Liberals, especially with a capital L, love to quote John Stuart Mill's On Liberty.

They want to believe that Mill encouraged "freedom" and "individuality". He did, but with qualifications and provisos that the cap-L Liberals then choose to ignore.

In his other essential work, Utilitarianism he wrote: "few but those whose mind is a moral blank, could bear to lay out their course of life on the plan of paying no regard to others except so far as their own private interest compels".

He explained that "each person's happiness is a good to that person, and the general happiness, therefore, a good to the aggregate of all persons".

This is usually summed up as "the greatest happiness for the greatest number".

So, for Reconciliation Week, "let's move beyond 'moving on' " means writing a new Constitution which gives all major and minority groups the happiness that suits them, as far as that is possible, by working together.

COVID-19 has shown we can do it. As Grant concluded "To find our way, we must first have to lift some of the blindfolds of our liberalism" for "all Australians to walk together for a better future".

The Canberra Times reported ("Sad Times: Collaery laments our now fragile democracy", May 26, p7) that on Monday, in the latest hearing of the long running prosecution of Bernard Collaery, the trial judge closed the ACT Supreme court.

Apparently this was a hearing to determine whether the trial itself will be in secret. So a hearing whether the trial will be in secret is itself conducted in secret.

It is public knowledge that Mr Collaery's defence includes affidavit evidence from former Attorney-General and Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, former Chief of the Defence Forces Admiral Chris Barrie and former senior diplomat John McCarthy.

The presiding judge has previously informed the court that those affidavits are intended to directly challenge the assertions in the Attorney-General's s 26 certificate and the evidence filed on behalf of the Attorney-General that there would be a risk of prejudice to Australia's national security.

One can understand there may be a case for evidence from intelligence agencies to be heard in closed court.

That the public is not allowed to hear the evidence of these eminent Australians, Evans, Barrie and McCarthy, so that national security would not be prejudiced, seems bizarre.

Dr Sue Wareham claims that the UN General Assembly's historic adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in July, 2017, should give us "reasons to hope" that we will finally be able to eliminate this global threat to human civilisation ("As we wait for a vaccine, there is another global threat we can address today", canberratimes.com.au, May 26).

While noting that Australia completely boycotted the whole process, Dr Wareham fails to mention that all nine of the world's nuclear-armed states, including their nuclear-dependent counterparts, did so as well.

The reason for their absence, upon which Dr Wareham casts some derision, is the sheer impossibility of strategically disarming their nuclear arsenals multilaterally.

No one nation would be able to safely withdraw its arsenal unilaterally without placing itself at the mercy of, and dependent on its trust of, nuclear-armed adversaries.

Dr Wareham does acknowledge the overall need for co-operation in a seemingly hostile world.

As the prospect of war increases between the US and China, together with Russia, another UN treaty won't be enough to save us from mutual annihilation.

That will require a willingness by all these nuclear-armed superpowers to abandon their Cold-War quest for global domination.

Recent reports suggesting building certifiers are "stunned by big insurance bills" made for interesting reading.

As a forensic structural engineer, and someone who knows how the system works, my only surprise is that insurers are willing to insure certifiers at all.

Many certifiers who are paid by developer/builders are clearly and unequivocally conflicted before they even get started.

If insurers approached the issue thinking all problems would be discovered they would be running a mile.

Sadly, insurers know only too well that the regulatory regime is so completely ineffective that most of the mistakes certifiers allow to occur will never be discovered.

What we require is more independent auditing of all parties involved (engineers, architects, hydraulic designers and certifiers) so that the public and insurers have some confidence in what is being designed and constructed.

The Shergold Weir report was a very sound document but most jurisdictions are busy watering it down so that they can get back to "business as usual" with some minor amendments to placate the screaming masses.

The small playground in Kaleen has had a broken see-saw for many many months.

I frequently take the young children to this conveniently located playground.

It has been a long time since the broken see-saw was roped off awaiting repair.

There has been much publicity, especially in an election year, of how the current local government is upgrading our playground facilities.

Yet, when a four-year-old asks "when will it be fixed?" how do I explain the current inadequacies and broken promises of the current local government?

Up until recently I've been among the fortunate who are working from home because of COVID-19.

Unfortunately I've had a recent need to use the buses.

It's unbelievable, but Action has maintained at least two standards:

1. Despite having micro passenger numbers, the buses still do not run on time;

2. The buses are still filthy.

Thanks to their standard of hygiene I am now in home isolation waiting for the outcome of virus tests.

There are several fallacies in Ian Pilsner's blatant and partisan maligning of schoolteachers (Letters, May 22).

The principal issue is he claimed teachers complained about being told to do their job.

They didn't, and they weren't.

What I heard was some of them merely pointed out their job had been totally redefined overnight from being professional educators to glorified childminders.

This is not to imply there is anything less worthy about professional child minders, merely that it was not what teachers had signed up for.

I also detected a certain frustration with the constant deliberate mixed messaging coming from the Prime Minister designed, for no other reason, than to allow to him to play weaselly political games with state premiers.

I am not a teacher, I don't have children, but I was educated for 12 years by teachers.

I think they are all champions.

The coming together of lycra-clad cyclists at pace, and of slow and often inattentive walkers on a narrow path is simply "an accident waiting to happen".

Despite recent legal clarification on who gives way, the signage is simplistic and confusing. The obvious solution is to have cyclists and walkers on separate paths, even if alongside.

I hope some of the recent Commonwealth allocation to local government projects will be for new separated paths for the safety of both walkers and cyclists.

Contrary to Mark Kenny ("A Y-plan or a living, modern city?", canberratimes.com.au, May 23) I think Lake Burley Griffin's current foreshore, particularly central basin, serves Canberra well with ways to exercise in the sun, enjoy relatively uninterrupted views, and grab a coffee.

Kenny acknowledges his survey (that he says show people want more development) is non-scientific. I am confident the data (almost certainly readily available) would show a soaring number of people use the area, particularly during the virus lockdown.

We need to ensure this experience remains for future generations.

Think about what London would be today without St James's Park or Sydney without the Botanic Garden.

If removed, the amenity (for example, space, views, no overshadowing) won't be returned to the community.

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