People are living with COVID and they are not afraid anymore.

Everyone who found out I was from Australia asked me if life was still really bad here. One government official even asked "how does it feel to be out of that prison and a free man again?". So much for being the "envy of the world".

On the trip back, I sat in a maskless crowded bus for four hours, then I sat in a maskless packed departure lounge and walked shoulder to shoulder with a maskless horde of people to the plane, when I had to put on a mask, until I ordered my first drink.

I kept a drink in front of me for the duration because apparently it is the best protection against COVID.

Our government spent billions of dollars delaying and prolonging the inevitable.

Now it makes no sense screening arrivals because you're more likely to catch COVID in Australia than just about anywhere else.

Now I'm in a mostly-maskless Qantas lounge in a mostly-maskless Melbourne airport, until the charade begins again. All because of "the science".

The past two weeks has been significant for Canberra with the losses of prominent leaders in both the local republican movement and Her Majesty's constitutional monarchy.

The republicans lost the ACT's first convenor of the Australian Republican Movement, Bryan Lobascher whose Sunday afternoon meeting at his home in the early 1990's set the republic movement moving in the city.

The monarchists lost Sir David Smith who played a committed and leading role in maintaining the current situation after many years of service in Government House.

Having known and worked with (and/or against) each of these men personally, I can assure the Canberra community that we are all very much worse off for our losses.

Vale times two.

We are often reminded, both officially and anecdotally, of our road use responsibilities as pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

As with all things in life, there are pros and cons to all views, approaches and potential solutions and my fellow correspondents regularly remind us of that divergence of views.

The legalities and government policies are often cited, but what is not emphasised nearly enough is personal responsibility for road use behaviour.

Can I implore those motorists who drive at dusk (and later) with no headlights, cyclists in dark attire and similarly no or inadequate lights (or helmets) and pedestrians hypnotised by their phones, please think of your fellow road users, yourselves and your loved ones.

Everybody needs to exercise some personal responsibility to avoid becoming yet another unwanted road fatality statistic.

"Where are you from?"

It seems some people feel this question has racist connotations.

I would like to think it springs from a genuine interest in another person.

Many years ago, a dark-complexioned young woman went from Canberra to Sydney to continue her studies in law.

When asked, "where do you come from?" she would answer, "Canberra". When then asked, "Where do you really come from?" she would say, "I was born in England".

If the question was asked a third time, she would answer: "You want to know how it is that I am a brown person. Well, I'll tell you. My father was born in Sri Lanka, while my mother was born in England."

I am thankful that my daughter, now middle-aged, took such a common-sense approach to a reasonable question.

I must agree with Bob Salmond's sentiment (Letters, August 14) that "being curious is not being racist".

Except for the First Nations peoples, we are all recent arrivals with different heritages which we like to acknowledge and share with others (I know l loved travelling around Ireland a couple of years ago and seeing where my lot came from).

We need to be careful not to set the scene for children to be suspicious of any genuine interest in their background.

Schools have been encouraging students for the last couple of decades to share their rich heritages with others. Isn't that what Harmony Day is about? A celebration of Australia's cultural diversity, including those born here.

However, that being said, unless you have experienced racism you probably don't really understand its full ramifications. Racism certainly does exist in Canberra (like anywhere else). As the mother of children with both Anglo and Middle Eastern heritage, I was not prepared for certain treatment and reactions they received growing up. At times it broke my heart.

So, it is critical we don't ignore the concerns of those who have genuinely experienced racism. And in terms of the "subtle-racism" raised in a recent article, that really is worth thinking about as well.

It is not appeasement to assert that Taiwan is part of China, it is recognising historical and physical fact. The US government seems to have a very short memory when considering this. The mere fact that some part of your country no longer wants to be governed by the de facto authorised government was not accepted with good grace by Washington in 1861.

Any senators and congressmen from the former Confederate States should remember the pain, particularly in Georgia, that resulted from their attempted secession.

Support for an independence movement in Taiwan is rude interference in the affairs of a sovereign state whose claim that Taiwan was part of China was recognised by the USA in 1979.

Robyn Coghlan (Prayer is perfect, Letters, August 15) is entitled to her beliefs, as we all are.

But her claims about the currently favoured prayer used to open parliamentary sessions don't stand up to even the slightest scrutiny.

Begging an imaginary deity for things that are the personal responsibility of each individual such as forgiving trespasses and not being led into temptation which require no divine intervention is a cop-out at best.

Perhaps that's why it seems so beloved of politicians; freeing them of personal responsibility for the ethics of their behaviour by laying it squarely at the feet of the deity.

Regardless, it has no place in the public sphere.

I live in Griffith in NSW and have an apartment in Canberra. I've been considering jobs advertised in the ACT public sector as I want new opportunities.

In one way, it is a great time to find work as I have never seen so many positions advertised.

But conversely, it makes no sense to stop my high rental income and move to Canberra for the low wages the public service offers.

While there might be merit in debating Eric Hunter's comments about a Voice to the Parliament (Letters, August 16) there are long standing, major problems to be addressed in many Indigenous communities, particularly in remote areas.

These include violence, especially domestic violence, poor educational outcomes and chronic health issues intertwined with clashes of local cultures.

Jacinta Price and other Indigenous leaders should be supported in their efforts to obtain breakthrough working solutions and as role models.

As presently framed, the Voice is an empty, diverting and potentially expensive bureaucratic ''feel good'' Canberra gesture.

Garry Dalrymple (Letters, August 15) proposes that we speed up our wind turbines so they act as giant fans.

His thinking is the reaction force on the support towers would alter the earth's rotational speed. Unfortunately this would be ineffective. The wind produced will quickly interact with the ground and the atmosphere to push back equally in the opposite direction.

To make this idea work, the accelerated air would need to be expelled into space.

A better solution might be for us to all lift heavy rocks onto our roofs. This would slow down the earth's rotation, just as the rotational speed of a spinning ballerina is markedly reduced when she brings her hands and arms outward to a larger radius.

Scott Morrison ran a campaign in 2019 claiming that Bill Shorten couldn't be trusted, an accusation he reprised in the recent 2022 campaign to try and undermine Anthony Albanese. Pots and kettles.

Now we know Scott Morrison gave himself super powers let's see how he gets on with Superman and Batman. I think we now know who the real Joker is.

Maybe it's time to select as Governor-General someone with a legal background.

In view of the secret ministries, let's stop calling the former PM Scomo. That was an endearment that he certainly doesn't deserve now. A stern "Morrison" is sufficient.

Charles Gascoigne says "if it weren't for the cars there would be zero danger" (Letters, August 13). Has he not seen bicycles and scooters being ridden too fast, and without due care? I certainly have.

Hospitals, education, housing, trees, and now a bridge. A vital link in the western circular road network is further behind. The money is available but the government is unwilling or unable to manage anything unless it is to mollify the Greens. The white elephants thriving quite well.

In attempting to by-pass GPs, pharmacies - where most product labels are prefixed by "may" - are engaged in "mission creep", by attempting to be arbiters of the administration of antiviral compounds whose efficacy against COVID have not been satisfactorily researched.

George Pell was not declared innocent by the High Court (Ian Pilsner, Letters, August 10), simply found not guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

New plantings need aftercare. That's not the case for the ACT's recently planted street trees. Wonky stakes strangle them and weeds rob them of light and water. Election promises to plant more trees without ongoing care just means more strangled, choked trees.

It was high time the former US President was reined in. He has been getting away with his wrongdoings and crooked ways for far too long. The credibility of America's democracy is at stake here. Faith in it in America and the world can only be restored when the rule of law is applied without fear and favour.

Justice has been done. The Dragons NRL team were denied a vital penalty in the final minutes of play by questionable refereeing; just like the Raiders were in their previous encounter.