Perhaps ex-minister Chester might like to amplify why it was deemed so necessary to rush through the Australian War Memorial expansion project which now (nearly at the first anniversary of the final psuedo speed-bump of approvals being the NCA process) is a monstrous series of holes in the ground.

This, while genuinely-needed support for the plight of veterans was apparently ignored.

Or is it simply that the veterans were considered to be so much less important than an almost universally hated project to transform the memorial into a circus-like playground of surplus military equipment?

Jenny Goldie (Letters, June 22) claims renewables can provide energy security.

Renewable energy is unreliable.

Britain experienced this in the last northern winter when the amount of power generated by wind turbines was the lowest in years.

Back-up power -- largely from gas -- was therefore required to meet the supply shortfall. As for storage, grid-scale batteries are in their infancy.

Australia's star-crossed federal banner belongs to everyone and must especially be respected by those who are elected to our Commonwealth legislature.

The government controls parliament's proceedings and must require all media conferences conducted within the building to feature prominently the national flag.

I refer to the recent excellent The Canberra Times articles by Lucy Bladen on the CIT chief executive mentoring contract saga. Her articles and comments are timely. We have situations in the ACT where decisions are made by the government or its servants without proper scrutiny. Minister Steel is making inquiries about the CIT contract and will no doubt publish the findings.

It's a pity the minister does not make available a full cost-benefit analysis of the Woden light rail spur to allow public scrutiny. This is far more costly, with further-reaching and longer-lasting impact on the citizens of Canberra, than the CIT contract.

Are these the signs of a government that has been in power for too long? Unfortunately for Canberrans the Liberal opposition is not exactly a winning team. Maybe it is time for some civic-minded independents.

The Greens' Leader Adam Bandt has appeared on television with only the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags behind him. This is a shameful denigration of the Australian national flag.

I am waiting for Shane Rattenbury to comment either in support of, or in denial of, the federal Greens' leader's shameful act. But I won't hold my breath given his ideologically-driven agenda here in the ACT

Am I the only one who is losing patience with the ABC's national morning show broadcast on the ABC news channel?

This used to be a quick and easy way to catch up on events happening across the country and around the globe first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, in recent times it has degenerated into some kind of love-fest where the presenters spend so much time talking to and about each other that you only get a few nuggets of news.

And, when news items do appear, they are often of the "soft" variety, featuring either celebrities of little renown, sports stars doing other things, favourite breakfast feasts or cute and cuddly furry creatures.

It distresses me to disclose that after having spent decades starting my day with Aunty, I have had to switch to Sky to find out what is happening.