Well done Kristy McBain for her gutsy win after "certain people" had been implying Labor was not "travelling well at the moment".
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It was a huge achievement for the Labor party to retain such a marginal seat after losing such a popular local member as Mike Kelly, and at a time when the Coalition is riding on a wave of popularity due to the COVID-19.
They should have won in a canter.
Labor's win was a massive blow to Scott Morrison who threw everything into yet another hard-sell marketing campaign, including some well-timed dog whistling on defence and what I consider to be "highly suspect" federal police raids on Labor politicians.
Conservative apparatchiks, along with the right-wing media, were up to their usual dirty tricks trying to discredit Kristy McBain and to divert attention away from the real issues, including the lack of real action on climate change.
Anthony Albanese's leadership has now received a huge boost, and after this dismal failure, Scott Morrison's leadership will be under even more scrutiny.
The deep divisions existing within the Coalition were again laid bare for all to see with the vicious infighting between the Liberal and National Parties.
As Albo stated "the last thing Australians need is another climate denier in the Federal Parliament".
Australia is in desperate need of a "real" energy policy and a real Energy Minister to implement it.
Keith Duncan, Ballina, NSW
Rant 1, facts 0
It is always enjoyable to read a good rant where the author obviously has made a wild assumption without doing some basic fact checking to support their claims.
Ian Rodgers (Letters, July 5) claimed Canberra would hold the "unenviable" record of being the only capital city of a football World Cup host nation to not host games.
A few seconds consulting our friend Dr Google shows Bonn never hosted matches in the 1974 men's World Cup and Ottawa won't be hosting games in 2026.
In the women's World Cup, Washington DC didn't host matches in 1999. Beijing didn't host matches in 1991 or 2007 either.
While it would have been sensational to have games played in the capital, the combination of the price set on the games and, more importantly, the conditions (including three months' exclusive access to the venue) for instance, shows that, arguably out of line with much decision making in the territory, this one was absolutely the right call.
Jim Smith, Turner
No bouquets for Scomo
The outcome of the Eden-Monaro byelection should be seen for what it clearly is: no endorsement for Coalition policies, despite Prime Minister Morrison's personal intervention.
If the electorate was even partly satisfied with the Australian government's policies we would have seen a victory by the very visible Liberal Party candidate. This did not happen!
The electorate wants the status quo to continue, but apparently wants more from the successful Labor candidate, Kristy McBain.
Trevor Wilson, Chifley
Facts questionable
Your editorial ("Virus creates a light rail opportunity", canberratimes.com.au, June 1) repeated the ACT government's assertion the cost benefit ratio for Stage 2 of light rail from the lake to Woden is 1.2.
How can this figure be real?
The route is undecided, approvals not gained, eight bridges to cross and cost, the Commonwealth's insistence on battery power for trams is uncosted and reduced to a risk, and the cost of elevating London Circuit is put aside.
The real value of the alleged benefits will centre on increased land value along the light rail development corridor.
Once again, we have "cart before the horse" thinking and "back of the envelope" costings.
The real cost of light rail has been the loss of ACT government transparency and a community divided between the feel good of light rail and the absence of an honest costing.
Brett Goyne, Giralang
Light rail under threat
Your July 1 editorial ("Virus creates a light rail opportunity" did not address any of the threats to this expensive project.
The transformation of Canberra from a highly decentralised group of communities to a conventional city in which Civic becomes the light rail transport hub was always going to evoke widespread community opposition given the emergence of new transport technologies.
Canberra's extent makes it irrevocably a city of the motorcar. Journeys to work by public transport, even after the completion of Stage 1, are still well short of the government's 2011 target of nine per cent.
The plan to construct a minimal network, with one line in each town over the next two decades, is subject to a serious risk of forced abandonment because of rapid changes in lifestyle and new technology.
COVID-19 has shown that working from home is highly beneficial for both organisations and individuals. We have seen how education can also be delivered successfully via the internet.
Future populations will be far less dependent on connections to the city centre.
It has always been true that buses provide the most cost-effective mass public transport for Canberra. They can pave the way for trackless trams and fleets of driverless vehicles in the coming decades.
The debate over light rail is not over.
Any change in government will quickly expose the truth about the debt that is being incurred.
John Smith, Farrer
ACT Libs must change
I have read Kate Carnell's recent analysis of the Liberal Party's prospects at the next ACT election in October.
Labor (with or without the Greens) for another four years? Please no. That said, reading between the lines, Kate Carnell's analysis is saying that a far-right Liberal Party is simply unelectable in the ACT. She is right.
As a leading example of the ACT delcons (delusional conservatives) Alistair Coe is going to lead ACT Liberals to yet another defeat. Will today's ACT Liberals ever wake up to what it takes to win an election in the ACT?
John Mellors, Coombs
ABC says PM right
Earlier last month, in relation to the BLM protests in the USA, the Prime Minister made a comment to the effect that when Australia was first settled by the British, there was no slavery in the new colony.
He was immediately attacked in various outraged sections of the media, including Jenna Price who wrote in The Canberra Times on June 11 that: "his claims are false" and made disparaging comments about his alleged lack of understanding of history.
The ABC fact checking department has now determined that the PM's claims (regarding slavery when NSW was first settled by the British) were indeed true.
It was a small report, nothing like the headlines his original statement generated, and, curiously, those same sections of the media that called out so loudly last month are now conspicuously silent on the matter.
Should we wait for an apology from Jenna?
Kym MacMillan, O'Malley
Chamberlain no fool
To the contrary, Lindsay Davis (Letters, July 3), in 1938 common people with a technical background did not regard Prime Minister Chamberlain as a "naive foolish figure to be ridiculed".
They were also too busy to indulge in Neville's "Go home and get a nice quiet sleep".
Rather than being "duped completely by a psychopath", Neville's government, in recognition of Britain and Europe's precarious predicament, had already mobilised the nation's research, development and manufacturing.
These efforts resulted (among other things) in developing and refining radar, the Spitfire, the Hurricane; and the abstract tools which we, in 2020, would associate with cyber warfare.
Ronald Elliott, Sandringham, Vic
History just is
The recent culture of rewriting history concerns me. This extends from wanting to posthumously promote Sir John Monash from general to field marshal, (which his era thought was not appropriate) to removing statues of people that earlier generations held to be icons.
Our past is our past. We can not change it.
I believe if we start altering our history, we are denying future generations the ability to reflect not only on where we came from and what societies of the past felt was important, but the errors we as a society made.
I understand the concerns some hold, but I am worried.
If we forget the path we have travelled, are we likely to forget the battle we have fought to correct the wrongs? Will we be likely to make the same errors in the future? Embrace our history, don't rewrite it.
Greg Adamson, Griffith
TO THE POINT
USE COMMON SENSE
Murray May (Letters, July 4) asks what it will take us to remove Andrew Barr from our government. Easy. Just some common sense from voters.
Brian Hale, Richardson
END THE ALLIANCE
Responding to Murray May's question (Letters, July 4) on what will it take to remove Barr's government, I would say the Greens ending their coalition with Labor. That, and the Liberals finding some moderate candidates as a palatable alternative.
Yuri Shukost, Isabella Plains
AN UGLY VICTORY
If the Labor candidate can only win with preference votes from other parties then she should be honourable enough to give up and allow the rightful winner to proceed - and that's Fiona Kotvojs. Fiona you have done your country proud with no dishonour.
Robyn Leigh, Crestwood
IT'S SIMPLE REALLY
Hong Kong is Chinese. Brits and Yanks go home.
David Hutchinson, Richardson
VALE LIBERTY
Requiescat in pace Hong Kong.
Paul Evans, Evatt
AND THE UIGHURS?
Australia is working on a scheme to provide safe haven to Hong Kong residents after China's "very concerning" decision to push ahead with the controversial new security law. Will the government show the same level of compassion for the more than a million Uighurs who have been arbitrarily detained in "reeducation" camps in China's Xinjiang region?
Sonja Weinberg, Macquarie
FAMILY HISTORY
Thank you for publishing my letter on Trump retweeting "White Power ". It means a lot to me as a victim of "white power " of the colonialist variety. I am a descendant of the Indian indentured (slave) labourers to Fiji. It also means a lot to add my voice to the global movement to right historical wrongs and injustices.
Rajend Naidu, Sydney, NSW
ELECTION TOUCHUP
Strolling around Spence the other day I noticed that the numerous painted white "safety" arrows, and highlights, on cracked and uneven pavements are desperately faded and have probably been there for 10 years. Is it time for some election maintenance?
Marilyn McConnell, Spence
MORE PERCENTAGES
So Trump claims that 99 per cent of COVID-19 cases are harmless. I think Mr Trump should be renamed Mr 99 per cent crazy.
Mokhles k Sidden,
South Strathfield, NSW
VERTICAL SLUMS
I was shocked at pictures of the 3000 population nine high-rise public housing ghettos in Melbourne, now isolated by Covid-19 restrictions. No wonder teenagers go wild and some other adults prefer to be homeless.
Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla
AN EASY CHOICE
I voted in Saturday's byelection in Eden-Monaro. My preferences went as follows: 1. Save the ABC! 2. Restore funding to the ABC! ... 14. Screw the ABC!
John-Pierre Favre, Bywong, NSW
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