I do not understand why Canberra, however, is out of step with NSW and Victoria, Europe and Singapore, in not requiring proof of vaccination before entering hospitals, aged care homes, schools, shopping centres, restaurants, cafes, sporting facilities and theatres.

My family, children and grandchildren and friends will continue to suffer unnecessary risk from the 1 per cent of Canberrans, and an unknown number of non-Canberra residents, who will continue to present an avoidable and highly dangerous public health risk.

Can the Chief Minister please urgently reconsider this policy?

It would do much to make Canberrans feel safer.

I wonder what all the talk of freedom and getting our lives back really signifies?

Do we really think our governments have seen their COVID-19 responses in terms of limiting freedom or controlling our lives?

Sure, responses have differed between jurisdictions, but on what basis is it reasonable to criticise responses designed to protect their citizens in terms of their particular circumstances?

I am grateful for the courage governments have shown by doing the right thing as opposed to the popular thing.

How about, as we open up, we take a moment to be grateful for the way our governments and health professionals have cared for us?

Dr Falzon (Letters, October 17) condemns critics of social housing in Bill Pye Park Ainslie and other projects, using that tired old dumb label "NIMBY".

The time has come to stop welfare apologists such as Dr Falzon.

First, some facts. These projects and tenants are often poorly managed by the ACT government, with frightening consequences for neighbouring residents.

We cite two examples, the first at the Oaks Estate project where terrified residents endured recidivist ex-prisoners running wild without containment or other intervention.

And, in our street, a dangerous dog ripped off a child's scalp while his carers bought drugs in a public house.

Private residents of Canberra, who foot the bills, have rights too. It's time they stood up for themselves (as the people in Ainslie did).

Until we do, government and charities will continue to build sub-standard public housing for unmanaged tenants leaving residents to deal with it while ignoring them.

It's time the residents of Canberra made government and charity representatives earn their pay by doing their jobs properly with genuine consultation.

Begin by building and managing sound public housing on land the community can afford, intensely managing tenants, and ensuring private citizens are protected.

Maybe then people could feel safe in their homes.

Is everyone hanging out to go to the pub or to get drunk and party in public? Is that what we have to look forward to with opening up?

Is that the priority for most people in NSW, the ACT, and Victoria? Jeepers, alcohol has been freely available for the entire pandemic so far - liquor stores have been considered "essential". There has been little deprivation when it comes to alcohol availability.

We hear that domestic violence has increased during COVID-19. That surely is linked in part to increased substance abuse in the home.

Socialising, meeting friends and family (and simply getting out and moving around freely) is surely the priority for most of us. These things can happen in the absence of alcohol.

Or is that a fantasy in the Australia of today? Is it no longer possible to have fun and meaningful experiences without alcohol?

The fact that the media twins coming out of lockdown with alcohol consumption is negligent. Recent front pages of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times showed consumption of alcohol in relation to coming out of lockdown. The ABC showed the new Premier of NSW having a beer.

The normalising of alcohol in all aspects of life is to be rued and indeed deplored.

The next election for the ACT's two Senate representatives presents Canberra voters with an opportunity to make a significant difference to federal politics.

The Senate's vital role is to check excesses of the party with executive power and to require transparency and accountability from them.

As the ACT's two Senate positions have historically gone one each to Coalition and Labor candidates, their voting allegiances cancel each other. This means ACT citizens have no influence on the outcome of votes in the Senate.

In the House of Representatives the emergence of "Voices For" organisations have shown the benefits of electing community independents who aren't bound by party restraints, internal politics or factional compromises.

Community independents vote in the interests of their electorate, rather than the party who appointed them.

By joining with the many ACT citizens working with the ACT's "Voices" community organisation, ProACT.org, (and other national organisations such as Independent Voices for the Senate), Canberrans can make history by electing a community independent as a senator for the ACT.

I am disappointed that, once again, one senator is able to stop the wishes of the people of the ACT for voluntary assisted dying for the terminally ill.

This is a subject of which I have had direct experience. My wife Kath passed away as a result of cancer in a hospice in 2015. She wanted euthanasia.

While I won't go into the ins and outs of the debate, I am infuriated that Senator Seselja and Senator Cash can stomp on the wishes of the people of the ACT.

We are condescendingly told we are just a territory, not a state, and that two senators can deny the wishes of 70 per cent of the ACT. Well answer me this, if we are merely a territory how is it we can have senators? The Senate is the states' house, not the territories' house.

Senator Seselja's position should be abolished immediately.

As for Senator Cash, she at least has the option of voluntary assisted dying as her home state, Western Australia, has just passed a VAD bill.

Get out of the way, senators, and let the bill to empower the territories to pass.

I was surprised at Ian Warden's latest meandering nonsense "A sure cure for Canberra-itis" (canberratimes.com.au, October 16).

Mr Warden laments Canberra's peace and order and longs for the hurly-burly of Glasgow. Previously he has said Canberrans have it too good and need disruption; specifically the chaos of light rail construction turmoil so we can live a little.

No, Mr Warden, many of us Canberrans love our bush capital and don't desire traffic chaos, nor do we want to our city to be "broad shouldered and excitingly flawed".

As soon as travel opens up again, might I suggest Mr Warden, with his newfound penchant for chaos, take a very long vacation to Jakarta, Mumbai or Lagos?

Barnaby Joyce says the Nationals will not be held hostage by their Coalition partner, the Liberals, over emissions targets, while holding the Liberals hostage over emissions targets. It is an interesting irony.

The Nationals are the minor party in the Coalition. How is it they think they can dictate Australia's climate targets?

The majority of Australians want real action on climate change. Joyce and his coal-hugging, pork-barrelling Nationals sidekicks are ignoring logic and undermining the futures of generations of Australians in order to get a result the majority of their own constituents don't even want.

What a bunch of thoughtless clowns.

Looking through some old photos, I found a Pope cartoon I had cut out.

It shows Tony Abbott climbing a smoking stack on the cover of a book with the title "Klimate Sutra: every position under the sun" and the words "Get him to put it in writing".

The date was July 22, 2011.

The personalities have changed, but the sentiment remains the same. A lost decade during which Australia could have led the world.

Wild and extreme weather events are symptoms of a changing climate. I wonder if the violent tornado that hit Armidale last Thursday night was a message to Barnaby?

The Canberra meeting of the National Party in the shadow of Glasgow is not dissimilar to a herd of dinosaurs peacefully grazing while an unfamiliar star gets closer and closer and .... Goodbye Nats.

I see that the Nationals' docked tail is once again wagging the flea-infested Liberal Party dog, this time on climate change.

I hope that Ann Prendergast (Letters, October 18) read young Kate Baldwin's article on voluntary assisted dying on the next page. She might acquire a little compassion

Dr John Falzon (Letters, October 17) misses the point. Precious urban parks in Ainslie or playing fields in Kippax should not be rezoned for housing; be it social housing or mansions for diplomats. Urban green space is a community amenity and not to be squandered.

I get exasperated when the British Isles are referred to as a single country (Letters, October 14).

Thank you, Douglas Mackenzie (Letters, October 14). I agree that there has been "glib indifference" from the federal government, but I prefer "wilful ignorance" to explain their lack of progress on climate change.

Pope's "Ozlander" cartoon captured more than carbon. It also cleverly captured the joke that is "blue" hydrogen. Burning methane gas to make hydrogen is self-defeating, and we'd be laughed out of Glasgow. Perhaps ScoMo thinks it's "Gasglow".

If, as the Business Council of Australia and others predict, achieving a net-zero climate objective will give us a land flowing with milk and honey and unimaginable social and economic benefits, then why isn't China rushing to join us on this road to Nirvana?

I am sick of photos of Perrottet having beers with blokey mates with stupid grins to celebrate Sydney's end of lockdown, as if that is all we have missed. Doesn't he know any women? Why doesn't he go and visit some old people in nursing homes to share the new freedom?

Now that petrol has reached around $1.80 a litre in Canberra, I wonder if Messrs Taylor, Dutton and Morrison could arrange to bring some of our "emergency reserve" from the United States - or is that still required to be held over there for our war on China?