Will federal Coalition politicians be eligible for these grants? And must grants be fixed at $25,000? Why not lesser amounts for projects smaller than $150,000? And no relatives, even if he/she is a licensed builder or tradesperson? Why?

While the 'Homebuilder' grants proposed by the Morrison government will help those who already have housing, it does nothing for the homeless and poor. Precisely the same outcome could be achieved by providing government housing for the under privileged.

The 'Homebuilder' proposal of course also misses the point that governments of all stripes have spent many years dismantling the TAFE system, thus preventing it from providing qualified tradespeople. All the money in the world in the pockets of home owners is not going to make qualified tradespeople suddenly appear.

Why is taxpayers' hard earned money being given to people who can afford to do renovations costing between $150,000-$750,000? A gift of $25,000 to help them along the way ... spare me!

I don't get it and am not happy about it. What about investing in infrastructure that benefits society more broadly and helps those who are less fortunate, for example public housing?

Large banners now promote the opportunity for 'A Fine-Grain Retail Precinct' on a Northbourne Ave block in Braddon. Many passers-by may wonder if the auction for this gateway 'mixed-use' development site, which was publicised recently for its 600-unit potential, is now focusing on our post-COVID need for greater self-sufficiency and food storage.

Will it be encouraging the inclusion of a non-residential silo or two, a boutique flour mill, or the refinement of barley into drinkable liquids in the bowels of this highly densified block?

Yet planners should be concerned that this location may well end up being what they term a 'coarse-grain environment' where destination foot traffic and social and retail connection are impeded by other locational and design factors.

Nearby Braddon and Turner residents should benefit from the everyday amenity that this 'mixed-use' site may end up offering but it will be quite a hike for anyone else to get there, given the far-off rail stops.

The Indigenous teenager who was dropped to the ground by a policeman in Sydney recently, appeared to have complied when asked to turn around. His hands were secured behind him. Then, when he was unable to to protect himself by breaking his fall, his legs were kicked out from under him and he dropped to the ground face down.

There were three police present at the time. He obviously posed no threat. Some commentators have suggested that because the teenager issued a verbal threat to one of the police, he lacked respect, as if this justified his violent treatment.

This makes me very uneasy, because such an attitude is quite common among perpetrators of domestic violence. Some bullies believe they have a right to teach their spouses or their children a lesson because they don't like their behaviour and feel disrespected.

Many Indigenous people who have never broken the law, report being regularly stopped and questioned by police for no apparent reason. This doesn't usually happen to most Australians. It is not at all surprising then that some Indigenous youths feel threatened by police and don't respect them.

I like many, many Australians have been and remain horrified at the rioting and community breakdown in the USA this week. When one compares the relative numbers of Indigenous Australians and African Americans as a percentage of their general populations and their prison populations, it is horrifying to realise that proportionally many more Indigenous Australians are incarcerated than African Americans. We must act now to reconcile this dreadful and shameful situation.

I have written to the Prime Minister and other MPs to express my deep concern and to urge them to take action immediately to alleviate and start developing the confidence and respect of our First Nation's peoples. Governments of all levels need to work together to show concern and respect as they engage with various Indigenous Australian groups across Australia.

It is time for governments to work together to ensure that the recommendations of all Royal Commissions and other federally initiated reports are implemented immediately. The appalling record of delaying and/or ignoring the recommendations of the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Bringing them Home reports, to name just a few, needs to end in order for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to start trusting our governments.

It is imperative that action is taken now to address these inequities.

In the Bible that President Donald Trump holds proudly in his hand, we find these words that have reverberated for two millennia in a world riven with hatred, war and violence: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" ("'Trump again uses church as platform", June 3).

During the height of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln sought to be such a peacemaker by entering into the long, hard and enduring struggle to pass a constitutional amendment to end the scourge of black slavery.

Similarly, Martin Luther King, on the day before his assassination, marched peacefully alongside black sanitation workers demanding justice, while police stood by with rifles pointed with sharpened bayonets ready for the kill. By contrast, President Trump incites his God-fearing white supporters with a Bible that condemns them for being haters of people of colour and lovers of war.

But after he then decides to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, these words from this pontiff stand as a further indictment: "Whoever uses religion to foment violence contradicts religion's deepest and truest inspiration."

Bill Deane (Letters, June 3) continues to play a scratchy old fiddle as he again tries to downplay the phrase "terra nullius", allegedly because the term wasn't used officially until the second half of the 20th century.

Its real significance is that today we understand clearly that "terra nullius" refers to the white attitude regarding native possession that existed from Cook's arrival.

The timeline of the term's official usage is therefore immaterial to the facts it supports. As they say, "terra nullius" is now a cliché - an expression everyone understands the meaning of.

In citing Michael Connor's book supposedly exposing the falsity of the term, Bill Deane might have reminded us that Connors, along with his publisher, Keith Windshuttle, have long been criticised for their writing on Indigenous history. In the interests of full disclosure, he might also have named the person whom he says reviewed the book favourably back in 2006. It wasn't Canberra Times reviewer Bill Deane was it?

How pitiful that the depth our PM's reflection on Black America's struggle for justice is to declare blithely that "Australia is not America", and boast of how lucky he felt to live in Australia.

In contrast, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian thoughtfully acknowledges that we too have lessons to learn about policing and community relations. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau somberly recognises that this is a time to listen and to learn, acknowledging that his country also has its challenges with race relations. Oh, for such insight on the part of our national leadership.

Matt Ford's call for cycling trails along disused rail lines, (Letters, June 4) is likely to fall on deaf ears in the NSW government.

In the past 20 years all Australian states, other than NSW, have forged ahead with rail trail construction and today there are over 100 trails with a combined length of 3000km. Sadly, in NSW with over 3000km of disused rail corridor there are only 10 trails of total length 100km. Is there a problem somewhere?

Will Federal Court Justice Steven Rares ("Court finds Indonesian ban ... invalid" CT, June 3), be presiding over the Robodebt debacle? He surely must find more caustic terms than "recklessly" when considering the decisions of then Minister Porter and then Treasurer Morrison, and the continued pursuit of their draconian policy in the face of technical, legal, arithmetic and psychological warnings.

How is it possible that such a stupid, ignorant person could become President of the United States of America?

It surely beggars belief that someone, in this case the Labor candidate for Eden Monaro ('Bushfire recovery needs overhaul' p.6, June 3), could even seriously think up such a preposterous idea, let alone air it publicly. If perchance it does become real I should like to be the first applicant. On further thought, I think I can still save for a holiday without taxpayers' help.

I understand the pain and the sentiment behind this message both here and in the USA. However , I suggest the slogan should be "All lives matter" otherwise it's a racist statement if non-blacks are not included.

NBN Co deserved at least a slap on the wrist ("Consumers mislead over network switch", June 3, p3). Instead, it got an affectionate pat on the wrist.

It seems that nobody is permitted to call out the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, for his appeal to well-debunked "trickle-down" pseudo-economics, be they columnists or letter-writers.

In reply to John Gralton (Letters, June 4) Minneapolis: white cop kills black man, destructive riots. Minneapolis: black cop kills white woman, no riots.

Jennifer Ashton (Letters, June 4) writes that the "bucolic Sutherland Shire", home to our Prime Minister, is "an harmonious shire...as 97.8 per cent of their population claim Australian, UK or Irish origin". Ms Ashton's words imply that The Shire is non-argumentative, or peaceful, because only 2.2 per cent of its population originates in non-Anglo-Celtic countries. "Homogeneous" would be a more appropriate description.

Truth is, Prime Minister Morrison is delighted to attend G7 Summit beside other well known democrats, Putin and Modi.

I had a dream ... not of the Martin Luther King variety but of Alan Jones and numerous other shock-jocks and commentators going on national television and apologising profusely for all the nasty opinion pieces they had-written or said throughout their careers that have perpetuated racism. It was just a dream ...

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