Is nothing sacred to be left in Civic?

Have you any idea of the number of romances, friendships, affairs and divorces can be linked to this incredibly important part of the beating heart of the city?

Gus Petersilka wanted to have a cafe that had the European feeling of a place where people could meet, read newspapers and get a decent cup of coffee.

Yes it has been changed over the years especially after they were allowed to move outdoors.

I have absolutely no faith that Geocon can replace Gus' with a version of Gus' that "will have the same character, look and feel".

The ACT Heritage Council does not have the best of records in this area and while the heritage listing of 2011 stated that "it is not the physical fabric of the building that represents its heritage value" I cannot feel that they would have said this had they seen the monstrosities that Geocon is constructing all over town!

The 30 minutes "wild dive into the Internet" by Joanne McCarthy (October 13, p16) began with a search for the word "parthenocarpy".

It is quicker - less than 30 seconds - to look up the word (as I did) in a printed dictionary, e.g. Collins, Random House, or Merriam-Webster.

The entries in these have been subject to quality control. What you see on the screen rarely is. We should stop despising print. For one thing, you can ensure that your choice of what you read in print cannot be tracked by an outside agency.

The Sunday Canberra Times carried the story "Morrison downplays China stoush" (October 13, p10) about the Prime Minister's defence of Peter Dutton for his comments on alleged activities and influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Australia. According to Scott Morrison, Mr Dutton's comments simply reflect "differences" (presumably political and and social) between the two countries.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan has now added his voice to the defence, also saying that Dutton was simply stating the facts about differences between the two forms of government ("Dutton 'just stating facts' on China: minister", October 14, p3).

Despite this defence, the fact remains that Mr Dutton has trampled on Chinese sensitivities whether or not his comments are accurate. Dutton seems deficient in diplomatic skills and may be well advised to stick to his own portfolio of Home Affairs.

Roger Dace (Letters, October 17), patronises young climate protesters by dismissing them as "frightened children" and therefore of no concern. He says, "We might have more trust in an environment movement fronted by accredited scientists".

Exactly, and that's what young people are doing; they are listening to the experts so it's no wonder they are frightened. But they are really scared by the fact that the political grown-ups able to take effective climate action are neither listening nor observing what's happening in front of their eyes.

Roger also accuses the environmentalist movement of "using children" for political purposes. What does he say then about our political leaders, like the prime minister, who gather their children on stage as a blatant political ploy? Shouldn't they similarly be the subject of Roger's ire?

I must congratulate Jack Waterford for his comprehensive partially retrospective article (and his 30 year reporting on the case) about the outstanding serious questions surrounding the roles of ACT government departments, agencies etc in the 30 year history of the Winchester Case (October 19, pages 28-29).

It is about time the current Attorney General and ACT Police Ministers addressed the ACT community about what measures they are implementing to clean house in their respective departments and agencies in response.

This would seem the minimum necessary to restore public confidence in all the elements of the ACT justice system.

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