Is this what the really believes, or he avoiding any additional ructions within the Labor camp following the appointment of Kristina Keneally over more qualified Labor personnel?

I thought Albo was smarter than making a statement like that.

Shorten still harbours leadership aspirations feeling that "he wuz robbed" of the leadership of the country - something he smugly regarded as a sure thing.

This, plus also relinquishing the leadership of the Opposition would have left a very bitter taste in his mouth.

Tony Abbott's unsettling presence in the Coalition will pale into insignificance compared to what Shorten will do to Labor. Keep him in front of you at all times Albo - remember what happened to Gillard and Rudd.

Once again we see the hypocrisy of the Coalition regarding refugees. On the one hand, we have two Rwandan men described by a US judge as "a threat to safety" can be happily waved through by the Immigration minister to be settled in Australia.

On the other, we have Morrison and Dutton making wild claims that Nauruan and Manus Island refugees seeking asylum in Australia might be murderers and rapists, with no actual proof at all, as reason not to allow them into the country.

But when people with actual allegations of murder are let in without a whisper of complaint from the Coalition - that to me stinks of low deals. Morrison and whoever's now in charge of Keeping Asylum Seekers In Indefinite Detention don't even have the decency to be consistent.

No doubt many dozens of new units and homes around Canberra are being signed off, some perhaps more swiftly than others, while the Legislative Assembly's building quality inquiry is wading tortuously through so much damning evidence linked to the decision making and operations of our public planning and private development and construction sectors ("The ACT's building certifiers model should be scrapped, a waterproofing expert says", canberratimes.com.au May 29).

At least the inquiry's recommendations for improvement and providing peace of mind for future homebuyers should be incontrovertible and able to receive strong bipartisan support in the Assembly.

I read the article ("Debts up by almost half", May 31, p1) and I note the increased bureaucratic efficiency of the Department of Human Services when pursuing debts.

Unfortunately, the same level of efficiency does not seem to extend to making decisions about payments of entitlements.

I assisted my daughter navigate the overly complex online application process for Youth Allowance as she started university this year which included the provision of much information from the family obviously, however two months later she still has not received a decision rather what she receives are text messages stating it is being worked upon.

With all the information provided to Centrelink with the application one would have thought that with a simple desktop audit reviewed once for accuracy would have seen an outcome within one month.

Maybe some of the resources dedicated to Robo-Debt recovery could be rediverted to considering applications for entitlements.

Tony Weir (Letters, May 30) writes that the coal-fired power station promised by the Coalition for Queensland will increase emissions. This is obvious; but it is not so obvious that it will also increase Queensland's power prices.

The reason is that renewable energy, in particular from wind and solar farms (with battery and/or pumped hydro storage), is now substantially cheaper than that from new coal-fired generators.

Countries such as China and India recognised this fact a few years ago, and are increasing the contribution of renewable energy to their power grids as quickly as economics and energy demand allow.

The Coalition wants to take Australia in the opposite direction. Taxpayers, along with the environment, will pay for the privilege.

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