More money not the answer to reducing surgery wait times

Throwing money at the hospitals for increased infrastructure will not address the workforce shortages which have five- to 10-year lead times to train highly skilled professionals. Certainly there are more efficiencies that can be engineered into services but this eventually becomes an area of diminishing returns.

Unfortunately the article did not address the "elephant in the room" which is exit block. This is where patients who have had their acute treatment completed cannot be discharged either home or to a step-down facility because of lack of available services (eg nursing homes, respite and rehabilitation services).

This backlog not only reduces the number of beds available for elective surgery but it also causes backlog in emergency departments, which then leads to ambulance ramping. Patient flow is disrupted.

If we accept that the current system is not coping then surely the solution is to change the system. Performing elective surgery in dedicated settings can improve both cost and throughput.

Perhaps Gary Linnell should do a trifle more research before playing down Captain Cook's actions at Hawaii as the excusable deeds of a "complex character".

He was caught on the beach while in the act of abducting the local chief as hostage for the return of a stolen longboat.

Understandably the Hawaiians were a bit annoyed. In the ensuing melee, four British, including Cook, and probably 30 Hawaiians were killed.

On a previous occasion Cook burnt down an entire village in Moorea in retaliation for the theft of a goat.

Linnell says we mustn't judge Cook's actions by the standards of our day, yet the Hawaiians felt justified taking action by the standards of their times. Not all critics of Cook are defacers of statues.

Rajend Naidu (Letters, May 7) says that Peter Dutton raises a very legitimate community concern "regarding the absence of proper monitoring of a released migrant". I think that what Rajend really meant was "released asylum seeker".

I must admit I am having difficulty in seeing any difference between a released migrant, asylum seeker, permanent or temporary resident, citizen or even visitor when it comes to those who have served their sentences for crimes committed.

But obviously Peter Dutton can.

In the article "Climate risks 'too big' for politics?" (May 6) Admiral Chris Barrie noted that the new National Defence Strategy includes just two sentences on the threat posed to Australia by climate change.

One reason for this is probably complacency. Australia is separated from most other countries by very wide stretches of water, except for the Indonesian province of West Papua, an unlikely source of mass migration.

The other reason appears to be the Albanese government's craven appeasement of the fossil fuel industry, in particular its highly profitable gas sector.

The discussions of deadly acts of violence committed against women in domestic situations seem to assume that the violence is solely a product of the perpetrators' gender.

Surely obsessive behaviour leading to stalking and coercive control, and out-of-control anger are elements of psychological disturbance which can lead individuals to kill.

Addressing men's mental health is just as important as asking them to "step up".

Providing more funding for women seeking to escape abuse is a good thing.

It is much more straightforward and less costly than trying to improve our seriously underfunded mental health system where "red flags" can be overlooked so someone was able to murder my niece and five other innocents three weeks ago at Bondi Junction.

The Canberra Times has repeatedly regurgitated the Transport Minister's in-house report on the success of light rail apparently without undertaking even a modicum of independent analysis.

At the very least I would expect a journalist to ask "Is light rail's 16 million trips over five years, in a city of almost half a million people, good use of residents' money?"

Also "how many billions of construction dollars have been spent outside the light rail corridor?" Canberra readers need the full story to get a balanced understanding of the costs and the benefits of a light rail network.

The recent report from a joint standing committee entitled A Capital for All Australians contains some useful and practical recommendations for Canberra as the nation's capital, including the national institutions located here.

But I can't help feeling there is no vision in relation to future national institutions.

We should not be limited to the existing institutions. This is particularly true for natural history and environmental institutions. The only reference I could see on this subject is hidden away in Appendix D at Recommendation 12 where a previous committee report recommended that a business case be developed for the establishment of a natural history museum in Canberra.

Australia is one of only 17 megadiverse countries in the world in terms of plant and animal species, ranked sixth in terms of biodiversity and second in terms of endemic species (species only found in Australia).

Future generations need to be informed and motivated to protect our unique biodiversity and to ensure we don't lose any more of our iconic plants or animals. A 21st century institution using cutting-edge technologies can inspire and help people understand just how special Australia is.

The Prime Minister has announced a "made in Australia" initiative, an essential step since we can no longer rely on exporting raw materials.

As a follow-up to this announcement the Treasurer, Dr Chalmers, said there would also be "financial incentives, regulatory changes, and other enablers" in the May budget to lure capital to Australia.

Some may wonder why we need overseas investment when according to politicians Australia is not only a rich nation but one of the world's richest nations.

While it is true that we have a lot of billionaires, 159 by some estimates, the average Australian household has a debt of $276,462 which is around $2.6 trillion nationally.

This conundrum is dismissed by economists who put housing debt into the good debt category based on the dubious assumption that house price increases will nullify the debt. It's also the reason why we have become dependent on overseas investment.

In the meantime about half the population is struggling with sky high rent or mortgage costs while the other half is investing in housing because it is being subsidised by government tax breaks.

I was close to my Chifley home driving back from Melbourne when I realised I had left my wallet at the Bookham rest stop on the weekend. After doing a frantic u-turn, I called Barney's Cafe in Bookham to hear that someone had handed it in - intact.

In a world of increasing despair, I found that (to paraphrase Shakespeare), a good deed does shine in the darkness. The lady who found the wallet did not leave a name.

I hope she may read this and know how grateful I am. Thank you.

Neil Renfree (Letters, May 7) suggests that cyclists wearing dark-coloured clothes are putting themselves at risk by being difficult to see.

I agree that high-visibility clothing has some safety benefits and cyclists should consider wearing such clothing, but why is this suggestion always directed at cyclists? Drivers should paint their cars fluorescent yellow to make them easier to see at a distance. Unfortunately, I don't see any car dealerships selling vehicles of this colour.

Cycling is a practical form of everyday transport for many people, and thus many cyclists will wear whatever clothing suits their other activities. Sometimes a high-vis vest will fit in with this, sometimes it won't.

The Canberra Times editors ("How can we make the ACT a cycle city?", May 7) have the right idea: we need infrastructure separating cyclists and motorists to make everyone safer, happier and more efficient.

So the Liberal Party will continue with its dreadful housing policy of allowing workers to raid their super for first home purchase. This drives housing prices up and diminishes super values for young Australians. A double unfair whammy.

It might be funny if it weren't so hypocritical. The former chief-of-staff to Tony Abbott does a full pile-up on Albo in her weekend Murdoch media rant. Calling Albo kettle-black (i.e. not fit to be our PM) is a bit rich coming from the handle to Abbott's pot.

Full marks to Hamas for gall and hypocrisy. They start a war, and when they get the worst of it call for a cease fire that leaves then in charge. So much for the warrior's spirit.

What a great article by Crispin Hull ("Tweeting twits and the staggering cost of defamation cases", May 7) about very expensive and near useless defamation cases. Perhaps the ABS should take note and remove the costs of this activity from the calculation of the GDP.

I'm looking forward to the crocodile tears Jim and Katy shed when they explain why they can't improve health, education, disability services and women's refuges but can splurge $50 million on the silliest tram route ever built. Hint: don't bother propping up an incompetent dying ACT government.

According to NAPLAN results the ACT is underperforming in both literacy and numeracy. I was dismayed to read the only reference to numeracy ("Report calls for consistency in schools", May 2) related to secondary maths teaching. Any upcoming changes in primary schools should ensure children enter high school with fundamental numeracy skills.

Qantas ghost flights? Of course. Now I know why they say "fly with the spirit of Australia".

I never thought I'd see the day when Eric Hunter (Letters, May 8) would criticise his beloved former employer the ABC; and rightly so in this instance. In typical fashion its reporting has been biased by ignoring "the other side", instead preferencing the rowdy students participating in the university protest.

Religion should be a private thing between a believer and their god. If people didn't draw attention to themselves by advertising their religion by wearing identifying clothing and jewellery, or discussing it in public, they would most likely be safe from attacks by people of other faiths.

By diluting the response to previous interest rate rises was talk of early rate cuts a self un-fulfilling prophesy?