Monstrous reminder
THE ARCHITECT of Parliament House may think ASIO's new headquarters is a monster (''Parliament architect attacks ASIO building 'monster''', August 15, p5), but maybe he should look on the bright side.
Yes, as he points out, it seems misplaced, out of proportion and out of character with the proposed direction that lakeside developments were supposed to take under the National Capital Plan.
But maybe this secret palace will serve as an enduring warning of what happens when the institutions charged with our security are given seemingly boundless resources and allowed to operate behind opaque barriers and without concern for the surrounding population.
Every time we drive past this massive, ill-placed, ultra-expensive, high-security castle we should reflect on what happens when security is placed before transparency and accountability.
David Salt, Ainslie
In whose interest?
IT IS with some surprise that one reads the Reserve Bank Governor saying that ''interest rates right at the moment are unusually low ... they won't stay that low indefinitely'' (''Return of rates pain? You can bet the house on it'', August 15, p1) Why not Mr Stevens?
Who is being punished or deprived by low rates? Who is likely to benefit from increased rates?
The banks seem to be doing all right, thanks in some measure to favourable treatment from the Government.
Where does Government get money? You and me.
David O'Sullivan, Cook
Spring in your step
IT'S OFFICIAL, spring is here. I took my first magpie swoop this morning, August14, near the intersection of Kingsford Smith Drive and Dolling Crescent, Flynn.
P.J.Connell, Flynn
Commonsense ruling
THE LANDMARK right-to-die court decision to allow Perth quadriplegic Christian Rossiter to stop being fed is a commonsense ruling.
In a world where individuals choose to die for all sorts of moral reasons by a variety of methods, the decision is a reaffirmation of the basic human right of free will.
I find it sad Mr Rossiter finds himself in a position where he feels it is best to die, and I am heartened that he has indicated that he is open to being talked out of it.
This is another of those life and death rulings where the court for once has got it right.
John Bell, Lyneham
A dignified exit
GREG CORNWELL (Letters, August 10, p8) makes no mention of the impact his approach would have on others in our community, who do not want to die or in any way be pressured to ''doing the right thing'' and get out of the way, so to speak.
If we are going to have a debate about ''rights'', we should first consider ''responsibilities''. In looking at the latter, we should first think about the impact our actions would have on others.
A few years ago my 80-year-old father was placed in an ambulance, taken to a hospital in Sydney, and expected to die.
Nursing staff told my brother: ''That's what happens at his age they die.'' My sister, a trained midwife, visited my father, and noticed his drip had not been connected for more than 24 hours left much longer he probably would have died.
My sister moved him to another hospital, and made sure that he got the necessary medical care and attention.
My father is now 85 and living at home, unless he's off trout fishing.
Before we talk about killing people (and there seems to be plenty of that already in the world), let's first make sure we're taking proper care of people, particularly the most vulnerable, to ensure that all people may die a natural death, without ''chemical pressure'', in a caring and compassionate environment.
This, in my opinion, would provide a ''truly dignified'' exit, which is not just my right, but everyone's right.
Geoff Stannard, Weetangera
Planning madness
PERHAPS Don Fletcher might like to have used Bonython West to track the 30-plus kangaroos that had lived there peacefully for the past 18 years (since I've lived in Bonython), and whose habitat was razed to bare earth about 18 months ago and is now filled with wall-to-wall McMansions.
In addition, the nearby roadworks on Athllon Drive (making the section adjacent to Bonython West a dual carriageway to cope with traffic) have now been completed, with a median strip and roadsides planted with grass. The ''refugees'' from Bonython West are now being killed at an alarming rate as they make their way to the median strip to feed.
Surely the ACT Government planners are to blame, not the kangaroos?
Marian Young, Bonython
Driving us mad
GRAHAM Downie lamented the inadequacies of Canberra's bus system (''No relief is in sight for the downtrodden users of ACTION buses'', August 9, p24).
Ho hum. What he failed to mention was that the inevitably lamentable service to outer suburbs already costs us around $8000 per year, per patron in subsidy.
So the win/win answer is to cancel those stupid services and give the disadvantaged out there $4000-worth of free taxi rides each. Then spend the other $4000 a head on new freeways or parking for our future green electric cars.
The lose/lose answer is the current one: change development rules to cram more people into the high-rise they dislike, just so public transport can get the population concentrations it needs. Talk about tails wagging dogs.
Tom Waring, Ainslie
Chanelling the dead
ACT HEALTH must be desperate for guidance it's now turning to the dead for advice.
Today's lead article (''Family's swine flu despair'', August 15, p1) quotes the ACT chief health officer DrCharles Guest as saying, ''We've had a number of conversations with agencies about communications and yes there has (sic) been adjustments to the way we communicate with people after they've died.''
Bruce Cool, Wanniassa
Housing hell
THE SUNDAY CANBERRA Times has alerted us again to the inability of the Stanhope Government to look after its most vulnerable citizens in a timely manner (''Government poised to end 'hell' stint in ACT hospital'', August 9, p9).
I wrote a letter in March 2009, when we were notified in The Canberra Times about this poor woman's plight as she remained in Canberra Hospital for two years.
In Sunday's article, Karyn Costello stated that although ACT Housing had offered interim accommodation, ''none of the first four houses offered had been appropriate for a person confined to a wheelchair''. This appears to be rather unbelievable.
Why would a wheelchair-bound person, such as MsCostello, be offered even one house which was suited only to an able-bodied person? The mind boggles.
The ACT minister responsible for disability and housing, John Hargreaves, and ACT Housing need to lift their game. The Stanhope Government is not free of blame either, with respect to this particular case.
This lady has suffered enough. Find her a house suitable for her disability.
B. Legge-Wilkinson, Campbell
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