This was shown by Australia's capitulation in the recently concluded second Test match against Pakistan. After having managed to escape with a face saving draw in the first Test, Australia then lost the second Test match outright by over 330 runs, even though the team had earlier captured five Pakistani wickets for about fifty runs.

To me, the message is obvious, our bowlers are simply not up to the task of dismissing a star-studded line-up like Pakistan and one could be forgiven for being a little cynical about their chances against India in a few weeks' time. Surely the obvious place to recruit new and back-up players is the JLT Sheffield Shield and limited-over competitions.

There were a number of players that showed themselves more than capable of playing for Australia, such as Victoria's Marcus Harris, who scored a simply brilliant 250 runs against NSW, and the young slow bowler, Lloyd Pope.

Finally, given the status and relative importance of both domestic and international cricket in Australia I find it a little puzzling that there has been very little mention of the Sheffield Shield competition. Currently, coverage is only available via "streaming", which is satisfactory but hardly compares to the coverage provided by Foxtel.

Perhaps Foxtel could be persuaded to extend its excellent coverage to include the Sheffield Shield?

Andrew Rowe, Florey

Extolling Nauru, that wondrous tropical paradise with world-class healthcare, Abbott tells us almost all the detained asylum seekers – sorry, illegals – are "would-be economic migrants". As 23 of the 652 detainees have had their asylum claims rejected, a tiny 3.5 per cent seem to fall into the economic migrant category. I suppose its inevitable that in the era of fake news we now have a pollie who suspends the laws of arithmetic.

T. Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

Last week I attended the National Drought Summit in Canberra at the invitation of the Prime Minister.

It astounds me that they hold these "showcase" events to "solve" the drought when the answers are staring them in the face, and are simple, cheap and forever.

For 105 years in Australia, drought and similar calamities (e.g. market collapse) were dealt with by debt reconstruction.

It is very simple. The government borrows money at normally half the commercial interest rates – currently 3 per cent.

The government purchases the banks' "bad debt" and the mortgage "at a discounted price" – this becomes a tax write-off. The Government Reconstruction Fund does not require repayments until the drought ceases and the market recovers.

So where a farmer might be [spending] $115,000 a year on the repayments for a $1 million loan (about 5 per cent interest), under Rural Reconstruction, they would be paying $25,000 a year.

Second, if north Queensland were its own country, we would be the wettest country on earth. Imagine a straight line drawn on the map of Australia from Tennant Creek, through Mount Isa to Townsville. Well, every river and creek above that line floods each year. If we are able to harness some of that water and use it for micro-irrigation projects such as that proposed under the HIPCo scheme (which provides a template for 15 other irrigation projects around North Queensland), then we can grow grass and fatten oxen all year round. Together, these solutions will ensure that the farmer survives, the breed herd stays intact year round, the industry remains enriched, and when the market or drought finishes and the farmer goes up onto commercial rates, the government makes money.

It's a no-brainer.

Bob Katter, federal member for Kennedy

The original design [for Anzac Hall] submitted by architects Denton Corker Marshall in the late 1990s preserved the architectural integrity of the original Australian War Memorial, reminiscent of a Knights Templar fort, leaving it in undisputed dominance of the hill on which it stands.

Why John Denton would object to the demolition of the architectural excrescences protruding from the original memorial on which he was apparently forced to work at the turn of this century beggars the imagination.

Maybe he just wants to draw attention to the architectural integrity embodied in his original design?

G. Wilson, Macgregor

I was at first relieved that Scott Morrison became PM instead of Peter Dutton. That relief is now beginning to wear off as I am getting more and more irritated at Mr Morrison's continuing self-satisfied smirk on his face whenever he faces the media.

A "smirk" is defined as a smile evoking smugness, i.e. excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.

Yes, Mr Morrison, we know you are still bathing in the unexpected delight of becoming Australia's PM, but a bit of humility in your facial expression will go a long way.

Get rid of that smirk.

Tony Falla, Ngunnawal

I think the government's idea of encouraging future migrants to live in rural cities or towns is a good one ("Shocking: Govt does its job", October 13, p10).

Albury, Wagga Wagga and Dubbo are perfectly liveable cities and all our crying out for more people.

If the government can somehow encourage those migrants to remain there for about seven years those migrants will have established a number of links with their communities (including school, social, sporting, religious) and they may well decide to remain there, alleviating congestion in our big cities.

Herman van de Brug, Kaleen

Increased revenues for network service companies (poles and wires) have been the biggest driver of increased electricity prices in NSW, by far.

I'm wondering what PM Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor and their "big sticks" were doing when their fellow NSW Liberal Party member Mike Baird was fighting the reductions in NSW network revenues proposed by the Australian Energy Regulator in 2015, in order to maximise the sales revenues the NSW government received for selling the then government-owned network businesses?

I guess building new Sydney football stadiums was more important than getting electricity bills down back then.

Rick Belt, Kaleen

Giving bicycle riders permission to cycle across pedestrian crossings certainly is contentious and not just for drivers.

It's interesting there's been no mention of people walking. This is about pedestrian crossings, after all.

As well as increasing crashes between cars and bicycles, the change increases conflict between people walking and those on bicycles. A major reason is the same for both people walking and people driving: the speed at which people ride across crossings.

People walking, as well as those driving, may have insufficient time to react appropriately. People walking can also be startled and move into the path of the bicycle or nearby motor vehicles.

The legal speed limit for people riding across a crossing is 10km/h, about twice the average walking speed and more than five times the speed of slow walkers.

It is important to recognise that slow walkers are also usually more vulnerable. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the 10km/h speed limit is often exceeded. Add the startle effect and people on foot will move in unpredictable ways, increasing the likelihood of a crash.

Better education and improved crossing design and signage may help. Even better would be separate crossings.

Pedestrian crossings are for the safety of people walking.

G. King, chair, Living Streets Canberra

G. Wilson raises important issues to do with enterprise bargaining (Letters, October 29). At the time enterprise bargaining was introduced, I (and a few other dinosaurs) thought the whole thing was fundamentally flawed. No subsequent adverse consequences have, therefore, been of any surprise whatsoever. They have all been logical outcomes of the fundamental processes of the beast.

G. Fyfe, Kambah

Regrettably, Labor's Bec Cody's history report would say "must try harder".

On Tuesday morning on Radio National, Bec asserted confidently that General Haig "sent his men to die" and therefore Haig Park, on the advice of her constituents, should be renamed.

No commander willingly sent their men to senseless deaths (they were all men in Haig's time, Bec) and even that most desperate of actions, the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War ("Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred") had as its purpose the capture of the Russian guns.

It was, like Gallipoli, a terrible miscalculation ("Someone had blundered").

Bec might be more appreciated by Canberra ratepayers if she concentrated on rates, electricity prices, roads and rubbish, matters of real importance to the community.

C. Faulk, Swinger Hill, ACT

The Canberra Times (Forum, October 27, p9) presented results of surveys for a new Insider Reader Panel.

The first question was "Should the ACT continue with its plans to take light rail from Civic to Woden via Barton?", to which 51 per cent said "yes", 39 per cent "no" and 11 per cent "undecided".

This is a typical survey question designed to evoke a positive response by omitting important parts of such a question.

For those who said yes, what would your response have been if "... at a cost of $3.3 billion to 3.9billion, paid for over 20 years, depending on the route (Commonwealth Ave to Kings Ave)" had been added to the question?

M. Flint, Smart Canberra Transport, ACT

Meegan Fitzharris, the ACT Transport Minister, has surely been fixated by the "Gungahlin Tram" for too long.

Many years too late, she has only just realised that: "We need to build the infrastructure first and not wait for congestion to get so bad and to cripple the community and economy with road congestion." ("Final track laid at city", CT, October 27, p10).

Older residents may remember the days prior to the Barr government when that actually happened.

However, I doubt if those trying to escape from Gungahlin every morning now will ever forgive the government for their complete lack of any forward planning.

Murray Upton, Belconnen

Your article "Govt told to ditch Barton tram link" (October 21, p1) describes how not to go ahead with the stage 2 light rail. Recent letters to the editor have outlined the costing of the project.

The money could be used for far more important things that would benefit the people of Canberra.

How many meetings will it take the government to realise what they are proposing is just beyond belief and that they should ditch the Barton tram link?

The travelling public needs a reliable, and fast, mode of transport for the daily commute. A 15-minute express bus service is the answer between Woden and Civic.

The [tram] proposals put forward by the government will be much slower than this.

J. Lee, Braddon

In her letter (October 29) Judith-Ann Sjostedt of Higgins lauds the power of this paper to get ActewAGL to contact her and offer a 12 per cent discount on her future electricity and gas. If she went to the ActewAGL website, she would see that she could get a 20 per cent discount for both. Perhaps ActewAGL is not quite as in awe of The Canberra Times as she thinks.

P. Constable, Red Hill

It is encouraging that finally there seems to be more widespread understanding among our politicians that children must be moved from detention centres. But what about those refugees who are no longer children but have spent their growing years in detention centres?

And their parents? And all the men and women who have been left to languish there? Are they to be permanently forgotten?

These people have done nothing wrong.

Judy Aulich, Giralang

COOK OFF COURSE

One of the first casualties in the government's proposed review of place and street names, despite his being universally acknowledged as the world's greatest navigator, is sure to be Captain Cook Crescent, Griffith.

Geoff Nickols, Griffith

DEAR BEC ...

The Indigenous and Jewish groups who wrote to Bec Cody ("Push for review of 'hurtful' place names", October 29, p2) may be on to something. When we write to relevant ministers to fix the Curtin Shop disgrace and when we take up petitions to keep our convenient bus routes, we are ignored. Maybe if we write to Bec she can do something useful?

M. Greene, Curtin

AND SHE'S BACK

Wasn't it Bec Cody who became incensed in February last year about a couple of 30-year-old wall tiles in the loo of a South Coast RSL club? I think that may have been the last time we heard from her. Wonder what else she's been doing for us?

P. Moran, Watson

PENALTY TAMPERING

Making Smith, Warner and Bancroft cop the full blame (and only penalties) for the fiasco in South Africa is equivalent to bank CEOs walking away scot-free from the problems in the financial sector while dishing out penalties to employees.

Keith Hill, Isaacs

BADLY OUT OF FORM

If Cricket Australia chairman David Peever was a thoroughbred the form guide might read: "Poorly performed gelding, by Arrogance out of Clueless. Racing out of his depth. Look elsewhere."

John Mungoven, Stirling

EXIT THROUGH GIFT SHOP

How can the chairman of Cricket Australia (CA) acknowledge responsibility for what has gone on in the organisation and not resign?

R. Laws, Bonython

FROZEN ASSETS

Will Australia sell part of its Antarctic Territory to China? Formally lease them land that's already used, without our environmental and defence guidelines, for bases, camps and airfields? Or will we do nothing until it's too late?

L. Forward, Lyons

OUR SYMPATHIES

Doubtless the homeless, those on social security and the 4 million Australians in financial stress will easily identify with the misfortune of Bloomberg's 500 wealthiest who "lost" $71 billion when the Dow and S&P; tumbled.

A. White, Queanbeyan

HENNY PENNY POLL

Share prices are falling and property prices are falling. It's certainly going to be an interesting election.

N. Ellis, Belconnen

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