Like her I have been trying since before 2017 to have a 20-metre-high white gum located on ACT government property and close to my unit removed.

I have even gone to the extent of sending videos of the tree during high winds and storms, photographs of fallen branches and to invite representatives to come and stay to see what it is like, but all to no avail.

Yes, visits of officials have taken place over that period of time with a few branches removed, but as it is a west facing tree they are quickly replaced with new growth.

The response has been "our concern is the tree not your property".

A white gum of this size is just not fit for purpose in a residential area and would be better replaced with a more suitable species. It is infuriating that the ACT government is quick to approve the removal of trees for developments that suit their budgetary needs, but are willing to wait until disaster strikes where private properties are involved.

I took note of how many green deciduous trees lost branches during the recent storms around Canberra and only noticed one branch in Hughes. Deciduous trees are more flexible and bend rather than snap and most are deep rooted.

However I noticed a plethora of gums down which simply proves to me that these trees are a definite danger and should not be planted in suburbia . They are shallow rooted and dry which means they snap.

The bush is the best location for these trees where if they fall they will not kill any one, go through a roof or onto a car.

Scott Prasser ("One issue with a judicial inquiry into media diversity", canberratimes.com.au, December 20) has every right to question the political motivation of the Senate standing committee on the environment and communications in recommending a formal enquiry into media diversity, ownership and regulation.

He also has every right to defend the Coalition senators right to issue a minority report (which hardly needs defending as it is axiomatic anyway).

But he ought to have the integrity to admit that he is a recent senior advisor to Senator Bridget McKenzie and other Coalition ministers and currently a senior fellow with the right-wing Centre for Independent Studies, as well as the author of a book on royal commissions.

That way we might be able to adjust for his own political motivations.

It's time for change. For the past decade the cost of buying a house to live in has become too much for many people trying get their first home.

Why? I believe it is because federal government policies turned to the investment market rather than to the first home buyers who are being squeezed out of the market.

This is because investors are paying far too much for properties they plan to use for investment purposes and they don't really care how much they pay.

They then rent it out for exorbitant rents with ridiculous rental rules that strangle the first home buyer's ability to save for a deposit.

When the property is vacant, they simply rely on negative gearing to minimise their losses.

And who are the ones entrenched in negative gearing? Politicians of course.

Some own many negatively geared properties. The Labor Party attempted to introduce policies that would curtail negative gearing but did it poorly.

It's time real action was taken make negative gearing more difficult, or even get rid of it. That way prices will fall, letting first home buyers back into the market.

If people have the ability to invest, do it on the stock market.

If the "ACT govt seeks to expand its footprint" ("ACT government buys land in NSW for future Ginninderry development", canberratimes.com.au, December 19) and compete with developers then perhaps it should adhere to the rules and code of dress expected by industry.

In the picture illustrating your article the Suburban Land Agency's chief executive officer was seen in what was obviously a building under construction while wearing a nice suit.

He was not wearing any protective clothing.

Not a good example. Surely WorkSafe ACT should educate our newest developer?

Re: "ACT Greens to call for laws to require animal friendly netting" (canberratimes.com.au, November 23).

I have over 65 years experience in productive and amenity horticulture. I am a keen home gardener and for each of the last 26 years have netted my fruit trees. The food produced for family, neighbours and friends is helping the environment by reducing food miles.

The netting used is the same as by regional vineyards. I have not found a dead bird, reptile, bat, not even a rabbit in my netting, even though my block backs onto Red Hill Nature Park.

Flying fox populations are seasonal and relate to food supply. They have only been coming to the ACT for around 10 years as a result of the prolonged drought. They initially roosted in large trees in Commonwealth Park, found abundant food and tolerable temperatures created by the thermal mass of nearby buildings and hard surfaces.

I accept that there have been some flying foxes trapped in netting. However, they are not endangered, only listed as vulnerable with incomplete understanding of distribution. In future they may not come back.

Even though a large colony roosted in a mature eucalypt near to my home last year, none got trapped. I contend that properly secured netting, irrespective of gauge prevents this.

I would like to see statistics on how many birds, reptiles and bats have been killed in these nets since self-government. The Greens/Labor government needs to look at real environmental issues and resist the whims of narrow-focused, small ideological interest groups.

NSW's approach to managing COVID-19 is to rely on personal responsibility.

Those removalists from south-western Sydney who continued on their journey through Orange, Dubbo and points west after getting a text message showed just what personal responsibility can be like.

Meanwhile in South Australia a 19-year-old is reported to have visited a nightclub after getting a message saying he'd tested positive. As a result 160 others from that nightclub have now been forced into quarantine; personal responsibility for some and forced lockdowns for others.

So much that was sacrificed over the last 18 months or so is now at risk.

Amidst the "busyness" of life especially around Christmas and new year, let us not forget the reason for the season, the naked Jesus, so aptly put by Fr Peter Day (Letters, December 17) in a recent Letter to the Editor.

Western civilisation is based on Christianity and as well we share Jesus with the two other Abrahamic faiths. If we wish to maintain its values and principles, we need to remember him.

I don't know why stumps exist in cricket anymore. At one stage of this Test, for every 100 balls bowled, only five would have hit the stumps according to the Channel Seven statistician. When I was a youngster, I was coached "Never give a batsman a free look and always make sure the batsman puts wood on your first ball".

In Starc's first over the other night, out of six balls the batsman only had to hit two balls. Watching a bowler waste his energy bowling to the field instead of the stumps makes a game which is in slow motion at the best of times, even slower and poor value for one's entry fee.

The federal government is doing its utmost to destroy the NDIS by wholesale cuts across the board.

If the LNP had their way they would dissolve the NDIS and put Medicare out to private enterprise.

These cuts will affect nearly 400,000 participants and force a rapid rise in cases that are referred to the AAT by people who can least afford to go to the tribunal.

Despite previous denials about nicotine in vapes many of the products have been found to have this addictive additive. Other illegal substances have also been found. Vaping is a way for big tobacco to introduce youngsters to smoking and a lifelong addiction to nicotine.

Under Justin Langer this is a fair dinkum cricket team. Straight from the Steven Waugh school of going for the jugular from the first ball.

With Summernats looming the government had better fill all the potholes if they don't want the participants damaging the suspension of their exotic machines and vowing to never return to Canberra.

Carbon emissions caused by the military, weapons manufacture and warfare, are apparently not included in the reports governments make of their total emissions. For those wanting to know the size of the military carbon "bootprint", check the website of Scientists for Global Responsibility, www.sgr.org.uk

American country singer and actress Dolly Parton, an active campaigner for refugee rights, women's rights, homelessness, environmental protection and climate change action, turned former President Donald Trump down twice in his offer of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Now, that's who you call a person of true integrity and honour.

Should peace on earth or the LNP taking climate change seriously be off the wish list for Christmas, how about some extra grass mowing around town to satisfy my festive season joy to the world?

The tax payers of Australia are about to be told to "get some pork on your fork". Apply now before ICAC does.

Sue Wareham (Letters, December 16) opposes spending money on weapons. I say if you want peace then be ready for war. Dr Wareham can speak freely because brave people put on uniforms and fought for that right. It also means she does not have to fight.

Putting a plastic Christmas tree in Civic reflects perfectly the ACT Labor government under Andrew Barr. Nothing real, nothing beautiful and disrespect for the public. It's the worst Christmas tree I've ever seen.

A friend and I took a bus to Civic to view the Christmas tree in City Walk. What a disappointment. Please Mr Barr, do better next year with a real tree; it doesn't need to be twenty metres high.