The fighting is vicious and the enemy have constantly shown that they have no limit to their disgustingly murderous behaviour.

Our troops perform their duties under extremely harsh conditions knowing that any day may be their last. Additionally they know that if they are captured by the Taliban they will probably be beheaded for a propaganda video. At home on a daily basis, their loved ones fear the dawn knock on their door by a senior officer and a padre.

Unless they have been there themselves no one can truly appreciate the constant fear and trauma they all suffer on behalf of Australia.

Now many do-gooders and some journalists are falling over themselves to crucify some of our brave lads who, under the most stressful of circumstances, may have mistreated some of those who they believed at the time to be their sworn enemies.

In the safe, quiet, stress-free comfort of their offices, the critics pontificate on what they love to call "war crimes".

Due to the overblown reporting of what, on the Kokoda Trail against the Japanese, was considered a routine necessity, many of our soldier and their loved ones must now face the added fear of them being branded "war criminals" and possibly discharged from the army in disgrace or, even worse, imprisoned.

Our brave soldiers deserve a whole lot better than this.

Lt-Col Derek Gough (Ret), Greenleigh, NSW

I was not surprised to read about allegations of very poor behaviour by Australian Army personnel while overseas ("War crimes allegations levelled at elite soldiers", June 8, p1) .

As I was growing up my mother continually impressed on me that because of the almost God-like bravery of the Australian soldier the world was becoming a better place for us all.

As I grew to become part of the workforce I found myself sometimes in contact with ex-soldiers, mainly from the Second World War and Vietnam.

Occasionally these ex-servicemen would let slip a bit of their behaviour while on active duty. I admit to often being shocked, disgusted and very disappointed to hear what they related.

My overwhelming feeling was that these men were the complete opposite to the God-like creatures my mother always spoke about.

I do admit that it is more than likely that the men I came into contact with were probably suffering from PTSD, but that does not necessarily excuse the behaviour as I heard it.

To me it makes it very clear that war is really a waste of time and resources.

It also inflicts harm onto most people who are involved in it.

The only ones who benefit are the arms manufacturers.

The fact we followed the Yanks into Afghanistan and were there for nearly 20 years and have achieved nothing is an excellent example.

Geoff Barker, Flynn

Sad that officers of SASR can not identify miscreants needing counselling. Soldiers who develop infantile obsessions with the violent and opportunistic Spartan culture should be identified for counselling before their behaviour gets out of hand.

Matt Ford, Crookwell, NSW

The recent controversy about the War Memorial reminded me of a conversation I once had with a university colleague, the late Dr David Denholm, who had been a front-line fighter in New Guinea and Bougainville. We were talking about a TV program which had described the violent methods sometimes used to extricate Japanese soldiers from their bunkers immediately on the cessation of the war.

David commented that they used to have to go in and get them out. He often remarked that he could not see anything glorious about war.

Like most soldiers, he never talked about his combat experience. People like him never wanted anyone else to share their combat experience. They wanted peace. Perhaps notices to that effect could be posted at exits from the War Memorial.

Reg Naulty, Hawker

Warwick Priestley (Letters, June 11) asserts that David Smith is still merely a "senator-elect as he has not yet been sworn in", and that if he were to now "stand aside", that would not lead to a Senate casual vacancy to which an ALP member would have to be appointed, but would rather cause a further recount which could see a Greens candidate victorious.

He is wrong on both counts. Section 42 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 makes it clear that the "term of service of a senator for a territory commences on the day of his or her election", not on the day on which he or she is sworn in. The High Court declared Mr Smith elected as senator for the ACT on May 23 and his term started on that day, as is confirmed by the Parliament House website. He is not a "senator-elect"; he is a senator.

In addition, precedent makes it clear that even if a senator-elect resigns before taking up his or her seat, that is treated as a casual vacancy, not a failed election giving rise to a recount.

That was confirmed in the case of Bob Carr, who was elected in 2013 to a six-year Senate term due to commence on July 1 2014. In respect of that term, Mr Carr sent a resignation letter to the President of the Senate on October 24, 2013. A casual vacancy was deemed to have arisen on July 1, 2014, and shortly thereafter a joint sitting of the NSW Parliament appointed Deb O'Neill to fill it.

Michael Maley, Queanbeyan, NSW

Mr Iglesias, of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, uses the word "euthanised" to refer to the current practice of killing brumbies that cross the ACT border ("Brumbies will be killed in the ACT", June 9, p9).

The definition of euthanasia is to deliberately end life in order to relieve suffering.

Unless Mr Iglesias is trapping the brumbies cruelly, he is not entitled to use the word "euthanised".

Environmental scientists in public administration, who these days build their careers climbing an ever-higher hillock of killed animals, co-opt language routinely.

Ross Kelly, Monash

Over the past year on my walks in Wanniassa Hills I have picked up four arrows. Last Thursday I picked up a hunting arrow, a Cartel Hunter 2213 with triangular razor blade tip.

One of the other arrows also appears a hunting arrow. What is going on?

Another cull?

Chris Klootwijk, Macarthur

Archbishop Christopher Prowse has asserted the church's "seal of confession" should protect priest confessors from any legal requirement to report knowledge of a child sexual abuser to the police. He pleads freedom of religion.

The royal commission found otherwise. It was satisfied that sacramental confession "contributed to the occurrence of child sexual abuse and inadequate responses; and enabled perpetrators to resolve their sense of guilt without fear of being reported."

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognises religious freedom as a human right, but a right which must be limited to protect public safety and the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

If priest confessors or any others defy civil law, they face consequences. It will not be heroic for a good priest to go to jail knowing that he is leaving at large a predator to sexually abuse children again.

Protecting children is what Jesus calls for. Nothing must interfere with that.

Australia's Catholic bishops should respect this necessary change to civil law, and require priest confessors to grant absolution only to truly penitent sexual abusers of children who report to the police, a step within their episcopal competence.

Peter Wilkinson, President, Catholics for Renewal, Lower Templestowe, Victoria

Nick O'Malley, in his article "Trump baffles as he divides meeting" (June 11, p4 and p5) comments on the strange and unpredictable behaviour of Donald Trump at the recently concluded G7 meeting in Ottawa.

Trump left the meeting early, hurling insults via Twitter at the meeting's host, Justin Trudeau. He also, according to the report "Trump exits G7 in blaze of disarray" (June 11, p18 and P19), left before climate change, clean energy and ocean protection were discussed. This is probably a fairly accurate reflection of his attitude to these issues.

Trump also seemed to get into a childish huff over the meeting's lack of support for his demand to have Putin readmitted. This led Republican strategist Steve Schmidt to comment that because Trump "behaves like a Russian asset maybe it's because he is one."

Trump added further to concerns about his attitude to high office, and perhaps even to his grip on his enormous political power, when he was asked how long it would take him to know if Kim Jong-un "is serious about the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula".

He replied with words to the effect that he would do this with "just my touch, my feel." All of this does little or nothing to instil confidence in the judgment of the world's — for now — most powerful man.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

I suspect many readers would agree with The Canberra Times editorial (June 6) , which urges more to be done to stop Japanese whalers killing pregnant and juvenile whales. It's hard to imagine a reason to support unnecessary killing of a baby of any species. Conversely, there are sectors of our community that are OK with continuing a kangaroo culling method that has a code of conduct requiring shooters to remove joeys from dead mother's pouches and club them to death, amounting to nearly a third of the death toll. The requirement for a cull might be debatable, but with methods available which are alternative to shooting and clubbing, our community should be outraged that joey clubbing continues.

David Carr, Wright

Professor Schmidt is to be congratulated for not being seduced by the attractive donation package offered by the Ramsay Centre ("At the end of the day, ending Ramsay Centre discussions was a matter of principle for ANU", Canberra Times June 8, pp24 & 33) in order to maintain its integrity as an independent research and teaching institution.

It is to be hoped that the university does not cave into the external pressures being put on it and continues to pursue its stance to be in " full control of all curriculum and staffing decisions".

It must have been very tempting to accept the offer. It will be interesting to see how the University of Sydney will respond to the overtures.

The ANU is not my Alma Mater.

M. Devine, Macarthur

Roman Quaedvlieg in his article "Pacific solution for Coalition and a point of division for Labor" (May 25, p. 24) seems to have swallowed a thesaurus without following up with a style guide.

Furthermore, though he purports to offer unsolicited advice to the ALP to maintain unity, he actually adds nothing substantive to the debate.

It is a pity that he continues with the furphy that concern for the welfare of refugees is a leftist position.

Compassion should be above party politics.

It is time to seek bipartisan solutions, such as negotiating with our neighbours to set up temporary camps to house and care for refugees, providing adequate medical facilities, schooling for children and English language teaching.

All genuine refugees must be resettled in First World countries, including Australia, within a reasonable time frame.

Boats could still be turned back and their occupants directed to the temporary camps for processing and resettling. It is possible to "protect our borders" while giving care and sustenance to the vulnerable if we act together in good faith.

Pauline Westwood, Dickson

Katy Gallagher claims that she has "left things not finished", and that she "was getting the job done".

Can Katy please give us a list of things she has done for the betterment of Canberra and Canberrans while she was in the Senate?

She has had her chance; she should now let someone else have a go.

A. Cooper, Wanniassa

Stephen Holt's well-researched and well-written article ("Canberra's act of homage to House of Windsor needs to be finally done away with forever", June 9, Comment, p.10) deserve an accolade. I particularly enjoyed his resurrection of, long dead, history-making figures like Alan Reid.

John Rodriguez, Florey

THE UNION QUESTION

If, as you said in your editorial on Saturday (June 9) "the great strength of Western culture has always been its underlying principle that everything is open to question..." why such craven capitulation to the unions? Is it really about academic freedom or, perhaps further proof of the left's loathing of our Western culture and its influence on our educational institutions?

Owen Reid, Dunlop

HEAVY-HANDED APPROACH

Brian Schmidt, you don't seem to understand. "We will decide what is Western civilisation and the means by which it will be taught."

Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe, Hackett

FREEDOM LIMITED

It is ironic that the Ramsay Centre doesn't seem to know that academic freedom, as practised by universities, is one of the pillars on which Western civilisation was built.

Andrew McCredie, Red Hill

EXCELLENT PLAN

When Mahatma Gandhi, who had lived in India, the UK and South Africa, was asked what he thought about Western civilisation, he replied: "I think it would be a very good idea!"

John Brummell, Duffy

RODMAN TO RESCUE

It's heartening to see that Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore for the Trump-Kim meeting. Without his involvement I would have had concerns.

Peter Harris, Belconnen

OUT OF TUNE

The Steely Don must be thinking "After all the things we've done and seen, you find another man; the things you think are useless, I can't understand" ("Trump baffles as he divides at G7 meeting", June 11). My apologies to Steely Dan.

Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW

NO SITTING ON THE FENCE

Dear Toofy the broad-toothed rat. I am on your side and I was saddened to hear of your plight (via Linda Groom, Letters, June 7). I read that Mr Barilaro said the new legislation set out where sustainable wild horses will be maintained. I think maybe he is going to build a new big fence. I hope you will be on the right side of that fence.

C. Brown, Cooma, NSW

PARTY POOPER

I bet the Yanks wished they played soccer. That way they could boycott the World Cup and spoil Russia's party. Just like they did in 1980.

Kenneth Griffiths, O'Connor

MAKING A NAME

Following Barnaby Joyce's recent TV appearance, blaming his newborn son for his woes, now anything goes in the fault-shifting stakes. "Doing a Barnaby" should now join "doing a Bradbury" as the latest in the proud tradition of accidental Australianisms.

Ros Lawson, Aranda