Scrapping special schools is not going to be easy or cheap

It sounds like a lovely idea to scrap special education classes and schools so that these students can mix with the mainstream. Unfortunately, the reality is, the teachers of the mainstream classes rarely have special education training and therefore are unable to support the special needs students.

Currently special education schools are resourced to provide specific supports for their students especially those with severe impairments, both intellectual and physical. In a mainstream setting, these students would need to be able to get around the school with the least amount of difficulty.

This means that governments would need to fund these improvements to all primary and secondary schools.

All students, whether mainstream or special education, should have a positive learning environment in which they can learn and progress. If we want special education students to be mixed in with mainstream classes then we need to rethink how we organise our schools.

There will need to be extra support for the special needs students in these classes; all teachers will need to have studied special education and the government will need to provide sufficient funds to enable this arrangement to work.

I wonder if Luke Rogers (Letters, October 5) was returning from the south coast the other day as I was driving between Queanbeyan and Bungendore?

A number of drivers in what was a fairly heavy stream of traffic heading towards Queanbeyan flashed headlights at traffic heading in the opposite direction. No one in our line of traffic was speeding so there was no need to slow down.

As it turned out there were no speed control police around so it might have been simply pre-emptive flashing.

In the absence of police radar we wondered if there'd been an accident somewhere up ahead but that wasn't it either.

Perhaps Luke has another reason why drivers might have seen the need to flash their headlights.

Paradoxically, opinion polls are trending increasingly towards a rejection of the Voice referendum, while almost none of the posters on public display seems to oppose the proposition.

Admittedly, one subversive petitioner has exercised the absolute right to freedom of political expression by converting a "110" speed sign on the National Highway in South Australia's mid-north to "N0" by the careful addition of a back slash.

The deafening silence of others must be attributed to a very real fear of the laceration that will be applied to the cheek of anyone openly duelling with the more militant proponents of the Voice to dismiss a troublesome proposition.

But the scar should be worn as a badge of honour.

Mr MacMillan's ripostes ('We could do it now', Letters, September 20 and "Statehood not so easy", September 26) made me re-think. The problem is that his logic is tainted because the Australian Constitution is tainted. The Constitution is a creature of the British Crown.

From when Lieutenant Cook "in the name of His Majesty King George III took possession of the whole eastern coast" in 1770 to the passing, by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, Australia and Australians have been subjects of the British Crown.

What is required is a Continental Congress of representatives of the six states and two territories, plus representatives of the first nations, to make a Declaration of Independence and thrash out a written constitution appropriate to an independent country.

FOI documents have revealed that 28 kangaroo skins were prepared for tanning and that the skins will be provided to the Ngunnawal community for cultural use as a part of the annual cull.

The ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate reported that 1041 independent kangaroos were shot and that another 362 in-pouch joeys were killed.

A prescribed method to kill in-pouch joeys is clubbing to death.

The on-site butchers likely had to make the final check on in-pouch joeys and would have been involved in the prescribed termination.

One may wonder whether the ACT government properly informed the Ngunnawal community of the likely connection of the kangaroo skins offered for communal use with clubbing to death of in-pouch joeys.

The use of these skins for cultural purposes may cause offence to members of the ACT community once such a connection become public knowledge.

So, does it have to take more deaths to realise that pill/drug testing stations at music festivals is a no brainer?

In NSW, over the weekend, two lives were apparently lost to overdosing on pills, potentially MDMA. Many of the revellers would not have known what they had been sold, quite possibly due to having no option of having their pills tested without judgement.

Whilst the NSW Police force appeared pleased with their 70 or so arrests, the family and friends of the two young men who died are currently experiencing their worst nightmare; losing their loved ones.

I am appalled that the NSW Police force were, what appears to be, hyper-vigilant in searching festival attendees.

The ACT piloted a pill testing program which was highly successful. This is exactly what should be happening on a national level.

This could be the difference between life and death for festival goers.

On a recent Sunday afternoon a gum tree on the nature strip behind our house caused a short in the power lines and sparked a flame in the dry grass below.

The neighbours soon appeared with their hoses, but the fire quickly caught the offending tree's trunk and one a few metres away. Literally, within a minute or two, the flames reached the top branches. The firies arrived and soon put out the blaze. Power to the surrounding houses, including ours, fortunately was out for only an hour.

It's the first time in our 44 years back in Canberra a fire has been anywhere near our home. It was a combination of highly flammable eucalypts being left to grow too close to power lines and uncut dry grass on nature strips.

While the emergency services deserve credit for their prompt action, there are questions for the ACT government and ActewAGL to answer.

This event also provides a warning for those who are dragging their heels on climate change. It was the higher than normal winds that we are seeing these days that was the primary cause of this fire.

They can be traced back to the effects of climate change. No property damage or injury occurred on this occasion, but who knows what might happen next time, especially in urban areas like ours.

As an 11-year-old Year 5 student, unable to vote, I am hoping voting Australians make the right decision at the upcoming referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our constitution.

Indigenous people have inhabited this land for thousands of years, yet they aren't even in our constitution. This is unfair. Other countries like the US, Canada, and New Zealand, have acknowledged their first nations, we should too.

It is an important step toward a better Australia, where they can have a say in matters that affect their lives.

However, this issue has become too complicated and a lot of people have been misinformed. Claims of new taxes (untrue), Indigenous control of Parliament (also untrue), or dividing our nation (really) are misleading.

In reality, we already live with the consequences of the "no" option, where inequality exists. It's time to act like grown-ups, tell the truth, and be fair, just as you teach us kids. Vote "yes" to advance Australia, and do what is right. Be on the right side of history. Make us kids proud.

ACT Policing chief Neil Gaughan seems to believe that the territory needs to change direction in terms of drug possession, mental health and privacy laws.

I presume he will be publishing his proposed policies in detail when he announces his candidacy for the Legislative Assembly.

If he doesn't intend to run then he should focus his energies on managing police operations under the current laws.

We recently returned from a 10-day cruise around Japan. Americans, Brits, Australians and Japanese, about 350 passengers. Nobody, nobody, mentioned the Voice to me aboard. So much for international concern?

Many thanks to the wonderful person who found my phone at Black Mountain Peninsula on Monday and then returned it to my home with licence and credit card intact. Such a kind and honest act that saved an old girl a great deal of stress. I'm sorry I couldn't thank you personally.

In my opinion Warren Mundine and his mates just failed the pub test with flying colours.

Dr Douglas Mackenzie (Letters, October 5) praised double glazing for it's energy efficiency. I agree. It is also very efficient in sound attenuation which also makes your house more comfortable to live in.

What a brilliant proposal from crossbenchers to electrify rental houses. A tax break to encourage landlords to switch to electric appliances is just the ticket. Not only will this reduce emissions and cut household costs, but it will also make rental properties safer for tenants. The detrimental health impacts of gas in the home are well understood.

Does "Flyover for Monaro Hwy in $70m contract" (October 5, p.12) have anything to do with those signs the ACT government erected along the road just before the last Territory election?

In its wisdom, the ACT Government is spending $70 million to build a flyover at a Monaro Highway intersection while simultaneously spending who knows how many millions of dollars on getting rid of the flyover at London Circuit/Commonwealth Avenue. Enough said.

Warwick Davis (Letters, October 5) makes a case for the restoration of the huts in Namadji National Park. He could have added that these huts are valuable in a safety context. For intrepid bushwalkers or cross-country skiers, they can provide shelter, a fireplace and, with luck, some wood. They could save lives.

I will be voting no in the referendum. Our constitution is already unacceptably racist and needs change. Specifically S26 and S51(26) should be deleted. Making special provision for a select group based on race is not something I am prepared to support.

Barnaby Joyce and his electors don't deserve to be rescued from his stupid politicking. I say leave the APVMA in Tamworth until New England stops endorsing his actions by electing him to the Australian Parliament.