Canberra's many roads to ruin are in urgent need of repair

Surely logic dictates that these funds would be have been more usefully spent on road repair rather than victim restitution.

It is virtually an admission of liability by the government (but we knew that already) of its persistent failure to address the Canberra pothole fiasco.

I think we can collectively raise an eyebrow in response to the quoted 205 repairs having been undertaken as we continue to dodge and weave our way around the roads in an otherwise beautiful Canberra.

The Chief Minister's current "laundry list" of infrastructure projects needs some rapid updating and rebalancing.

Local Liberal, Labor and Greens MLAs and federal Labor representatives too will only lose more trust and votes if they do not give priority to openly planning and budgeting for the completion of a new and easily accessible Civic-based public swimming facility that would open prior to the current site being grabbed for "a multi-purpose indoor entertainment pavilion".

After all such pool facilities are proven operations that support the health, wellbeing, and rehabilitation of residents of all ages as well as the healthy pursuits of many sporting clubs.

The government's dogged focus on creating a fast-growing population in the city centre and northwards also requires transparency and commitment about continuity of access to an all-year-round public pool complex.

Rob Ey wants "Albo to channel Gillard" (Letters, April 17). Mr Ey is either totally ignorant or totally dismissive of the context in which Julia Gillard delivered her tirade against Tony Abbott.

I happened to watch question time that very day. For me, Ms Gillard's so-called misogyny speech was the most uncalled-for and hypocritical I have ever heard.

It was delivered in front of the speaker whom she had bribed to switch from the Liberal Party and whom she was to sack within days for his anti-feminist remarks on social media. That said neither Mr Albanese (nor any other politician) needs any lessons in hypocrisy.

According to the report "Aussies could 'save $1300 a year' with solar" (April 15), a study by Solar Citizens has estimated that investing in rooftop solar could save families an average of $1390 a year. Another study, by a team at the University of NSW school of photovoltaic and renewable energy Engineering, found that this saving could be up to $1560.

These findings put the oft-repeated, anti-renewables Luddites' protest about the Albanese government's "broken promise" of a $275 power bill reduction over 10 years into its pathetic place.

Can federal Finance Minster Katy Gallagher explain to the ACT government that a business case cannot be "strong" unless it estimates a positive net benefit?

The light rail stage 2A business case estimated that stage 2A would cost $268 million but would deliver only $150 million worth of net benefits. That meant a negative net benefit. The business case also estimated that Stages 2A and 2B combined would cost $1.173 billion and provide $1.217 billion worth of benefits. The combined net benefit of stages 2A and 2B would be $44 million.

By December 2023 the cost of Stage 2A had blown out to $839 million. That blew the cost of stages 2A and 2B combined to $1.7 billion. The combined net benefit of stages 2A and 2B would then be minus $527 million.

The federal government threw good money after bad, offering $125 million toward the project.

Now the federal Territories Minister says "any proposal needs to have a strong business case to go with it". That is good news indeed.

I must say that it is pretty trivial, even precious, to try to remove the name of a ship of the First Fleet from that building.

I agree that there are a lot of wrongs we cannot undo but here we are trying to improve the lot of the original inhabitants, especially in the areas of health care, education, and career opportunities, and all they can do is try to rewrite history.

Get a life, is all I can say. What about calling it the Morrison Building? Now that would cause a bit of an upset.

Joel Townsend and Kim Rubenstein correctly contend that review of administrative decisions improves government decision making and builds confidence in government decision making ("Environmental decision-making means a merits review", April 16). But surely their proposal for unlimited merits review of environmental decisions is misconceived.

Unlike mainstream administrative decisions such as an entitlement to a pension or benefit, environmental decisions may involve politically controversial public policy judgments properly matters for government rather than tribunals.

Consider for example Tasmania's proposal to construct a dam over the Franklin River. The Tasmania government contended the proposed dam would enable hydro electrical power to benefit Tasmania's economy.

The Commonwealth was concerned about the damage to the pristine environment and to Aboriginal heritage.

Surely resolution of competing claims of economic benefit and environmental and heritage damage are matters for political judgment, decisions properly taken by governments with political accountability, these are not matters for independent tribunals.

There was a time when our two large political parties would outbid each other before the public with promises of higher and higher health, education and cultural funding.

That was the good old days.

As shown this week, they now genuinely believe - and likely correctly so (an even greater tragedy) - that by outdoing each other with promises of massively increased military spending, under the euphemism of "defence" they will impress the electorate.

So never ask why so many important public programs are underfunded or terminated. It's a zero-sum game and the bell is tolling for us all.

ABC news reported the deluge in Dubai was the heaviest for 74 years. "Hmm, strange. I wonder what climatic conditions caused that?" many of us would have thought.

Fortunately The Canberra Times of April 19 clarified that records have been collected only since 1949, hence there are only 74 years of records.

So the ABC was "correct", but totally misleading.

A lesson for the trainee reporters now writing the news for the ABC.

Australia has about 50 naval vessels to protect over 37,000 kilometres of coast line, around 740km per vessel. China has an estimated 370 vessels to protect 18,000 km of coastline or 48 km per vessel. Australia would need a navy of over 750 vessels to match China's current intensity. Why does China need such a big navy? Who should be bristling?

The headline read "China bristles at our defence build-up" (April 19).

Perhaps we should engage in some tit-for-tat and "bristle" at China's defence build-up, which is, of course, much bigger in dollar and capability terms than ours. I wonder how China would like that?

The wood heating industry is obviously feeling the heat from the ACT government's decision to phase out wood heaters in suburban Canberra.

It appears to be spending up big on newspaper and radio advertising and continuing to push claims that have been repeatedly disproven by environmental and public health experts.

Its advertising campaign reminds me of that by big tobacco of old in its push to hook more smokers. One of its slogans was, "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette". We know better now about the serious health impacts from tobacco, just like we do about smoke from wood heaters.

Des Parkyn (Letters, April 11) thinks culling feral horses equates to killing great white sharks. Big difference though. One is an introduced invasive pest destroying the natural environment. The other is native.

All I have read lately is greedy landlords raising rents by huge amounts. What is the government doing about this? Are they living on a different planet?

With untrammelled, usually covert, access to their billionaire employers and MPs it is cynical to suggest there are "rules" governing lobbyists. This totally subverts any concept of democracy.

So we are to have an inquiry into another democracy's democratic process.

The PM anoints the next G-G. In doing so I'm sure he glossed over the fact a Labor PM would never go for anyone who didn't tick all the politically correct boxes.

Mr White I've been waiting in vain for a response to your thoughtful letter "Nuclear for the ACT" (April 9). Why has no-one proposed a specific ACT site? I understand there is a cathedral-sized void under Parliament House begging for a useful function and well located for your experts.

It takes two to make enemies. If you treat people as equals you are unlikely to be enemies. Putin is not treating Ukrainians as equal to Russians. Netanyahu is not treating Palestinians as equal to Israelis.

HMS Sirius is stirring passions. Yet there are 17 "black" something place names including Blacktown. There is also a Gin Gin, two Wog Wogs, distressingly a Myall Creek and perhaps a Repentance Creek in NSW alone. Woke is a joke.

I'm not fussed that RAAF pilots and two aircraft got their flying hours up carrying Prime Minister Albanese and ministers Bowen and Husic to the Hunter Valley. Given the announcement was the burning of a billion dollars for the rebirth of an Australian photovoltaic industry had any of their courtiers been left out it wouldn't be the jesters.

Why not simply continue the name "Sirius" and rebrand the executives of the Health Department "underemployed nothing-better-to-doers". The government could do this now. End of story, money saved and history remains.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm getting tired of seeing articles and images of Bruce Lehrmann in the media almost daily. I'm thinking of suing him for mental and personal anguish.