Recently I've seen references to our anthem Advance Australia Fair failing to include any mention of our First Nation.

The Seekers' song opens verse 1 with an Aborigine defining self as, for 40,000 years, the "first Australian", and watching the First Fleet arrive.

Verse 2 takes up the plaint of a convict on that fleet and his/her progression towards freedom.

Verse 3 the hard life of the outback dweller through the Depression, to the better times.

Then comes the refrain, which really moves me ...

"We are one, but we are many;

"And from all the lands on earth we come

"We'll share a dream and sing with one voice;

"I am, you are, WE are Australian"

Anyone like to join me in advocating adoption of this great song as a most fitting national anthem?

Peter Burrett, Forrest

The report "No room for ACT battlers" (September 15, p.1) is another example of the government's misplaced priorities.

The government's spokesperson from the EPSD Directorate argued it was not necessary as there were "already high proportions in the inner north and inner south" and that there would be increased affordable housing in Gungahlin, Molonglo, Belconnen and Woden.

What this ignores is the high accessibility a location in inner Canberra offers to employment and services, particularly important to the less well-off members of our community.

The approach would have some credibility if the government was striving to increase the employment opportunities and services available in the new towns or addressing the needs of the less well off. It is not.

The decline in the government housing share of the housing stock from 12 per cent to 7 per cent since self-government reflects the lack of commitment to social justice of governments, predominantly Labor, over the last 29 years.

A Labor government should be addressing the needs of the disadvantaged. Its actions are inconsistent with its rhetoric.

The light rail project is the most obvious example, a project costing billions of dollars, displacing many government tenants and delivering little.

The money should have been used for more socially and economically responsible projects.

The planning strategy refresh offers the possibility of a well researched and informed strategy to guide development.

Mr Barr has the opportunity to correct the perception he leads a poor, arrogant, ill-informed and visionless government serving developers rather than the wider community.

Mike Quirk, Garran

Before M Silex (Letters, September 17) gets too ill from what he labels "anti-Liberal bile and untruths", he should probably look at some facts about the claim that the Coalition, and Scott Morrison in particular, was responsible for "turning back the boats".

In 2011 the Labor government attempted to introduce legislation to implement an arrangement to have all boat arrivals processed offshore in Malaysia.

This proposal was strenuously opposed by the Coalition, particularly by its leader Tony Abbott and its shadow immigration minister Mr Morrison.

That proposed arrangement was designed to reduce the number of arrivals and the influence of people smugglers.

Because of this opposition and the unlikelihood that the legislation would pass the Senate, it was withdrawn.

The then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, announced in July 2013 that people arriving by boat would not be settled in Australia.

Afterwards, a new Coalition government was elected and introduced Operation Sovereign Borders, which turned back the first boats in December 2013.

From July 2013 to December 2013, the number of boat arrivals decreased from 48 in July (when Mr Rudd made his announcement), to seven in December 2013 (when Operation Sovereign Borders began turning back boats).

So the claim that the Coalition and Mr Morrison were responsible for turning back the boats ignores the effect of the Rudd announcement and is, at best, overstated, or, at worst, designed to mislead.

Brian Smith, Conder

I think that Bill Shorten should cease harassing Peter Dutton over eligibility to be an MP. My reason is simple; if he continues he would discover that every MP/Senator is ineligible.

For instance, anyone with a "HECS debt", with private health insurance (rebate), with children (family tax benefit), or a member of a political party (taxpayer funds per vote) would be in breach of section 44 (v).

Similarly, any member of a trade union that provides "safety advice" or training is in breach of Section 45 (iii).

The problem, Mr Shorten, are the words "indirect"/"indirectly", and it will be better for everyone if you accept that you are all "technically" in breach of the Constitution, the alternative being to refer all parliamentarians to the High Court to judge whether it is possible for any Australian citizen to have absolutely no "pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service".

I would welcome referrals of any MPs who are members of trades unions as a good first step to clarifying the situation, but also an omni-partisan plan to review and amend the Constitution every decade so that Australia can update its laws without rancour.

It occurs to me that ex-senator Katy Gallagher is ineligible for election now, if she "never was" a senator yet has received some benefit.

Martyn Allen, Spence

The current government badly needs a Special Envoy from Indigenous Australia.

This envoy could advise government on how to govern Australia without police, bureaucracy or levying taxes.

How to grow food and supply meat without cost and without depleting the soil.

How to travel the land without polluting the air.

How to eat well and stay active without a gym membership.

How to eliminate hunger, homelessness and poverty.

How to educate children without cramming them into classrooms.

How to avoid bushfires by expert pattern burning.

How to live on the land without driving our unique fauna to extinction.

How to live in community and enjoy plenty of leisure time while avoiding alienation and stress.

Pauline Westwood, Dickson

The royal commission into aged care is welcomed. It represents an upgraded inquiry into nursing homes that we oldies remember years ago, which revealed poor treatment and poor accommodation in decrepit suburban mansions.

It appears the latter has improved. Modern facilities however do not appear to have lifted the overall standard. No doubt the commission will identify problems and suggest solutions. which we all will hope to see speedily implemented.

However, I would submit two observations which probably will not be put forward in evidence.

The matter of pay will arise because in spite of its proud egalitarian boast Australia is creating a servant class including cleaners and nurses.

In most hospitals and aged care facilities the staff are African or Asian. This is not a racist comment because these workers respect their old, but their English is not understood by our old, often hard of hearing, aged care residents, who sometimes also resent these foreign attendants.

The commission will not hear about the above as most of the oldies affected are too old even to intelligently articulate their concerns or complaints.

It will be left to younger relatives to provide critical second-hand accounts.

My second point is we glowingly publicise more and more medical breakthroughs which will prolong life.

However what is not explained is the quality of life of those extra years. In what condition will we live or exist staying alive longer?

A question the commission therefore also should address is not only the current but the future in our aged care facilities and whether or not it is humane to allow all residents to live in increasing decrepitude despite giving an option, euthanasia, to die.

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla

The moving letter from H.Zandbergen (Letters, September 14) on the need for people to visit a nursing home before pontificating too much about the merits or otherwise of euthanasia is well worth a second read, particularly now that the PM has announced a royal commission into the aged care sector.

As my own mother, now in a nursing home, moves closer to Don Bradman's famous average, I too reflect every day on the quality of her life in these circumstances.

There's certainly no easy answer and never will be.

Nevertheless, leaving to one side the issue of euthanasia, I would suggest that rather than bellyaching about the political circus engulfing the country, the merits or otherwise of trams or indeed earth-shattering changes to bus routes, Canberrans should make the effort and visit a nursing home in any case.

In doing so, even a short time with any one of the many residents who get very few visitors; and in some cases none at all, you'll make a real difference.

Frank Breglec, Fadden

The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, needs to wake up to the realities of aged care in Australia.

Yes, there are some wonderful people in the industry providing care for elderly Australians in the evening of their lives.

However, the quality of the service offered by the industry cannot be based on the dollars the government feeds into it but how those dollars are spent.

Further, for Scott Morrison to claim that Australia is providing some of the best aged care in the world is clearly at odds with the reality of a sector where care facilities have been closed at therate of one a month in the last year.

Penny Bowen, Chisholm

I understand why Sussan Ley MP has reneged on her private member's bill to phase out the cruel live sheep export trade.

She resigned from Cabinet because of errors in travelling allowance claims. On the backbench, she found a sincere, if unexpected, role as a courageous and determined opponent of the live sheep export trade, redemption of a high order in the eyes of many.

Scott Morrison's offer of a junior ministry proved too much for an ambitious MP, and she reneged on her own Bill. There was another way.

The Liberal Party has scarcely any women of Ms Ley's experience or ability in the Parliament, let alone the Cabinet. When Morrison made the offer, she could, as a person of conviction, have accepted subject to her having to support the passage of her own private member's Bill. If he'd refused, she would have lost a very junior role and he'd have lost his most talented woman MP — on a point of high principle.

The media would have transformed her into the leading female politician in a parliamentary party devoid of credibility in the eyes of many women. If he had accepted, he would have demonstrated respect for the role and views of women in his government.

Either way, the sheep export trade would be phased out and a more humane and economically viable boxed meat industry would be able to develop. It is not too late for Ms Ley to salvage her political reputation and rewrite a chapter of the history books.

P. O'Keeffe, Hughes

N. Bailey (Letters, September17) is partly right when he writes that the ACT government is interested only in releasing land for development to increase government revenue.

It seems to me that the ACT government is totally in thrall to the developers, whatever they wish to do, and is addicted to the revenue their actions bring it.

Apart from any questions of motivation or ethics, the urban infill to which N. Bailey refers (his "concrete jungle") could have highly undesirable consequences for Canberra and Canberrans.

It has been demonstrated conclusively that heavily built-up urban areas are considerably hotter than areas with significant areas of trees and other vegetation. Climate change can only make that problem worse: such areas could easily become unlivable.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

I loved Tony Abbot's response to the suggestion the pre-selection vote in Warringha was close; "Wrong," he said, "I got 70 per cent of the vote" — when he was unopposed!

D J Taylor, Kambah

MISSING WOMEN

On Sunday's episode of Insiders the panel (three males, one female) were discussing the inappropriateness of the low numbers of females in the Liberal Party in Parliament. The group did not seem to be aware Insiders has the same problem. The same criticism applies to Q&A.;

Audrey Guy, Ngunnawal

LAND KEY TO HOUSING

The ACT government can and must increase the supply of land. It's the key to housing affordability.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

POLLS THE PROBLEM

When Abbott was prime minister Turnbull made a huge thing about the 30 anti-Liberal polls. And it worked. When people ask why Turnbull was removed all we need to do is check the number of polls that were against him.

Geoff Cass, Tewantin, Qld

ALP NOT THERE YET

Where are you coming from G. Joseph of Hackett. The ALP has the right to govern, when elected. Just now, they are not elected.

Elaine Staples, Yass, NSW

THE DANGERS OF DRUGS

The two people who died at the Defqon.1 music festival in Penrith died because they took drugs, not because they couldn't test the drugs. Prevention is easier than cure. I do support testing but would hope for a better education on the danger of drugs.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Vic

ATTRIBUTING BLAME

Isn't it strange that to any and every question put by journalists to any member of the Federal Government the answer is always "it's all Labor's fault".

Graeme Rankin, Holder

RESTRAINT REGRETTABLE

I wonder if Cynthia Moloney deliberately avoided the word "rabid" in her limerick about Tony Abbott (Letters, September 17). If so we are all a little poorer for her restraint, otherwise she'll be kicking herself when she reads this!

James Allan, Narrabundah

TURNBULL PATHETIC

Malcolm Turnbull's tweets on politics after losing office reveal him to be petty-minded and pathetic. No class.

Rod Matthews, Fairfield, Vic

HOW KIND

The Liberals, seemingly not content with having presented the next federal election to Labor on a silver platter, are now proceeding to gift-wrap the present.

M. F. Horton, Adelaide, SA

BACKING WRONG HORSE?

Tony Abbott, Alan Jones, Ray Hadley, Peter Dutton. You all look like you just sucked on a prize-sized lemon. How's your grip on reality guys? Time will tell.

Doug Theuma, Moorooka, Qld