Canberra Times Letters to the Editor: Visual pollution unwanted

Yet again, questionable planning decisions are front-page news ("Stromlo purchase on LDA's last day", CT, November 14, p1). Banning billboards is one planning decision that should be based on responding to the community, not commercial interests.

Peter Graves, Curtin

If you wish to experience the "grunge", "flair" and "friction" that Charmaine Moldrich (CT, October 30) espouses for Canberra's aesthetic future, then visit Melbourne.

Rather than "breathing life into [cities]", Melbourne's degenerate eyesore of advertising billboards, signs, placards, flags, bunting, graffiti, "street art" and tagging can only be described as oppressive and soul destroying.

School zones and public recreation areas are afflicted, while trams, buses, their shelters, trains and railway infrastructure are covered in it.

Even suburban traffic must now disregard the huge animated electronic billboards that relentlessly vie with the static signage to beguile and ensnare a driver's attention.

The irony is that outdoor advertising is obsolete. Young people have all their needs and wants implanted and satiated via the world wide web, browser searches and "applications". Curiously, the 83-year-old next door is also in on it. And we wonder why our "nature deficient learning disorder" (garden-less) kids retreat from this visual pollution and remain in their device's virtual world.

There is a place for unsolicited outdoor advertising – it is called the 20th century. The capital city of the Republic of Australia must preserve its sense of spaciousness and visual literacy.

Ronald Elliott, Sandringham, Vic

The construction of the light rail along Northbourne Avenue is well under way, but are we missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform it into a boulevard of the highest international standards?

Separated bike paths would ensure the route is truly safe for family cyclists while electric car charging stations would ensure the needs of the near-future are met.

A new body set up by the government to ensure all new development is of the highest architectural standards would prevent it from becoming a boulevard of generic apartment blocks, a trajectory that it looks like we're on.

Danny Corvini, Deakin

I refer to the recent article about the first Canberra light-rail carriage being transported from Spain. It would seem opportune to consider naming each carriage after prominent Canberrans who have made a significant contribution to the city. Maybe your paper could co-ordinate a competition seeking suggestions that could be judged by a panel of community members.

Rohan Goyne, Evatt

C. Williams is correct in saying (Letters, November 13) that the time the train takes to Sydney could be substantially reduced on existing tracks but only one of the proposed steps is feasible.

Cutting out some of the stops would make a difference. While the train may be stationary for as little as two minutes as he/she says, once you take into account that the train must slow down, stop and accelerate, each stop is probably worth six or seven minutes. Cutting out five of the nine stops is probably worth 30-40 minutes.

The Xplorer train has a good power-to-weight ratio although old, and the rolling stock isn't the problem. The Canberra trains are never going to get priority over suburban trains. The suburban network is already stretched to the limit and can't afford to make changes that will slow it down. The assertion that tilt trains will do the run in two hours is a fantasy.

Stan Marks, Hawker

Civic swimming pool and diving pool must remain in central Canberra, as old original features of the city disappear.

They are important historic places where from the 1950s Canberra children learnt to swim and dive, performed in swimming carnivals, played water polo and practised water safety skills.

I have used the main pool since arriving in Canberra in 1958 and still delight in swimming there.

Fiona MacDonald, Lyneham

It's more than a bit rich for Dick Varley of Braidwood to promote a waste incinerator for the ACT (Letters, November 11).

Waste incinerators release highly toxic substances into the air including dioxin, furans and ultrafine particles; produce thousands of tonnes per year of highly toxic ash that has to go to specially constructed landfill; contribute to climate change; are very expensive; create very few jobs; produce more carbon dioxide per unit of energy than a coal-fired power plant due to the low calorific value of waste; destroy large amounts of reusable material; and stifle innovation such as waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting.

The proponents of a waste incinerator in Fyshwick just last week said the incinerator would produce 5000 tonnes of highly toxic ash per year. That's probably an understatement.

I doubt Mr Varley would appreciate an ACT resident suggesting that beautiful Braidwood would be a good place for the toxic waste landfill that would take the highly toxic ash from an incinerator. I wouldn't do that.

Jerry Fitzgibbons, Griffith

Even in the midst of what looks to be chaotic conditions in the Parliament, the Prime Minister keeps on telling us that he has never had such fun.

While that assertion might possibly be the case, I wonder whether Malcolm Turnbull gives thought to what his legacy is likely to be.

Given that he is likely to lead the Coalition to the next election, which he is likely to lose, is there a remote possibility that between now and then Turnbull might do something for which he might be remembered positively?

At the moment it is very difficult to point to anything substantial he has achieved during his tenure as Prime Minister. Turnbull has established a reputation for being a highly cautious decision maker (apart from some ill-considered thought bubbles at times).

However, might he decide to make a major positive move that would surprise us? Could he, for instance, approach and negotiate with the opposition to end the appalling outcomes of the offshore detention policies? While any such big shift in the Coalition's policies would have major risks for Turnbull's position, and he could end up being replaced, at least he might be remembered as a leader who actually attempted to achieve a critical outcome for the nation.

Tim Hardy, Florey

Every boy needs a hero. My hero was my cattle-raising Uncle Jim.

Malcolm Turnbull's hero is Donald Trump: "Geez Trumpie, can we swap football cards? Can we swap refugees?"Pity about the Coalition's 23rd consecutive poll loss.

To win, all Bill Shorten needs to do is nothing. Just wear a nice suit to work and don't die. The Coalition is engineering its downfall.

Graham Macafee, Latham

Isadora Bogle's story on fast-food spending ("City's biggest fast-food spenders revealed in fresh dining figures", November 14, p2) reminded me of a recent visit to Melbourne where, to my surprise, I found that restaurant servings were much larger than in Canberra – although the cost was about the same.

I wondered why, then surmised that a greater proportion of residents dined out in Melbourne than in Canberra, so the restaurateurs could afford to be a bit more generous with their servings, thereby enticing patrons to return.

John Milne, Chapman

Hugh Smith (Letters, November 14) argues that when marriage equality is enacted, businesses run by people who for religious or other reasons disagree with gay marriage should be allowed to opt out of it by letting it be known that they service "traditional marriages only" (TMOs).

Gays would then know not to approach bakers, florists, etc who offer services only to traditional marriages.

This is a very slippery slope. Would Mr Smith find it OK if an Islamic taxi driver refused to pick him up simply because Hugh looked like a Christian?

Discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race or sexual orientation is a bad thing whether it applies to marriage, service at a hotel, or any other context. It would be very regressive if Australia were to go down the path that Mr Smith suggests.

Mike Reddy, Curtin

It is hard to work out whether more laws or more exceptions to them are being created. Consider the snide references to the "black letter law" application of the letter of the law by the High Court in its recent judgments on Section 44.

I found it refreshing that the court avoided the trend to appropriate the unwritten "intent" of the original legislators.

A "yes" vote in the current opinion survey on gay marriage, if honoured by the parliament, will tempt legislators to ignore the basic principles of equality. Already correspondents are writing that rights of religious freedom justify discrimination by tradespeople such as "bakers, florists, chauffeurs and others – not just priests and ministers" who don't want to cater to gay weddings ("Due respect for 'no's"', Letters, November 14).

Without even considering the legal distinctions between religious and legal marriages and celebrants, questions arise. Why? Where does it end? Are solicitors, judges and doctors to be exempted? Are statisticians to be barred from including a new demographic class? These are a few of the troublesome things that undoubtedly concern many oppositionists.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor

Peter Martin's article ("Financially stressed? Don't blame high prices", CT, November 12) missed the same point as the statisticians: if people have to modify their behaviour because of the prices of the things they used to enjoy, then they have suffered a reduction in their standards of living.

Thus if I have to forgo a dinner of crayfish tails washed down by a crisp French Sancerre, and instead make do with flathead tails and a teaspoon of cleanskin white, the consumer price index will faithfully attempt to record my new purchasing patterns.

Likewise, if I have to turn down my heating in winter or forgo my airconditioning in summer because of electricity prices, that is a reduction in my standard of living.

The CPI, however, is now going to measure just the cost of what I spend on electricity, as Mr Martin notes.

If my children no longer aspire to own their homes and must rent, they too might reasonably wonder whether the weighting of housing costs in the CPI bears any relationship to their reality. They have experienced a reduction in what had been normal standards of living for Australians.

Then there's the relevance of "quality adjustments" in the CPI, details of which the ABS is not keen to share but was addressed to the satisfaction of US Republicans by the Boskin Commission in 1995. Its report's real aim was to "tame", i.e. reduce, wage claims by reducing what statisticians call "inflation".

Perhaps Mr Martin should reread the first paragraph of this letter, contemplate the rise of populism and hatred of politicians in this country, then seek the responses of those who seem to be just making things worse for their political masters.

Richard Griffiths, Farrer, Australian Council of Public Sector Retiree Organisations president

HE'S STOCKING FILLER

Dear Santa, I have not written to you before, but this year I have but one very important request. Could you please send me evidence that Mr Abbott is a citizen of a foreign country? If you can do this, I promise to be very good for the next three years.

Peter Thomas, Kambah

DEFECTOR NOT ALONE

Fraser Anning is the second member of a small conservative party, succeeding a senator disqualified under section 44, to become an independent on finding himself unable to work with his leader. Lucy Gichuhi couldn't work with Cory Bernardi either.

Michael McCarthy, Deakin

CLARITY ON COURT

The High Court's literal interpretation of section 44 of the constitution damages our democracy. It means that anyone holding a Commonwealth pension would be unable to nominate. This includes anyone on the dole, disability, old age and possibly even Commonwealth super schemes. This needs to be clarified before any new poll occurs.

Chris Warren, Aranda

IT GETS EVEN WORSE

I was convinced that it was impossible for politics in this country to get any worse until I saw the remarks by One Nation's Queensland leader Steve Dickson (CT, November 13, p5) concerning what is being taught to grade 4 schoolchildren. The mistake was underestimating politicians.

Peter Brittliff, Kambah

NOT A BRAIN IN SIGHT

Jeff Bradley (Letters, November 13) asks, "What next?" After stalling and before anything else came that Liberal standby: blame the Labor Party. This is the same as "no further ideas".

Keith Hill, Kaleen

WALLS AND WHISPERS

Donald Trump, when discussing his proposed wall to stop immigrants from Mexico, stated that he was good with walls. Presumably following his recent visit to China, he is also good with Chinese walls and whispers.

Peter Baskett, Murrumbateman

WHAT DIFFERENCE?

Two years ago a faith-based business was refused technical support from an internet service as it didn't agree with their potential client's values. The internet service is free to discriminate in this way so why do Labor, the Greens and some Liberals want to deny these freedoms to groups who wish to exercise these rights if same-sex marriage becomes legal?

Roslyn Phillips, Tea Tree Gully, SA

NET RESULT

Will it be game, set and match to the ALP? ("Kristina Keneally shock: Liberals face horror scenario as Labor rolls out another star candidate", canberratimes.com].

Thos Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld

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.

Keep your letter to 250 words or less. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).