Unless the NCA has been misreported, it appears complicit in the process. An NCA spokesperson said that the authority will "determine if modifications to the proposal are required".

Pardon? The proposal has not yet been approved by the NCA, as the spokesperson surely must have known, which means that NCA options still include saying to the AWM: "No; the proposal does not fit the dignity and symbolism of our national capital."

The 599 submissions were only on the so-called "early works" of knocking down Anzac Hall, destroying over 100 trees and creating a massive excavation zone out the front of the memorial, and all this before the redevelopment is approved.

The NCA was also reported as stating that no impact on the construction timeline for the redevelopment was expected following the large number of submissions.

Pardon, again? What timeline? The proposal is still unapproved.

One wonders what it is about "approval", "consultation" and "democracy" that the AWM and the NCA are having such trouble with.

Meanwhile, the NCA spruiks its tree-planting plans ("NCA has an "adventurous" tree plan to grow canopy cover", canberratimes.com.au, May 7) while paving the way for the virtual denuding of one of our most important institutions.

In the event of a (likely?) National Capital Authority approval of the destruction of Anzac Hall, and more, at the Australian War Memorial ("Hundreds of submissions for memorial expansion", May 7, p4), hopefully, in the tradition of the late great union leader, Jack Mundey, and because there are better viable alternatives, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union will place a permanent "green ban" on the destruction.

I feel enormous sympathy for Indian-Australians currently trapped in India, but I am incensed at dishonest accusations that, because Australia is delaying the return of these people, Australians are racist.

Over the past year because of quarantine difficulties Australians of all races have had their return to Australia, or interstate travel delayed. Those restrictions were necessary, and served Australia well. Many of the complainants selfishly travelled to India after the government had asked them not to, thus demonstrating they have little respect for the health of other Australians. Some seem to think that they are entitled to the advantages of Australian citizenship, but not be subject to the obligations of that citizenship.

I'm also incensed by those who complain that the punishment of imprisonment for people coming back illegally is too harsh. If people don't come back, they will suffer no punishment. Punishment is a deterrent; there is no point in having a deterrent that is so insignificant that it will not deter.

I realise that many of the unjustified complaints are a consequence of fear and frustration. However, if such complaints continue they could cause enmity towards all Indian-Australians. Therefore, all Indian-Australians, and organisations such as the Hindu Council of Australia, should discourage such complaints, and certainly not support them.

It is past time certain sections of our community revisit their citizenship pledges and consider the national interest.

The world has had over a year to observe how and how not to handle this pandemic.

It is largely due to very good management by various governments and widespread public compliance of associated directions that we enjoy our current freedom.

With much focus on so-called empathy training in recent times it might be worth considering two related factors.

Firstly, empathy is not the same as compassion, although the two are related.

While empathy refers more generally to our ability to take the perspective of and feel the emotions of another person, compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help.

All major religions identity compassion as perhaps the most important quality for a human being. While it may be possible to 'teach' empathy skills, I don't think one can 'teach' compassion. But it can be learned.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business."

Scott Morrison's address to the Australian Christian Churches National Conference at the Gold Coast in April has cast a very dark and worrying shadow over Australia's political system.

Morrison has crossed the line that has, in a true democracy, always kept religion out of politics.

His claim that God "has been using us" clearly oversteps the mark and has no place in a multicultural society such as exists in this country.

He claims people "see themselves only defined by some group and they get lost in that group" and lose their humanity. That cap fits Morrison perfectly, but it is not a cap any leader should wear.

For the US company to claim UGG boots is their name is baloney. Back in the 1950's UGG boots were made in Victoria by a local bloke.

They were originally called RUG boots because they were made from the off-cuts of old sheepskin and cowhide rugs. The old rugs were worn out from foot traffic but there were always sections that were okay.

He made little kids warm winter slipper-boots out them, and, later on, bigger boots for adults. As they were made from off cuts of rugs, they were called Ruggies.

The little ones learning words called them Uggies.

This word was used widely and the old bloke who made them had Uggies on the sign in the window. From there it became a nationally known word for sheepskin boots and slippers.

UGG does not belong to anyone other than the Australian people. We should not accept, recognise or tolerate any US acts of theft.

The lessons of history apply to Australia in 2021 as much as they did to ancient Greece in its conflict with Persia more than 2500 years ago.

While seeking to destroy the combined Greek fleet, the Persians suffered a severe defeat at the Battle of Salamis.

The following year, the confederated Greeks went on the offensive, decisively defeating the Persian army at the Battle of Plataea, and ending the invasion of Greece by the Achaemenid Empire.

The Greeks simply wouldn't accept the idea of being invaded by another country and they fought until they won.

Another factor was that by uniting the city-states, particularly the Spartans and Athenians, it created a skilled, well balanced army that was able to defeat the Persians despite their numbers. Persia had a huge empire and had every intention of adding Greece to it. This humiliation led to a second attempt to conquer Greece in 480-479 BC. The invasion was led by Xerxes.

After initial victories the Persians were eventually defeated, both at sea and on land.

There is another pandemic other than COVID-19 that has been, still is and will continue across Australia unless all levels of government and the community take steps to stop it.

That pandemic is called domestic violence and many women and children suffer physical, physiological and in far too many cases death. However there is another group victims of domestic violence and they are men.

Like general and mental health, men don't report domestic violence as they see it as a sign of weakness if they come forward and seek help. Similarly reporting harassment and sexual assault in the workplace is not reported for the same reason.

There is an enormous amount of resources for women and children seeking assistance from domestic violence, though there could be a lot more, as it still happens far too frequently and obviously the message is not getting through that it is not acceptable.

However, more should be done to encourage men to come forward for help and to not see this as weakness. Not one person in our national community should have to tolerate or suffer domestic violence.

John Sandilands may be right when he says the ALP would be pleased not to have won the 2019 election. We'll never know; they are unlikely to put out a press release. What I do know is that a lot of voters are increasingly unhappy with the outcome.

So China has suspended the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue indefinitely. Great news. Another reason to reclaim Darwin port and immediately.

On top of my peeve list is ending a sentence or statement with "moving forward". It's almost as bad as being told we are all "on a journey".

Perhaps Paul O'Connor (Letters, May 6) would have the Australian cricketers who went to India work from home instead?

The Duchess of Sussex has written a book. To paraphrase Clive James: "Before writing a book it's not a bad idea to read one."

No matter how far or how wide you roam, can you still call Australia home?

The adage "cometh the hour cometh the man", overlooked the reality that what we really need during these challenging times is for women to be in control.

Bob Salmond (Letters, May 6) is quite correct in his critique of John F Kennedy. The man was a dangerous "chancer". Nixon should have won the 1960 presidential election. An old foreign policy hand, he would have done a much better job on both Cuba and Vietnam.

In answering, in the negative, the question "does this government care for Australians?" Peter Dahler (Letters, May 6 failed to mention its lackadaisical attitude to the rights and concerns of our Indigenous peoples, especially its flick to the bin of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Jarryd Hayne has demonstrated over his professional rugby league career that he is a master of football; perhaps one of the all-time greats. It's a great pity, as the report "Jarryd Hayne jailed over sexual assault in woman's home" (May 7, p10) makes clear, that he cannot master his male hormones.

Couldn't agree more with W Davis (Letters, May 7) about suspending students from school. Back in my day we always thought of it as being rewarded for bad behaviour.

Reading the letters pages I can't help but be impressed by the number of home grown constitutional experts we have.