Letters to the editor April 12, 2019: Canberra's new cardiac service is a life saver for patients

What a great achievement.

In February, 2013, Dr Alasady found I needed a cardiac ablation. This had to be done in Adelaide because Canberra did not have the facilities to perform such an operation.

After my very successful operation he told me he was working hard to have procedures like mine performed in Canberra.

Mission accomplished Dr Alasady.

Oh, and thanks again for saving my life.

Sake Oostra, Macgregor

Responding to well-justified queries to the government about its scandalous $600,000-a-day supposed information about government programs (aka thinly disguised election campaign ads), Scott Morrison stumbled through the justification that "Labor did it in 2013".

Will a Shorten Labor government have the courage to admit that, yes Labor erred in 2013, and we need to ensure that, in the future, taxpayers' money will not be misused in this way.

Surely it is possible in the period when an election is imminent, but before the campaign period, that the caretaker conventions can be strengthened so that government advertising is not permitted to be used as de-facto campaign material.

Phyllis Vespucci, Reservoir, Vic

Caltex's claim ("Memberships key to Costco's cheap fuel", April 11, p9) at the assembly inquiry into fuel prices, that petrol prices are higher in the ACT because planning restrictions result in a lower per capita provision than in Sydney or Melbourne, is simplistic.

The lower per capita provision is a consequence of the closure by the oil companies of suburban service stations.

In Woden-Weston Creek, for example, the rationalisation led to a fall in the number of stations from 17 to 8. To increase the viability (and profitability) of stations their provision in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin was reduced and sites provided closer to arterial roads.

Apparently no matter what the provision, the result is higher prices.

The inconvenient location at the eastern edge of the city of the small number of independent operators exacerbates the lack of competition in the ACT.

An option for the government is the identification of sites for direct sale to independent operators in more central locations.

However, as demonstrated by the experience in the 1990s when sites were sold directly to independents, the challenge will be to ensure such sites remain independent.

Mike Quirk, Garran

When we see on TV vehicles bristling with weapons we wonder where they have been made.

We were horrified to learn Australia exports weapons to Saudi Arabia which are then used in Yemen, causing untold suffering.

After Port Arthur our government introduced gun laws that have saved us from going the way of America.

The government should not allow weapons to be sent overseas to be used in wars we do not understand.

We also hope the government rethinks spending money on the already excellent war memorial.

Drs Jan and Denis Appel, Deakin

I pose several questions? Maybe someone can get their calculator out. Come on Bill Shorten.

How many kilowatts of power does a current modern car use, using petrol or diesel driven for one hour.

How will we produce this power to charge the batteries of 50 per cent of cars by 2030? Solar, wind farms who knows? Maybe coal.

What will this extra infrastructure cost? How long will it take and how much will it cost to "fill up" your battery?

How much will it cost to produce the batteries?

I hope Bill Shorten and the Greens can answer these questions as this is a promise they will probably scrap if they get into power.

Brian Hale, Wanniassa

Thanks to Grant Agnew (Letters, April 6) for reviving memories of a long past era. How we used to stand on the bridge while a steam train passed beneath us and we could breathe in the smoke.

Or, better still, we could travel on the train, open the window, lean out of the carriage and breathe in the smoke directly and, at the same time, get a good dose of sooty grit in our eyes. Ah, bliss!

At home, we would bring in the coal, nutty slack or anthracite, to place in the fireside scuttle to keep our home fires ignited.

In the cities and towns, we could admire the blackened civic buildings until the councils decided they should be cleaned and that hideous red sandstone was exposed after many years.

I must not forget the men who worked in sweaty conditions underground so that we could have such a privileged life. They did not have pit head baths, but they did have galvanised tin containers which could be placed in front of the home fire, filled with hot water and served to clean away some of the coal dust.

It was a different world and how I miss it.

Alan Parkinson, Weetangara

It looks like the Green's ultimate goal is to destroy our economy. While we try and make money from our coal exports, and with many countries increasing their coal fired power plants, the Greens want to close our own power plants and future mines like Adani.

Where is the Green's alternative water supply for times of drought? They are stopping the construction of new dams.

The overcrowded trains give no relief for commuters.

How will old solar and wind powered generators be disposed of when their life span is finished and the latter using 500 tonnes of concrete per pole?

Unless the grand plans are trialed on a small scale to gauge feasibility, chaos will be the result.

Jay Nauss, Glen Alpin, Qld

I visit Woden Plaza daily. The ACT government's latest self promotion on improvements has not extended out to Corinna Street.

It is disgraceful. Broken pavers, missing pavers, trip hazards, rubbish in neglected garden beds, cigarette butts, bottles, broken glass, abundant weeds, faded pedestrian crossings and the odd syringe are all part of the milieu. If the minister or local MLAs frequent that side of Woden Plaza they walk around with their eyes shut.

J. R. Ryan, Phillip

Peter Hannam's report "Climate tinkering 'not without risk'" (April 8, p11) highlights the risks facing the barrier reef.

Greens spokeswoman on the reef, Larissa Waters, pointed out research published in Nature had found 89 per cent of young coral polyps don't survive.

While her comment that "restoration and other projects aren't enough" is basically correct, her call to "reverse climate change" is a pipe dream.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Anzac Day reminds us of those service men and women who either died fighting overseas or returned with injuries and shell shock. They were fighting regimes that threatened our freedoms, including freedom of speech. One way to honour their sacrifice is to subscribe to a quality newspaper which takes that freedom seriously.

Another is to insist the Government fund the ABC and SBS well so we get good quality information.

Reading a good newspaper, watching the ABC or SBS news and having discussions are ways to show all that courage and suffering was not in vain.

Rosemary Walters, Palmerston

Increasing perceptions of rising populism in Australia is commensurate with the ascendancy of identity politics which views all social affairs as power struggles through the prisms of race, gender and class.

There will always be a trickle-down effect when MPs are seeking to capture hearts and minds in a Federal election year.

As we prepare to elect MPs to Canberra, it is vital not to conflate two contrasting systems of government: American and Australian. We need reminding that whereas citizens in the US vote for the man, we vote for the movement.

Our focus should be on the best member for our own electorates.

Peter Waterhouse, Craigieburn, Vic

I was stunned to see workers picking up rubbish along the Monaro Highway in Fyshwick on Thursday morning.

Whatever next? Some attempts to patch up the footpaths in our more far flung suburbs? Shorter waiting times in the ED?

A voter can dream, can't they?

M. Moore, Bonython

The election will be held just 10 days after the 49th anniversary of the release of the last LP from the Beatles, Let It Be.

Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW

Turnbull is having fun getting stuck into Dutton. Revenge is a dish best eaten cold.

Richard Keys, Ainslie

Rents in Canberra are high because taxes in the ACT are high. It isn't that owners think tenants can afford high rents, it's because ACT Labor thinks owners can afford high taxes.

Bruce Peterson, Kambah

Were Scott Morrison's first few official campaign words: "if you vote for me, you get me" represent one more intellectual gaffe, or show why he left marketing? You don't manage one concern by replacing it with a dismal prospect.

Alex Mattea, Sydney

Wayne Stinson (Letters, April 11) says nurses are 'unsung Anzac heroes'. They have a stained glass window in the Hall of Memory and a memorial on Anzac Parade. There has been an excellent play at The Q theatre, an ABC miniseries, books, and a commemorative coin.

Ian Douglas, Jerrabomberra

Some workers will get 10 days off this Easter and Anzac Day while only taking three days of leave. That's fine if you are eligible for paid holidays. If you only paid for when you work you may be wondering if you'll have enough to get through. Rent, electricity, water, gas and other bills don't take unpaid holidays.

Keith Hill, Isaacs

It would make a lot more sense from a transport congestion perspective to place the proposed recycling factory alongside the railway line in Hume, rather than Fyshwick, as it is closer to where the material is collected. Surely the government could facilitate the move with a land swap.

Chris Mobbs, Torrens

The Great Barrier Reef and Great Artesian Basin are for the high jump so why not have a crack at the Great Australian Bight while you are at it Melissa Price? Its an absolute disgrace this was done on the eve of an election.

Ann Darbyshire, Hughes

All Canberrans, mark the date: Monday 29 April 2019. "Schoolbusageddon" is coming.

Robert Niven, Aranda

The Coalition are peaking far too early. They have already reached peak stupid with their comments, scare campaign and outright lies on the electric car issue.

R. King, Melba

I appreciate the clarification from S. Sainsbury (Letters, April 10) about the tax status of DVA Disability Pensions, but point out that my initial letter was specifically responding to the erroneous statement in The Canberra Times's post-budget summary that military superannuation schemes were tax exempt.

Kym MacMillan, O'Malley

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