If Jon Stanhope wishes to know what the people think he should put it to ACT voters, but I doubt he has the guts.

Paul Parritt, Ngunnawal

Tree felling irrational

THE STANHOPE Government says it must kill public trees now to avoid a rush later.

It notes trees have been planted for 80 years, that some are getting on a bit and to avoid spending lots of money on many dying simultaneously, it must be pre-emptive.

Rubbish. Public trees have been planted continuously since the 1930s. The species used were diverse. Some handle our generally drier, poorer soils better than others. They were planted on rocky hillsides, in pockets of fertile alluvium, in marshy areas. No-one, especially Australian National University foresters, knows when any specific tree will die.

They do know that those different tree species, planted in different growing conditions, guarantee deaths will not be simultaneous. They also know the risks of falls, offered as the felling rationale, are trivial.

Thousands died in the drought. Survivors should be cherished. It's simple as they die, replace them.

Tom Waring, Ainslie

Better bike lanes

WE NEED protected bike lanes for all of Canberra, not just a small loop of Civic (''Review urges transport overhaul'', November 11, p1).

It's time for John Stanhope to show some political will and enforce the issue. To simply reclassify a break-down lane as a cycle lane or paint a white line at the side of a road where speeds are in excess of 60km/h is irresponsible and lacks understanding.

It shouldn't matter if you are eight years old or 80 a protected bikeway is a symbol of democracy, where someone on a $100 bike is as important to someone driving a $30,000 car.

So said Enrique Penolosa, former mayor of Bogota in Columbia. After visiting the Netherlands and Denmark he built more than 300km of protected cycleways just in two years of his three-year term, including bridges and tunnels, physically separating pedestrians and cyclists all for half the cost of duplicating the Gungahlin Drive Extension and the price of the nine-storey car park being built at the Canberra Hospital.

We need this carpark because we will have a tsunami of people with chronic health problems related to being overweight and obese.

A quarter of our children are overweight and obese and by 2030 that number will double. Is this the future you want to live in, or do you want one like that of the cycle-friendly cities of Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Bogota?

Martin Miller, Chifley

Refugee solution

TO ALL Australians desperately trying to find a roof to put over their heads or for work, there's a new solution for you.

Yep, it's the Krudd Viking Solution. Just grab a few mates in a similar boat (pardon the pun), jump on the nearest icebreaker or other Customs vessel and within a few weeks you'll be offered housing with a job thrown in!

Peter Toscan, Amaroo

There is cancer hope

In the article ''Treatments for breast cancer are challenging and often distressing'' (October 27, p5) D.J. Gosper spoke bravely and honestly at Calvary Hospital about her treatment, saying she felt she would rather die than have chemotherapy again.

This was hard to hear for women soon to be starting chemotherapy. It is tough, and there are times when it's hard to get through the next hour, let alone the next day.

To those starting out I would say you are not alone the medical and nursing teams here in Canberra are wonderful, and the ladies from Bosom Buddies and other support groups, such as Breast Cancer Network Australia, are here for you.

So take heart, go one day at a time, ask for help, and remember that everyone is different.

Sarah Holmes MBE, Griffith

Hospital hearing help

MY SYMPATHIES go to P.M. Button's father (Letters, November 8, p20) and J.F. Crane (Letters, November 11, p10) over their deafness problems in hospital. If I should be admitted without my hearing aids I have some fear that nurses may just think I am dumb. A sign at the top of my bed of ''hearing impaired'' might be a real help.

Helen B. Wiles, Kingston