I and many others (including my husband) had no such choice due to circumstances in Europe at that time. We were just very fortunate that this wonderful country took us in and I will always sing praises to Australia with gratitude.

Of course there will always be nostalgia for one's homeland however this is a small price to pay for personal survival, which may otherwise not occurred.

Mr Warden you were fortunate that you had a choice. I must say however that it did occur to me that you were just trying to be witty ...

Magda Sitsky, Chifley

In defence of Ian Warden, I would like to comment on the curmudgeons who have lambasted him in recent letters.

As one correspondent commented that he had found him a good tennis player, but not so a writer, I would say I have found him good at both. It's a long time since I partnered him once in a doubles match on the tennis courts of Parliament House, but I have read his observations since he first started to writing for the Times in his inimitable style. And there is the rub, as they say. If you don't get what he's on about, he can be bloody irritating, particularly for those who are wedded to a cause. Lighten up guys. We need people like Ian to brighten our day.

Brian Voce, Bungendore

I occasionally see comments critical of Ian Warden. But his penetrating wit makes him a gem. And does Ian enjoy anything more (apart from a hit-up on the court) than to draw the crabs?

He's hauled in a few crabs lately.

Percival Vere, Dickson

From the first page when Ian Warden hit the Canberra Times, he has roused indignation in some, and intense joy and amusement in others.

He achieves this not only by acute perception, but by ingenious, unique, inventive, super-logical and extreme use of the English language.

An indication of his skill is the trail of shambling protests among the readers' letters – I guess they are but the tip of a simmering heap. I hope their continued writhing response will help resolve Ian's Migrant Dilemma Syndrome (Sunday Canberra Times, August 12).

I cannot think that the losers left behind in Crabtorture Bay could appreciate him a fraction as well as his delightedly rewarded readers in our beloved Canberra.

Jack Palmer, Watson

Making new suburbs on the fringe of Canberra cat-free is a reasonable response to the damage done by cats to the local wildlife ("More Canberra suburbs set to be cat free", August 12).

What is also needed is some protection for human residents of all suburbs from the incessant barking of newly bred small dogs which seem neurotic and hyper-vigilant.

It is intolerable not to be able to frequent one's own back yard without the unending, penetrating yapping of small dogs. This yapping is triggered by the slightest sound or movement in a neighbouring yard and penetrates into the house as well. It is audible over 200 metres away so it is not just the immediate neighbours who are affected.

Of course, the dog's owners do not suffer because this yapping only occurs when they are not at home and, since they work, that is all day, five days a week.

Is this a widespread problem? If so, it might indicate inbreeding within Canberra's small market of dog breeders.

RI Boxall, Hawker

Senator Hanson tried to distance herself from Senator Anning's vile "final solution" speech but the problem is that his words are like lighted matches thrown into flammable foliage that she herself has prepared. What a disgrace they both are, along with Bob Katter!

I know many Muslim people. They are exactly the good-natured, friendly people that are typical of this nation.

We live in an interesting, cosmopolitan multicultural nation which we should be very proud of.

Rosemary Walters, Palmerston

Further to your editorial of August 12, the co-founder of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) is Michael Myer, who was involved for almost 40 years in the Myer Foundation, a leading philanthropic organisation.

When interviewed by ABC News on August 9, Mr Myer described the Turnbull government's unsolicited grant of $444million to the GBRF as "shocking and almost mind-blowing".

"The notion of an organisation with six staff members suddenly having to manage $440 million, from a not-for-profit and philanthropic point of view, is unheard of," Mr Myer said. He also said it was extraordinary that the grant agreement set aside $22million for "scaling up activities" such as risk management plans to ensure proper governance, which should have been done before money was handed over.

The funding agreement states that GBRF will "seek to address the highest priority threats to the reef", but specifies only "poor water quality and crown of thorns starfish outbreaks" and ignores climate change.

Mr Myer is concerned that GBRF board and its supporters include "a lot of players" from fossil fuel-oriented industries, which raised "big questions" about climate change impacts on the reef. As intimated by Mr Myer's, Turnbull government may well have made a major mistake.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

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