The impending closure of the Uluru climbing track, while certainly understandable from a sacral point of view, from a social point of view seems to be based on the pretence that the rock is essentially owned by one group of people, rather than to be respectfully shared by all.

In 2005 I, and many other domestic and international tourists, conscientiously ascended the spine of the rock in the small window of opportunity that exists just after dawn. We did not spit on it, or leave rubbish, or etch our initials on to the hallowed surface.

Similarly, during a guided tour, we noted its spiritual significance to our first peoples and thus did not take any photos of the sacred sites around the base, or collect small specimens of the rock to bring back home.

Unlike other man-made buildings or houses of worship, Uluru has physically existed well before human eyes first gazed upon its grand geographic majesty, and so should be more than the ultimate preserve of only a few.

It forms part of our historic landscape, which should not be denied to subsequent generations, who simply weren't born early enough to be able to claim an exclusive connection to a natural beauty; it therefore can indeed be pastorally protected, while still being physically appreciated.

Peter Waterhouse, Craigieburn, Vic

So the High Court has made a literal interpretation of the 1901 Australian Constitution.

But it has not made the social interpretation of the constitution.

Written between the years 1880 to 1890, assented to in 1900 for implementation on 1 January 1901, all processes were undertaken and implemented by British citizens.

It was not until 1949 that Australians were no longer British citizens, but Australian citizens.

Similarly, the populations of the British Empire in 1901 were mostly British citizens.

This included Canada, New Zealand and quite a few other countries. Foreign nationals emanated from countries not part of the British Empire.

If the High Court interpretation of the 1901 is literally correct in 2017 , then all legislation written between 1901 and 1949 could be interpreted as being written by descendants of foreign nationals (British), and so is illegal.

That would mean the legislation that has made this country among the best in the world is totally invalid, and it means we are living in a literal state of anarchy, that is, there are no rules.

It would seem then that the old adage, "the law is an ass", could not be more true.

Oh for some common sense.

Elaine Staples, Murrumbateman, NSW

The writers of our Constitution gave every Australian citizen the legal right to take court action personally against a federal politician who breached Section 44's dual loyalty provision.

It was unlimited in backdated time for a daily monetary penalty to be paid by the offender.

Our politicians changed that by statute. Now it costs the member of the public a Court Filing Fee, around $2000, plus a daily court fee of around $4000 to simply start the action. Use of section 46 is banned and the penalty for the offending politician is limited to just 12 months ... back from the time of filing the action at just $200 per day.

So. I suggest that law be simply amended to allow unlimited backdating.

If it was I would start the action myself.

Currently the fine would be well under $6000 for the offender and it would cost me $7000 per person to get started.

No wonder they all feel so safe in breaching our fundamental founding document.

John Bolton, Caloundra, Qld

Demonstrating masterful acuity, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull chose Israel, birthplace of the Zealots and Sicarii, the world's first terrorists, to remind us that "We are all fighting together against militant Islamist terrorism".

Our fearless leader had not a word to say about the 200,000 terrorist attacks mounted in pursuit of a plethora of religious, social, political and criminal objectives in at least 100 countries around the world each year; just "Islamist terrorism".

And fresh from his government's latest botched use of the nation's Federal Police force for base political purposes, Mr Turnbull then demonstrated his capacity for chutzpah by proclaiming without a hint of irony that the fight is to protect "all who value and cherish freedom".

That we have sunk so low.

John Richardson, Wallagoot, NSW

Much news is currently being generated around the courage and determination of the Australians of the 4th Light Horse in the battle for Beersheba and their collective part in the fight against tyranny and evil.

We bathe in their glory and gloat at their fortitude.

How Australians and their morals have degraded since that time.

How can a country which generated such courage and fortitude in the face of death and torment be the same country which imprisons refugees permanently without trial and allows them to face assault and death on an island without food and water?

Our government, in our name, tortures these people and their children who came to us for help and we allow it to happen. What degrading shame Australia — what shame!

Gerry Gillespie, Queanbeyan, NSW

As Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove has never acted against the illegitimacy (in breach of Constitution S44) of the Turnbull/Joyce government, and has recently sworn in new members for it.

In consequence, responsibility for execution and maintenance of the Constitution, as recently supported by the High Court, has now devolved upon the Queen under Section 61.

Continuing illegitimacy of the present government could require her to dissolve the Parliament, of which she herself is an integral part under the Constitution.

The need for republican reform as pledged by Labor has never been more self-evident.

Bryan Lobascher, Chifley

I hang my head in shame when I read of the harassment of overseas students in very public places in the Woden area.

In the 1970s, Woden Police had the Woden environs under control.

Adequate move on powers, and police numbers, made for the capability to keep areas such as the Woden Bus Interchange and the shopping Plaza area itself clear of the minor and major criminally disruptive element.

I remember them as young idiots who were given the benefit of sound advice from police who cared. Too stupid to listen.

I did a lot of beat work in Woden.

Woden was a social hub, particularly on Friday nights and Saturday mornings.

Woden was not run by mobs of teenagers and unemployed "20 somethings".

It was run by the community through its police, who knew what was required to make life as pleasant as possible for the great Woden resident 1970s generation that bought in, and who were enabled to bring up the kids in a safe environment.

So, over to the ACT government and the AFP Community Police component.

No million-dollar drug busts, just the daily grind of the daily beats.

Christopher Ryan, Watson

Canberrans can be thankful that Bimberi benefits from regular oversight of its operations ("Bimberi health checks failure causes alarm", November 1, p11).

These processes curtail atrophy.

Ms Sangeeta Sharmin's references to copious legislation governing young people in the ACT are a worthwhile tool in comprehending the scope of resources available to managers responsible for this youth facility.

Nonetheless, I have concerns with her approach. It must be holistic if effective outcomes are to be secured.

Ms Sharmin refers to the example of two detainees whose mental health was not assessed within the mandatory 24 hours.

She focuses upon this inconsequential statistic, yet scores of youngsters have entered the facility over time.

Moreover, she appears to ignore factors such as staff and professionals' availability, violent behaviour, workloads, parental involvement where appropriate, etcetera.

These kinds of considerations, and others inadvertently ground down by limited funding, need to enjoy an unusually complex alignment before optimum outcomes are achievable.

I fear Ms Sharmin has over-egged the pudding when she relies principally on legislation and a dubious statistic.

There's so much more to it where youth, almost always from hapless backgrounds, must be managed.

Patrick Jones, Griffith

SUV drivers may not like being regarded as inconsiderate but they are.

They reduce visibility for other drivers, they increase delay, inconvenience and sometimes compromise safety.

Other vehicles can do this for a valid reason, such as with tradies or couriers, and other drivers can drive inconsiderately, but in an SUV the best driver is still a bother.

Recently I was stuck at a T intersection. The SUV next to me couldn't turn right due to a constant stream of traffic from the left. I couldn't turn left because I couldn't see a thing.

Also there were two more SUVs behind the first one, and traffic piling up behind me. There are more and more all the time, and it is a rare outing these days that I am not inconvenienced by one at least once.

But hey, people can drive what they want. I just treat them like they treat me; with an utter lack of consideration and courtesy. That is the flavour of the times, isn't it?

S. W. Davey, Torrens

In response to Roger Quaterman ("Don't merely blame SUVs", Letters, November 1): Yes, of course there "is a very wide spectrum of road users with diverse characteristics". The specific focus of recent letters by Vee Saunders (October 25) and myself (October 27) was on the hazard created in car parks for smaller-vehicle drivers when their vision is blocked off as a result of being surrounded by large vehicles (which include, but are not restricted to, SUVs).

A suggested solution was segregated areas in car parks. I still maintain this is a reasonable solution to address a specific hazard faced by smaller-vehicle drivers in car parks.

The fact that there are many other issues drivers need to deal with (as per Mr Quaterman's list) surely does not mean that people cannot identify and suggest solutions to specific problems.

Anne Laisk, Weston

I find it ironic that, in the same week that Lonely Planet crowned Canberra the third best city in the world to visit, we are told by Charmaine Moldrich of the Outdoor Media Association that what our city needs is more outdoor advertising.

She states that "Canberra's natural beauty cannot and should not restrict its ongoing evolution as Australia's capital".

But is the "ongoing evolution" of our great city something that necessarily involves enormous advertising billboards and 24-hour digital signage in our public spaces?

I think not, and we need to let our elected representatives — who are considering lifting the 80-year ban on billboards in the ACT — know that the last thing the Bush Capital needs is more outdoor advertising.

Sam Hussey-Smith, Downer

May well you say "God save the Queen" because nothing will save an Aussie politician who holds British citizenship.

Richard Ryan, Summerland Point, NSW

The Canberra Times wants to hear from you in short bursts. Email 50 or fewer words to letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au.

OUT OF DEPTH

Many can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in Australia. Well, there's a very simple answer. Nobody bothered to check the oil and we just didn't know we were getting low. The reason for that is purely geographical. Our oil is located in Bass Strait, East Queensland Shale Fields, Canning Basin, Perth Basin and the North-West Continental Shelf. Our dipsticks are located in Canberra.

Jack Wiles, Gilmore

QUICK ON THE DRAW

"Dangerous dog breeds aren't the problem, their owners are". I hope the gun lobby don't latch on to that line of argument!

Ian Douglas, Jerrabombera, NSW

CHUFFED TO BITS?

I wonder if Sir Robert Menzies, Knight of the Thistle and erstwhile Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, is observing developments down under from the celestial House of Lords.

Would he be gratified to discover that the once great party he founded, now led by the avowed republican Malcolm Turnbull, and its Coalition partner, are still British to the bootstraps?

Nigel Thompson, Queanbeyan East, NSW

CARTOON GONE AWRY

The cartoon on page 19 of the Canberra Times of November 1 denigrates one of Australia's greatest military achievements and gives a distorted view of Middle Eastern history with the usual anti-Israel bias.

John Reaney, Queanbeyan

PROPAGANDA WINDFALL

David Pope's cartoon of November 1, "Return to Beersheba", sums up my point of view very effectively. Whatever else the Beersheba Commemoration is, it is also a propaganda windfall for Israel and is being milked for all it is worth. We can be grateful for small mercies: At least Beersheba is not in the Palestine Territories illegally occupied by the State of Israel.

Jeff Hart, Kingston

ILL-GOTTEN GAINS

Barnaby Joyce has been in the federal parliament illegally for some years. What happens to his superannuation and to that of those other miscreants in the same boat? Is it returned to general revenue or treated as profits from criminal activities? It could be redistributed among the homeless.

W Book, Hackett

AUDIT'S THE ANSWER

Only a full audit of parliamentary citizenship will solve the current mess and provide confidence in the parliament. Perhaps adjusting the oath to include confirmation that the person seeking office is complying with all sections of the Australian constitution will prevent future chaos.

Jeff Bradley, Isaacs