigration, a great many people would hate it.
May I suggest that instead of a bridge, we have a path of names. Several pathways, twisting, turning, joining, spreading like some great family tree.
Place it on a central patch of open land, a monument that does not obstruct or prevent community activity, blending into the landscape instead of dominating.
And beside the pathways, or reflecting the pattern, or crossing and linking, another set of pathlines, commemorating the tribes and the languages, the lands, lives and individuals of the First Australians.
I can imagine the names of our ancestors in all their different spellings and ethnic origins, flanked by tiles or slabs of Greek and Arunta, British and Wiradjuri, Vietnamese and Eora patterns and themes.
Paths of history, culture and understanding. Perhaps the two monuments could join to form a shared pathway, somewhere near Reconciliation Place?
Peter Mackay,
Campbell
CRISIS AFFECTING CLASSES
The ACT Government is crowing about growth in public school enrolments for the first time in a decade (''Public revival about quality not crisis'', April 2, p1), citing government spending as the reason.
It couldn't be the financial crisis that's impacting everything else in our economic climate could it?
J. Coleman,
Chisholm
SPORTING CURFEW CALL
How long will it take to get into (what appears to be) the very thick brains of our football administrators, that enough is enough?
In commenting on Shawn Mackay's very tragic and heartbreaking accident in the early hours of last Sunday morning, Brumbies coach Andy Friend reflected on the ''emotion, frustration and disappointment'' of what had occurred.
With due respect to Mackay's grieving family, partner and friends, I need to be blunt and realistic and ask the question, what was a group of 15 or more players doing out on the streets of Durban in the early hours of last Sunday morning, instead of being tucked up in bed in the safety of their hotel rooms?
So are the Brumbies over there to win matches or to have a good time?
It is long overdue that our (highly overpaid) sporting idols (whatever their age) should have a curfew imposed upon them, whereby they are required to return to their accommodation by, say, midnight, at the very latest.
Chris Bell,
Pearce
SERIOUS RESPONSIBILITIES
In his article concerning the operation of the Sentence Administration Board (''Court finds in favour of prisoner over parole board'', March 28, p8) Noel Towell claimed that the Supreme Court had freed four men against the board's will.
This is simply not the case. Two of these offenders had been convicted of further offences by the Supreme Court after they had been released from prison on parole.
Whilst legislation requires the court in such cases to cancel parole and return the offender to prison, the board had no involvement.
In another case, delays in providing information to the board from NSW Corrective Services (where the prisoner was serving his sentence) and from the prisoner meant that the board could not assess an appropriate level of community safety and risk. The board was not, therefore, in a position to grant parole. These delays were not the board's. The time taken to deal with parole matters will reduce considerably now that information for the board concerning prisoners in the AMC will be undertaken by ACT Corrective Services.
The final case involves an offender challenging the board's decision to cancel his periodic detention order and send him to prison. The board did not oppose bail in that matter. The board operates within a strict legislative framework and takes its responsibilities seriously.
Philip Lee,
chairperson, Sentence Administration Board of the ACT
SCRUTINY OF TRAVEL
John Warhurst rightly suggests that there should be greater transparency regarding MPs' trips overseas, so that these public servants do not stand accused of corruption and abuse of donors' hospitality (''Time to junk the guilt trips'', April 2, p19).
What surprises me is why Warhurst does not refer to his own profession as a good example of how such situations are dealt with.
In my experience, I can say that there has never been an occasion when I have not ended up substantially out-of-pocket after attending an academic conference overseas even when attending as an invited speaker. My absence from the university was conditional on the submission of a detailed report identifying the benefits of the conference for my department, and its impact on my research and career.
If the academics, whose output is available to the public, are subjected to such scrutiny, one should have thought it essential that MPs, who are often privy to sensitive information, are similarly scrutinised.
Sam Nona,
Burradoo, NSW
FITZGIBBON DESERVES CREDIT
Calls for the Minister for Defence Joel Fitzgibbon to resign are not surprising, but what he has done is nothing compared to the blunders of the Defence Department itself.
These blunders with our tax dollars make Helen Liu's gifts look like small change. Sure Fitzgibbon is a bit of a mug but give him credit for actually trying to make the department and defence services accountable, something previous ministers failed to do.
David Groube,
Weetangera
GOD ORDERS CHILD KILLINGS
J. Halgren (Letters, April 1) should study her Bible a bit more, if she claims that God has not ordered the killing of children at times.
Apart from the sacrifice of Jeptha's daughter in the Book of Judges, there is the sad fate of the 42 little children torn apart by ''she bears'' for the crime of having mocked the baldness of the prophet Elijah.
The children of Israel were commanded to kill ''every male among the little ones'' of the unfortunate Midianites, and to kill all the Canaanites, sparing none.
The same fate befell the first-born children of the Egyptians, suffering for the hardness of Pharaoh's heart.
David Roth,
Kambah
POLICE STATE NOT FAR AWAY
When spies employed by an elected government spy on that government (to protect national security) a police state is not far away. When security agencies multiply into an alphabet soup of mutual mistrust (AFP, ASIO, ASIS, DIGO, DIO, DSD, ONA) a paranoid police state is almost here.
When spies demand and get huge spy-proof buildings (along Constitution Avenue) democracy lies in ruins, though no stone has yet crumbled on Capital Hill.
Memo to Parliament: Can I have my insecurity back? It's safer and less costly than national security.
Graham Macafee,
Latham
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