We do not dispute the validity of the independent analyses underlying those articles. In our experience, however, when the issues are critical our local system meets the test.

On November 15, 2019, we were involved in an horrific accident on the Snowy Mountains Highway. Tragically, our two friends in the front seat lost their lives. We were in the back seat and were extricated from the wreckage by the Cooma-Monaro unit of the State Emergency Service and separately transported to Canberra Hospital by Toll South Care Rescue Helicopters.

Their timely arrival and the skill of their personnel, the expertise of the physicians and nursing staff in the intensive care unit and trauma team in the Canberra Hospital, and the love and support of our families and friends, ensured that we survived to write this letter.

For that, we will be forever grateful and in awe of the specialised expertise in our local health system.

My husband of 40 years recently had a heart attack and subsequent fall which led to his admission to The Canberra Hospital on January 17, 2020. While, unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries, the service at the Intensive Care Unit, under the care of Dr Simon Robertson was absolutely exemplary.

Allan was treated with dignity and care in his last few days. I could not have asked for a more compassionate and professional team to help me navigate all the medical information, as well as the emotional support they gave me and my family.

I was disheartened to hear that The Canberra Hospital gets a bad wrap. My recent experience was not only the polar opposite of this, but probably the best experience I have had with the hospital system in this country my entire life.

To Simon and the team at the Intensive Care Unit - thank you. You are truly unsung heroes in my book.

The ACT education minister is waxing lyrical about the impending arrival of 60 Chinese school students some weeks into term 1 ("China students welcome in ACT", canberratimes.com.au, February 23).

However no assurances or information is given to the public about strict testing and quarantine arrangements that may precede this, in China, Canberra or elsewhere in Australia, and about monitoring their well-being and that of their contacts after arrival.

Sharing such information with the public is expected, especially since we are learning now that that COVID-19's incubation period has been found to last 27 days in China.

Transparency is needed about the risk management implications for public places, our classrooms , overstretched health services and hospitals and the overcrowded rail and bus system which students depend on.

This heady experiment by the Federal government with the states and territories is no doubt designed to help keep at bay a while longer the noisy lobbyists from the tertiary education and tourism sectors, and also from businesses that have chosen to rely on large numbers of overseas workers on temporary visas, in hospitality, construction and aged care.

By "moving forward" in this way the Coalition government and these businesses eager to open our borders do not have to worry about running schools, hospitals and public transport systems, nor do they have to manage public risk on the ground, deal with potential public fall-out and costs or face an election in 2020.

Let's hope that the Coalition retains its claimed commitment to making public health the priority during this epidemic.

The words spoken by Inspector Mark Thompson in regard to the Camp Hill murder suicide explains why we still have one woman a week die from domestic violence.

Inadequate domestic violence training and a lack of compassion appear rife in the police.

Often no meaningful action is taken by police when an AVO is broken.

Even by the standards of the Centre for Independent Studies the piece stitching up the High Court and "closing the gap" ("Closing the gap requires us to reject separatism", February 15, p31) was something special.

CIS claims the court was "rather radical" in creating people who are "non-citizen non-alien". It did so long ago, Now, narrowly, the court has held that some Aboriginal people are not aliens, even if born overseas.

It found a particular person, already recognised as a native title holder, has so substantial a connection with Australia that they cannot be an alien. The case referred back to the Federal Court fact-finding about whether another particular person was so much an Aboriginal that they cannot be an alien.

Symbolic measures and separatism haven't widened the gap for Aboriginal people. Symbolic measures haven't been done (the "voice to Parliament") or have been abolished (the former Aboriginal representative body). And separatism has long denied Aboriginal people the same supports, on the same basis, as everyone else. We have done things more and more unilaterally, and more and more without public accountability.

If Aboriginals face relatively worsening outcomes, and in some respects absolutely worsening outcomes, their disadvantage looks to be because they are Aboriginal. Measuring the gap isn't separatist, however we tackle the gap (or don't).

Collaboration isn't Aboriginal sovereignty. It isn't a matter of not being alien. And it isn't a radical creation of the High Court.

I'm very sad to hear that Australia's loved motoring icon will soon cease to exist.

The Australiana scenery of Holden vehicles of all ages cluttering the streets went largely unnoticed. Unfortunately it gradually began to disappear when "everything electric" SUV imports became the domineering force.

Very rarely do we now see sedans and station wagons. The only positive aspect of the closure will be the increased determination of Holden owners to preserve and enjoy their Adelaide Saddlery off-spring.

Australia and its people will no longer be the same without the famous lion being a part of our everyday lives.

The large majority of the more than 500 submissions to the current federal parliamentary inquiry on 5G are from the public. Nearly all of these oppose the premature rollout of 5G on health and environmental grounds. The consensus is striking.

To date, the inquiry has had six public hearings, with 87 per cent of the hearing time allocated to telco and related proponents, and six per cent of the hearing time for opponents. The remaining ones were unclear. Proponents have been heard in person and opponents by teleconference.

This represents shocking bias. No wonder trust in political processes is so low.

Recently, on arrival home after shopping at the Jamieson Centre, I realised that I had left my handbag, which contained my wallet, cash, credit cards, diary and some personal items, in the Coles Trolley collection area in the rear car park.

My husband returned to the centre and, to our great joy and relief, found my handbag had been handed in by "an elderly lady" who preferred to remain anonymous.

Such action restores faith in the midst of so much negativity.

I'm glad the lawyers representing the government in the Robo debt class action have clarified a misapprehension that many of us may have been suffering from, in that we are not to assume that any notice received from the government is correct just because it came from the government with its associated authority.

We are also told that although the fine print tells us they can seize monies, stop us going overseas and so forth we shouldn't consider that to be a form of duress.

I assume that this principle now extends to things like tax assessments and other demands for payment.

It should also apply to search warrants. I'd like the next media organisation that finds the AFP at its door to tell them the search warrant is full of holes and that they should leave.

If the AFP Commissioner thinks photos of coppers plodding through the front door of the ABC is a bad look imagine what he'll think of photos of journos, IT specialists and senior management being taken away in handcuffs.

So, a contractor engaged by the Ecuadorian government to provide security monitoring within their embassy in London has passed, or leaked, some of that material to the Americans.

Assange and his lawyers now claim the release of sensitive material to an agency not authorised to receive it is "unfair, illegal and detrimental to Assange's case". Karma perhaps?

In his detailed comments on the sport rorts affair, Tony Harris, a former NSW auditor general, said: "the mismanagement of grants offers evidence of electoral bribery. And there is evidence of misconduct in office. Each proven offence allows the possibility of imprisonment". Does anyone know who has the responsibility to lead the prosecution in such cases? Have they begun to perform their duty?

Year 11 and 12 students from China should not be allowed back ahead of others. Same goes for university students. They are not less likely to be infected. Viruses spread in schools like wildfire. Don't we want to protect our young people? They are more important than money and greed.

The UN says the most effective prevention for coronavirus spread is handwashing. This needs to be done with soap and warm water. It should be followed by rinsing and then drying with a towel. The ACT government needs to ensure warm water, soap and paper towels are available in all our public toilets. It should also make it mandatory for all takeaway food outlets with toilets to do the same.

Re Harvey Weinstein. There would never have been a criminal conviction a generation ago. Is the "casting couch" out or just being recycled?

After the revelations of the Coalition's chicanery in the conduct of the Community Sports Infrastructure Program, the Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream and the Urban Congestion Fund, I very much doubt that there was even a smidgin of supernatural intervention in Scott Morrison's electoral victory. It was just a plain, old-fashioned, fiddle.

Douglas McKenzie (Letters, February 24) is wrong to suggest tram-top solar cells might make trams self-sufficient. 10 kilowatts per tram is not enough. But, using rubber tyres is a good idea. With hi-tech guidance these are called "trackless trams" and cost much less than tracked trams.

Albo says zero net emissions by 2050. How good is that?

Crispin Hull ("Why bears are more deadly than dragons", February 22, p27) claims that China "has not invaded Hong Kong or any other outside territory".

What about Tibet and the South China Sea?

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