A vital question that needs to be examined is who in the population would be mainly responsible for the lift in such savings. Media coverage has shown that there were many desperate battlers who were on the breadline, or worse, and who were saved from a precarious existence by the government support. That sector of the demographic certainly doesn't share in the accumulation of savings.

Has the increase in savings been concentrated mainly among better off Australians? Certainly, more generous tax concessions for the wealthier as well as COVID-19 restraints on discretionary spending on luxury items and overseas travel could be factors.

Rather than the broad-brush approach of abrupt removal of support and focusing on aggregates and totals, a better option would be to keep more targeted support programs and review eligibility criteria.

The effects of the pandemic (and not to mention the toxic China fallout) are obviously not conveniently all over in March.

This government narrative is a follow-up to saving money for support by allowing people to massively access their superannuation savings - which are in the government's sights once again.

Government architect Catherine Townsend ("Office that sets the standard for design", January 19, p3) expressed laudable sentiments in endorsing offices that "put humans front and centre" and provide "a sense of feeling good and self-respect".

But she then refers to the occupants as minions, defined as "a follower or underling of a powerful person, especially a servile or unimportant one". Is this really how ACT public servants should be perceived?

As we have close ties with America, many of us watch its politics with interest, and admire the good side of former president Trump.

Despite his deep character failings, his themes of "make America great again" and "drain the swamp" resonated. We liked his promise of no new wars and his attempts at peace in the Middle East and Afghanistan. If not for COVID-19 his promise of jobs in America would have come true.

But from here in Australia it is easy to see the US not as a first-world country, but rather as a second-world country (and perhaps heading further down). There are deep social problems.

For those less fortunate due to disability, family issues, or lack of work, there is not an adequate safety net - medical, welfare, education and housing - to give them a reasonable life. The onus on new President Biden and his administration is to deal with this entrenched inequality.

Let's hope that the new Democrat administration does not indulge in the usual politically correct chatter whilst doing little to help those in need, and then retiring with obscene wealth, acquired through their positions of privilege, to spend the rest of their lives backslapping each other for their phantom successes whilst in fact those in America who are less fortunate continue to burn.

I guess we will see what happens. But I am not optimistic.

Watching the cricket Test this week I could not get over the number of bouncers bowled by the Australian fast bowlers. In some overs they seemed to be about half the balls bowled.

Television commentators seem to suggest that a bouncer early in the over can rattle the batsman and so makes it possible to get a dismissal on the next ball. But the Indian batsmen seem to have learned to just duck under the bouncers. And worse, because many of them were high, the wicketkeeper was unable to take some of them so they went through to the boundary for a four.

This was just free runs to the Indian team. In the Indian second innings extras made up 29 runs, which was the fourth highest score for the Indian team.

There are many ways to get out in cricket, but the most common are caught, lbw or bowled. The large number of bouncers bowled by the Australian quicks did not seem to result in any of those types of dismissal and, while they might have boosted the bowler's ego, were wasted energy in what was a long, tiring day in the field.

What a marvellous performance by the touring Indian cricket team. After being resoundingly beaten in the first Test, and suffering a spate of injuries to their star players, including the loss of their regular captain, who had to return home for personal reasons, they regrouped and ended up deservedly winning the series two tests to one, with one draw, ending up with a win in a record breaking fourth Test.

They have demonstrated to the Australian team how Test cricket should be played, with no cheating, no sledging and no prima donnas. Cricket Australia please take note.

It is frightening to learn homelessness has been on the rise across the country for years, even before the fires and pandemic. The ACT is struggling, according to reports, with many people falling through the cracks.

All power to the welfare advocates pleading for a reconsideration of cuts to JobSeeker which would leave unemployed Australians on just $40 a day come April. What is the plan here? Where is the country being led to?

I agree with tennis players being quarantined in a hotel if they have been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive case. Yet, I disagree with the supercilious and irrelevant comments from the Prime Minister and deputy Nationals leader, David Littleproud that the tennis players should be grateful for their quarantine arrangement because "they will be paid well for competing in the tournament" (comment by PM) and "they will be getting 100 grand for the first round, which is not a bad pay day" (comment from David Littleproud).

Are the PM and the deputy Nationals leader implying only low-income recipients should be allowed to express concerns about their quarantine situation? But if you are a high-income earner then let's just lock them up in quarantine and refuse to listen to their concerns for the reason that they are high paid individuals. Nonsense.

I'm looking forward to the day the PM and David Littleproud are put into hotel quarantine. Then we can all discover what money they will earn on their next pay day after release.

Oh dear! It is reported some of the Australian Open tennis players are furious at having to be confined as a result of COVID-19-positive people having been on the same charter flight as them.

How precious. How self important. These players should just suck it up and accept the position they find themselves in. Each player and their support staff knew the rules about quarantine, etc. for the AO before they set out to come here. They didn't have to come.

The safety of the Australian people is far more important than the aggrieved sense of entitlement of these blow-ins.

The news that an aromatherapy device exploded and caused a car park fire in Geraldton recently got me wondering just how safe is aromatherapy? Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be smelling the roses than a public toilet, but is the dark art of aromatherapy just a gateway for petrol sniffers or sniffers of all kinds of things? Then there's the practicality of it all which reminds me of that joke by the great Billy Connolly where upon encountering a traumatic road accident our hero/heroine declares loudly "Step aside, I'm an aromatherapist!"

I'm just looking forward to not hearing Trump's voice on every news bulletin ... for the time being at least.

Mohammad Ali was a fabulous boxer and a great entertainer. He was also a highly-principled individual whose stand against the Vietnam War inspired many. But the greatest American of the 20th Century (Kenneth Griffiths, Letters, 19 January). Hmmm, I'm not sure about that. Another great American, born 92 years ago on January 15 could hold his own for that title. His birthday is recognised with a US national holiday on the third Monday in January and, as an act of recognition, many Americans (this year including President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill) do volunteer service. President Biden and his wife helped distribute food to people in need.

Former US presidents usually have a library set up in their honour. Assuming the same occurs for Trump the naming of the library, and its content, should reflect the man. In this case the "Donald J. Trump Memorial Comic Book Library" seems appropriate.

The ever-growing amount of footage on social media of elite tennis players "training" in their quarantine hotel rooms suggests many of them are unable to make a bed, pick up clothes and shoes, and clear away dirty dishes.

In the face of relentless sledging, petulance, arrogance and a vicious bowling strategy by the Australians, well done to the Indian cricket team for its amazing skill, fortitude and perseverance. A remarkable achievement.

With the end to Trump's Presidency, and her no longer feeling beholden to stick with her husband so as not to cause any embarrassment to the administration, it would be no surprise to see Melania take leave of the egotistical buffoon and call an end to the "marriage".

Travelling around during the festive season I reckon I haven't seen public places so clean and people so conscious about personal hygiene ever in my life.

As a professional driver I believe the government needs to look at more safety options for riders on highways and walkways. Bike riders on main roads, especially narrow roads and heavy-vehicle routes, are dangerous. This needs to be looked at.

Quite so, Heather Henderson (Letters, January 14). In addition to the regrettable advent of "normalcy" and "obligated", "wrought" seems to have become "wreaked". Ugh. Ugly.

The most common places visited by infected people seem to be Woolworths and Coles. Of course people want to eat. The government should impose mandatory and legally-binding regular COVID-19 cleaning requirements on popular supermarkets.

State and federal officials have had ample time to plan the efficient roll out of the vaccination program. The ADF can deliver vaccines to remote location by sea, air or ground. Normal road transport can deliver to cities, suburbs and regional centres. Pharmacies, surgeries, district nurses, military medics and even veterinary surgeons and trainee nurses and doctors could all inoculate people. Let's do it.

Greg Cornwell, Letters, January 11, asks which of Shakespeare's plays would I choose if offered the financial rights. Hamlet. Its messages of lust for power and revenge sadly will never go out of date.