While it is hard to choose just one defining characteristic, a behaviour that appears frequently is a tendency to deny all knowledge of their departments' actions.

Peter Dutton is in charge of a mega department that paid $423 million to a little-known security firm to oversee the protection of refugees detained at Manus.

He claims he knew nothing about the arrangement. Call this the "Sergeant Schultz" defence.

Finance Minister Cormann was surprised to discover he and his family enjoyed a free return trip to Singapore. It was paid for by a corporate travel firm whose CEO is a personal friend and whose company coincidentally won a billion-dollar contract to organise travel arrangements for government and DFAT personnel.

This was dealt with in the article "Ambassador Hockey helped friend to push for deal with embassy" (February 20, p6).

Hockey, a major shareholder in the travel company, can't see any conflict of interest.

This would appear to demonstrate an unfortunate lack of integrity given he is Australia's ambassador to the US.

One can't help but recall Peter Slipper and the punishment that was meted out to him by his former colleagues, the current government, for the inappropriate use of Cabcharge vouchers.

He was pursued for a relatively insignificant amount while others have been allowed to pay money back and move on.

The government may be working towards a financial surplus but it will never recover from its moral bankruptcy.

W. Book, Hackett

When I first heard the story about Minister Cormann's travel bill I thought " 'ere we go again, another story about a clerical oversight masquerading as a corruption scandal". But then it emerged he makes his travel bookings with the CEO of the travel company (yeah the CEO of BP always pumps my petrol) I started to think of it differently.

I still don't think he has a corruption case to answer. Despite this CEO being a Liberal Party treasurer.

What annoys me is the disconnect from reality.

A minister of the Crown thinks it's OK to have the CEO of your travel agent, that happens to have just won a whole of government contract, on speed dial and use him to book your family holidays.

Many years ago a very upright person I worked for told me it doesn't matter if it's all above board, it's the perception. And even if minister Cormann's arrangements are all above board the perception is the smell of four-day-old fish.

Peter Edsor, Bungendore

The Prime Minister's use of English needs interpretation as it is often unclear.

Here is a helpful glossary of some of his more popular words and phrases.

The Canberra bubble: An environment where politicians are held to account for their actions and where their policies face scrutiny. The actions of Cash and Cormann, the contracts for Paladin and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation have been exposed while statements on greenhouse emissions, power prices and refugees have been found to be alarmist and inaccurate.

Nuance: An inconvenient truth.

Better economic managers: Benefits generally confined to those with considerable assets.

Hence the ongoing support of negative gearing and capital gains concessions and tax refunds to those who pay no tax which reduces funds available for health, aged care, disability services, education and infrastructure. Rewards speculation rather than productive investment.

If you have a go you get a go: Assist those with the capacity to look after themselves; mistreat those with less capacity including the aged, the disabled and refugees.

Mr Morrison speaks in tongues, many of them forked. Truth and accountability matter. To build trust, treat the electorate with respect. Abandon inaccurate fear-mongering.

Mike Quirk, Garran

The photos of our PM in full flight last week ("going nuclear", according to one report), was a sight to be seen, if not to be feared.

He was busy inciting anxiety, panic and telling lies all over the place. One wonders if there is any compassion in our leader.

To hear all the shouting going on, is it any wonder the land of Oz is sounding like the land of bullies?

We should be rightly concerned that bullying is a problem in this country given the behaviour of our leaders and "role models".

This behaviour only drags us down and backward. I am afraid of shouting politicians that seek to divide and profit on misery and cruelty, not the poor people we have kept on Manus and in Nauru for so long. Calm down everyone and stop spouting porkies and inciting hatred and fear.

I and my family are heartily sick of it.

Ann Koeman, Thredbo, NSW

I support Bob Douglas (Letters, January 21) when he writes: "Continued burning of fossil fuels is a massive threat that dwarfs border security and nearly everything else."

Let us hope that both the NSW state election on March 23 and the federal election in May will be fought on the issue of climate change and the need for a rapid transition to renewable energy.

There is another issue of importance, however, and that is excessive population growth. Australia grew by 390,500 in the year to June 30 2018, or at 1.6 per cent, more than twice the OECD average.

The ACT grew by 8900 people, or 2.2 per cent, the equal highest rate in the country (with Victoria). Urban Canberra now stretches 40 kms from north to south. Greenhouse emissions from electricity are coming down but those from traffic are going up. Housing is becoming unaffordable for many because new housing does not keep pace.

While I appreciate that there may be a billion climate refugees globally in 50 years' time, nevertheless, right now we have to make some semblance of an effort to achieve an ecologically sustainable population – probably much less than what we have now.

Jenny Goldie, Cooma

I have been watching the shenanigans in the ACT Assembly on the proposal to legalise the cultivation and consumption of marijuana with keen interest.

I am pretty certain, just going on their statements and conduct, that some members have been lighting up already. Do the Greens even know what they want?

M. Moore, Bonython

So the ACT government, via Access Canberra head Mr Peffer, is now effectively blaming buyers for the significant defects in many newly built apartments purchased over the past 15 years ("Building sites not properly policed", February 18, p3).

Has it not occurred to this official that his department's register of errant builders, until recently unheard of, is retrospective in that it names just a limited number of offenders, years after the event?

His Kelvinator refrigerator analogy is clearly not relevant – there is an abundance of up-to-date info online to assist purchasers of appliances, cars and so forth.

Purchasers young and old – first home buyers and downsizers – have bought apartments in good faith, often off the plan, having relied on our government to have the appropriate regulations and enforcement regimes in place to avoid the incredibly costly and stressful remediation action that is now all too often necessary.

Those who have purchased a leaking apartment don't need someone blaming them for the problems they are now facing.

Returning to the basics of having independent, government-employed inspectors would be a good first step, so future apartment purchasers won't have to face this massive problem.

As the HIA's Mr Weller says, "more boots on the ground" is what is needed.

Mr Peffer claims that the "vast majority of Canberra builders complied with the rules". Only time will tell.

Allan Williams, Forrest

I heartily support the campaign of the Plate Owners Association for compensation following the changes in the issue of plates a few years ago ("Taxi investors state case for $76m compo", February 20, p10)

Back when I drove about half a century ago, a few lucky drivers won plates in an annual "lottery" for the issue of new plates.

Most owners, however bought their plates from retiring owners. If I remember correctly, the going price was about $100,000 even then.

Our town council stripped this sizeable investment from every owner in the industry simply to gain an annual lease fee from owners. It was not justified by the partial deregulation of the industry at a later date to allow Uber to operate illegally.

It was a perfidious act, one for which they owe, big time.

G. Wilson, Macgregor

Further to Catherine Moore's letter urging a sensible drug policy (Letters, February 21).

I take Moduretic 5/50, a diuretic pill that helps control blood pressure.

According to the manufacturer, AspenPharma, each pill weighs 240 milligrams. The active ingredients are 5±0.25mg of amiloride and 50±0.25mg hydrochlorothiazide. 185 mg of seven inactive ingredients make up the bulk of each pill: calcium hydrogen phosphate, lactose, starch-pregelatinised maize, starch-maize, guar gum, magnesium stearate, sunset yellow FCF CI15985.

AspenPharma's quality control assay testing ensures the pills' ingredients are as advertised.

I rely on the regulatory regime overseen by the TGA to ensure the integrity of the product.

To get a 50-tablet box of Moduretic pills I go to Dickson Health Centre for a prescription from my doctor.

I take the prescription to Macquarie Discount Chemist where the pills are sold to me under the supervision of a pharmacist. Enclosed in each box is a detailed consumer medicine information (CMI) leaflet which lists all the do's and don'ts and precautions for this pill.

Why should not any potentially dangerous pill (ecstasy (MDMA), LSD, psilocybin, cannabis (THC), cocaine, heroin etc.) be available within the same regime?

Kenneth Griffiths, O'Connor

Those who oppose pill-testing for illicit drugs say that testing is a green light for substance abuse and that prohibition is the only answer to drug use.

Prohibiting drug taking has never completely worked because people will always take risks. At least pill-testing will inform users about what they are ingesting.

If they then choose to take a drug, that is their risk. The use of illicit drugs should be decriminalised because chasing after users is both pointless and a waste of police resources. Instead, the focus needs to be on education and harm minimisation, in the knowledge that no matter the dangers, some people will always take drugs.

The focus of the law needs to be on pursuing drug manufacturers, importers and dealers because they seek to profit financially, regardless of the tragedy they cause.

Mark Slater, Melba

The AFP says that it linked the Interpol red notice to Hakeem-al-Araibi as he was leaving Australia for Thailand, and was then unaware he was a refugee. If so, why did the AFP not arrest him under that red notice there and then, rather than flick-passing the arrest to Thailand?

Is this yet another example of the AFP treating people's lives and liberty as mere pawns in promoting its relationships with foreign policing agencies, as it did deliberately and unapologetically in the case of the Bali Nine – leading directly and predictably to the judicial murders of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

And as some have suggested it may have done in the case of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg in China.

Mike Hutchinson, Reid

The last sentence of the editorial on February 19 read: "The closer the election gets, the uglier Australian politics, and the race to the bottom to see who can punish asylum seekers the most, will become".

That sentence was part of a race to the bottom. There has been no push by any political party to punish asylum seekers.

Refusal to give preference to queue-jumping asylum seekers over millions of other asylum seekers is not punishment.

Australia's years of protection (housing, food, medical services, etc) of the queue jumpers has been extraordinarily generous.

It has been the opposite of punishment.

R. Salmond, Melba

LOVE POPE'S CARTOONS

I'd like to express my appreciation to Mr Pope (political cartoonist) for his very clever and very funny political cartoons featured in The Canberra Times.

You truly do capture the current political sentiment, especially with Thursday's characterisation of Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison and Michaelia Cash as singing nuns channelling songs from The Sound Of Music. Please don't ever retire!

Joel Pearce, Lyneham.

CAN I GO THERE?

Where is the suburb "Sorry – not in service" which is on the destination panels of so many Canberra buses?

David Mackenzie, Duffy

WRONG PRIORITIES

Attorney-General Christian Porter is more concerned about imaginary legal loopholes than possible improprieties by his ministerial colleagues over their travels.

He won't win an academy award for his mimicking and misrepresenting of Labor leader Bill Shorten's statement about Christmas Island on February 20.

Trevor Wilson, Chifley

CATTLE CLASS? REALLY?

I cannot believe Mathias Cormann and family travelled to Singapore in the "cattle class" section of the plane.

Michael Tang, Fadden

I WANT THOSE FARES

If Mathias Cormann took his wife and two children to Singapore and back for $2780 (the amount he repaid) I'll eat my hat.

That means each fare was approximately $700 return.

Assuming the Cormann family did not travel "peasant" class where can I can buy such a ticket?

E. R. Moffat, Weston

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

After all the trauma the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman suffered following accusations of having ordered the Mafia-style execution of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi it was so touching to see the Indian PM Narendra Modi embracing him with a hug. That's the real world we live in.

Rajend Naidu, Glenfield, NSW

THE ARMS TRADE

Shorten and Morrison alike think it's good for us to help the Saudis kill kids in Yemen with arms we make. Lovely.

Barrie Smillie, Duffy

MINORITY GOVT BEST

With both major parties still wedded to coal and unwilling to countenance radical new thinking about asylum seeker policy or the environment, the best election outcome would be a minority government dependent on thoughtful independents.

Bob Douglas, Bruce

TAKING THE LEAD

During the Chinese Century, the question is whether China will copy the behaviour of Europe and America during the European Centuries (1492-1915) and the American Century (1917-2017)?

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attached file. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

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