This allows the animals time to escape as the fires are ablated by the moisture of the fire retardant trees.

It is not the time to be paranoid about deciduous trees. They can save the eucalyptus forests and, if properly managed, can save the whole native ecosystem including wildlife as well as homes, farms and infrastructure. Green belts have been used in other countries, and California which burnt so badly, and was heavily planted out with eucalypts last century, would benefit from deciduous plantings as would Australia.

Let's hope that the work of Professor Pryor who developed special fire ablative deciduous trees at the ANU will be recognised and utilised.

Surely no one is surprised that the Coalition is determined to introduce "WorkChoices Mk. II". The Liberal Party's employment policies have always been skewed in favour of employers, whatever the cost to ordinary workers.

Relentlessly cutting employee entitlements is in the Liberals' DNA, something they feel empowered to do now that their scurrilous campaign against the union movement has mostly crushed the only organisations dedicated to workers' rights and safety. One can only hope the latest attempt to require workers to go cap in hand to the bosses to beg for decent treatment meets the same fate as John Howard's attempt to do the same.

At last, an authoritative and well-informed tribunal judgment that indicates that the ACT planning directorate is not acting in the public interest when it pursues costly status-quo positions concerning major developer lease breaches, and has chosen to "turn a blind eye" on relevant decision-making details and processes for some time ("Knightsbridge Kingston accommodation operating illegally as hotel: ACAT", canberratimes.com.au December 10).

The case's proponent has accurately concluded that "... it is the planning directorate, rather than the planning system per se, that is in need of review". This focus confirms what many commentators and Canberra residents have been observing and claiming about the directorate's modus operandi for some years.

It is now up to the responsible ministers, Mick Gentleman and Rebecca Vassarotti, to get cracking and mount an in-depth, parallel review and overhaul of their directorate's operations, resourcing and expertise.

This would help inspire confidence that the eventual outcomes of 212 pages of recently released planning review documentation will not be weakened or undermined by systemic "more of the same" planning shortcomings in the future, and that far fewer individuals, community and industry groups will need to seek out formal tribunal judgments on planning issues that should never have to go to ACAT in the first place.

I was baffled when a development approved for residential apartments in Kingston morphed into serviced apartments. As the government has a clear policy to increase residential density in the area I wondered why the planning authorities ignored it.

After reading the article "Luxury 'de facto hotel' faces shutdown" (canberratimes.com.au, December 11) I am even more concerned.

The government recently released a series of discussion papers setting out proposed reforms to the current planning system. They are seeking to move to a more discretionary system. Well, it appears the planning system already allows a very wide range of discretion judging by the way the planning authorities interpret the Territory Plan.

Mr Brierley's (AHA general manager for the ACT) suggestion that the planning review should be of the planning directorate is clearly worthy of serious consideration. A more discretionary planning system places much more onus on decision makers to be trusted to act with integrity, independence and according to detailed explanations of government policy.

The lockdown of London Circuit on Wednesday, December 2, had some unintended consequences. The planned display of the Council of ACT Motor Clubs' 1939 Chevrolet Canberra pie cart in Civic Square, part of the Canberra Museum and Gallery's Sign of the Times exhibition, had to be postponed until Friday, December 4.

However, getting the vehicle into Civic Square proved to be an obstacle, finally overcome by some delicate negotiations with Transport Canberra City Services (TCCS).

The access road at the side of the ACT Legislative Assembly building is a building site, but arrangements were made for the site to be cleared to allow the vehicle to enter the Civic Square. Unfortunately, a large hole had been dug the night before, thus preventing the vehicle to enter the square.

For the Friday display event permission was sought from TCCS to mount the vehicle over the kerb fronting London Circuit. Permission was initially denied, until some delicate negotiations saw the bureaucratic "permission denied" stance overturned. The vehicle was allowed to mount the kerb under strict instructions.

Another consequence of the lockdown was that the driver of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, which was parked in London Circuit near Civic Square, was asked by the police to move to allow police vehicles to park. The bus driver was directed by police to another spot to which he moved. I believe he was subsequently booked for parking in a loading zone.

I refer to the reduction in services by Australia Post which, in my case, apparently sees deliveries only two days a week on Tuesday and Thursday under the delivery every two days rule which the Morrison government allowed Australia Post.

The price of postage was not reduced to compensate for this; rather the increase in revenue from reduced delivery costs seems to have been spent on Cartier watches for already well remunerated Australia Post executives and for office plants.

Is the Morrison government going to reinstate the mail delivery service or is it going to privatise Australia Post?

We deserve to know, and sooner rather than later.

So much for the Morrison government dealing sensitively with the Brereton report.

They have just allocated $500 million to a massive rebuild of the Australian War Memorial.

This act will further glorify war, perpetuate the Anzac myth and provide a showcase for arms dealers.

Such symbolism creates the culture in which atrocities are committed, armed personnel are traumatised, guilt-ridden or ostracised, and the reputation of Australian armed forces is trashed.

Surely at this time there is a better use of $500 million, perhaps dealing with incidence of veteran suicide, establishing a military structure where morale and accountability are paramount or perhaps even a token reparation to the people of Afghanistan.

Queensland LNP senator Gerard Rennick (Letters, December 10) implicitly calls for the states and their governments to be abolished. That would ensure Australia, with a government that shrugs its shoulders at the urgent call for net-zero emissions by 2050, let alone by 2030 as many climate scientists now insist, did next to nothing to halt the advance of global warming. Even worse, NRL enthusiasts would be deprived of their annual State of Origin exhibitions of gladiatorial combat.

On Monday, December 7, I was admitted to the National Capital Private Hospital to have a procedure done. The procedure went to plan. However in the post-op recovery stage, unanticipated complications arose. I was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit on Monday night and returned to the ward on Tuesday. Every person with whom I interacted, in their various roles, proved to be competent, efficient, caring and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble. I cannot imagine how I could have been better looked after. The staff justly deserve an A+.

How many federal MPs are using their daily travel allowances to pay off a mortgage in Canberra? The allowances are based on the cost of meals and accommodation in a suitable hotel. Give them a cashless card with strict limits of its use - and not to include property investment. Fair's fair. What about a trial period of two years?

Newly-elected Indigenous Greens senator Lidia Thorpe ("Thorpe on unfinished business", December 10, p6) tells us Captain Cook's arrival started a war that has never ended. She is apparently happy to accept a good living from her enemies.

The flaw in Rod Olsen's suggestion (Letters, December 10) that diplomats do the talking in relation to issues like China's bullying tactics is that as a result of the "jobs for the boys (and girls)" a significant number of "diplomats" are in fact ex-politicians.

The image of the US President signing (his only response to two deaths a minute) his Operation Warp Speed with a big black Texta raises a question. What books will fill the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library? Any thoughts?

In the US, Brown University's Cost of War Project conservatively estimates that eight of the most violent so-called "counter-terror" wars the US government has engaged in since 9/11 (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, Syria and Yemen) have produced 8 million refugees and 29 million internally displaced people. With the exception of WWII this is more than those displaced by any war since the start of the 20th century.

Those who are choosing to be comforted by the coronavirus figures in Australia aren't looking out of the window.

While referring specifically to Steve Smith, Dennis Fitzgerald (Letters, December 11) presented some very convincing reasons why Gladys Berejiklian should no longer be premier of NSW.

Given the inability of the Morrison government to manage relations with China I find it frightening that we are spending $90 billion on 12 or so submarines that are probably going to be sent to zoom around the South China Sea. Are we that naive?

It seems to me the quarantine breach at the Pacific Suites Hotel could have been prevented had the police taken the obvious step of obtaining a plan of the building that showed all the entrances and exits.

Liberal governments have always made the destruction of trade unions a priority.

The mantra appears to be: "Have we got a deal for you. Your labour creates wealth - but not for you".

Listening to the Liberals telling us how to run unions is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.

I agree with John Burns (Letters, December 11) that the Australian government sent troops into an unwinnable war with no real strategy, supposedly to help and protect Afghans.

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