The obsession of this government for very big, tall buildings does it no credit.

Nor does the National Capital Authority's "long silence", evidenced by its decision to allow Anzac Park East to be demolished. The vista down Anzac Parade to Parliament House will be irreparably destroyed.

As the nation's capital and the legacy of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, Canberra is unique in its design and livability for its residents.

That's for us, the residents - not for selling to developers.

Come on, National Capital Authority - bring your authority to planning decisions affecting the national capital.

Ian Warden has written about Canberra suburbs and of how they cannot live up to their names ("Can a suburb live up to the man?", Panorama, July 13).

No argument there, the amenities of Fyshwick for instance are not expressed in architectural excellence.

But when it comes to newer suburbs, or redevelopments in older ones, Mr Warden seems to have taken his eyes off the ball.

What the issue should be is the tasteless nature of penitentiary brutalism, the slab sided constructions that fill up as much space as they can, without adding anything except grandiosity.

What they replace is a certain unpretentious style that is being taken for granted or else knocked down.

Perhaps this is omething that ought to be addressed, so that any such addresses will become more worthy of notable names.

Canberra suburbs did once have style; less so now.

I agree with Cassandra Morgan ("Pill should be sold over-the-counter in Canberra, where bulk-billing doctors are few", Focus, July 14), with slight reservations.

Most women are healthy enough to take the pill without a medical check-up before each prescription for the pill is issued.

A minority of women, however, do need to have their blood pressure checked and perhaps a blood test.

It's important, however, that no-one is denied the pill for financial reasons so we need to look at alternatives, such as walk-in medical clinics where nurses can check patients and prescribe the pill, or chemists having trained assistants to take blood pressure.

No reason, either, why Australian women should not have long-lasting contraceptives, like Depo Provera, which requires an injection every three months.

That could be administered by nurses as well.

More importantly, it would be nice to see men taking more responsibility.

The article "Moon a stepping stone to the universe" (July 14, p8) discusses some exciting prospects, including the use of materials found on the moon to build a space station in lunar orbit.

Such a space station could provide the location for an observatory with potential for exploring the universe exceeding those of present space telescopes, such as Hubble and Kepler.

The size and capabilities of these telescopes are limited by having to be launched from Earth.

The moon offers another exciting prospect: it could be used as a base for the construction of a spacecraft suitable for carrying people to Mars.

Launching such a spacecraft from the moon would obviously require far less fuel than launching it from Earth.

It would also enable the use of a larger vehicle with more capacity for carrying materials to build a base on Mars.

We Earthlings could be in for some exciting times.

Christina Ryan outlines a horrid future for all those forced to live in apartments facing west ("Beating the heat", Letters, July 16).

Don't despair, I understand that even now our scientists are working hard to develop things called 'blinds', 'awnings' and 'reflective glass'.

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