Well managed controlled burns play a vital role in protecting us

Contrary to the assertions in the article, prescribed burning is an essential tool (and in many places the only tool available) to minimise the adverse impact of wildfires when they occur. And they will occur.

Well-delivered and properly implemented prescribed burning undertaken to national best practice standard's provides a mosaic of fuel ages across the landscape improving its resilience to wildfire.

Prescribed burning does not stop the occurrence of wildfire, but it significantly reduces the resulting ecological and environmental damage and provides the opportunity to undertake suppression operations effectively and safely.

Smoke production still occurs - however the reduced smoke from a prescribed burn has far less impact on the community than a high intensity wildfire. There is always a fringe minority of researchers that push their views. The ACT government must hold its course and publicly support the ACT Parks and Conservation Service fire program that is based on mainstream national and international science and research.

Instead of criticising and questioning the prescribed burning work undertaken by the ACTPCS Fire team, we should instead be supporting, congratulating and encouraging these land managers who use national best practice in implementing what is a difficult and challenging program, aimed at protecting life, property, and importantly, the ACT environment.

Mario Stivala and Amy Blain (Letters, May 16) both attack Treasurer Jim Chalmers for handing to the rich a $300 deduction from their electricity bills. Has either of them considered that $300 is probably regarded as trivial pocket money by the wealthy, and the cost of administering a means test could far outweigh $300 per household? Dr Chalmers' move looks sensible and pragmatic to me.

Thank you Lanie Tindale for your disturbing article (May 19) exposing the Salvation Army's eviction of the residents at their Narrabundah Housing complex.

The media thrives on presenting housing as another exciting investment class to be flipped for profit. This article is important because it shows that housing is so much more.

Having a secure place to stay is fundamental to human wellbeing. The courageous and harrowing stories of just a few of the residents showed the connection between stable housing and vulnerability.

Little comfort is provided by the Salvo's statement that "no tenants will be left without a place to live" and that caseworkers were helping residents find other accommodation. The ACT government provided similar reassurances following their disastrous forced relocation of hundreds of public housing tenants.

The Minister for Housing apologised to residents for the trauma caused as they couldn't find alternative accommodation. No one told her that there was a housing crisis and a housing waiting list with thousands of people on it apparently.

Government needs to take responsibility and build a lot more public housing.

It's difficult to understand the reasons for the decision to evict one group of vulnerable people only to replace them with a new group of vulnerable people. Is one group more deserving than the other? Was the decision a requirement for continued government funding?

There's more to this story and hopefully the Salvation Army can provide the answers. Meanwhile my thoughts are with the tenants facing imminent eviction.

Sebastian Cole (Letters, May 16) opposes books depicting same-sex couples in public libraries, specifically because they are in the kids' section.

What a homophobic attitude. Society has generally changed to a, thankfully, more accepting one.

People have freedom of choice of books at a library. Clearly, if you don't like a book, then don't take it out. I don't think many seven to 10 year olds take out books without a parent or guardian present.

Thankfully Cumberland City Council reversed their discriminatory ban.

Re Noel Whittaker's article "Frustration time, wasting a business phone standard", April 22.

This highlights the issue all Australians are experiencing and suffering. On the principles of consumer satisfaction, nothing can be more inexcusable.

As a society we deserve better from governments and the private sector. We deserve a standard of conduct that will stop this wastage of human endeavour.

My most recent experience relates to an ASIC enquiry.

And, as an aside, I just hope ASIC will receive enough resources after the budget be able to function as it should.

It started with a phone call and the usual responses of a recorded voice. The initial response was the forewarning of a one hour waiting time. Five or 10 minutes later the guillotine fell. The waiting time changed to one hour and 20 minutes. At this point I hung up.

In some cases organisations will provide a call back option which can streamline the process, but only if you are available to receive the call.

What happens with Australian citizens overseas? How are their International calls handled and do they have a more expedient response?

It's essential Australia not only clears a path to efficiency in local and overseas trade but also clears a path to a higher standard of communications.

Perhaps a code of conduct for all large businesses [however classified] and the public sector could be a starting point. We can and should do better.

The saturation and loveliness of a Canberra autumn does reveal the unique blessings of trees (Panorama "Throwing shade on a flawed book", May 18). As the gorgeous leaves drift by the window of my car I am reminded of the evolution of tiny packages of genetic material, light enough to be carried on the wind to the female cells of a neighbouring plant.

Perhaps we really can attribute some human characteristics to our external environment. And for cosy indoor reading in this season I recommend Murray Bail's peerless Eucalyptus.

Dogs all over Australia have pricked up their ears and taken notice of Peter Dutton's latest policy thought bubbles.

One of Australia's biggest property developers says Peter Dutton's plan to slash migration to fix housing shortages will make the problem worse, driving away desperately needed skilled migrants while damaging long-term productivity and economic growth. It has been suggested that the measure could cost the budget 34 billion dollars.

The announcement of a two year freeze in "foreigners" purchasing homes in Australia sounds like it may help the housing shortage but they represent a tiny niche. It's a sound bite that will do nothing.

Canberra is again a focus for LNP slashing and burning if they win office.

Jane Hume and Peter Dutton have expressed great concern at the growing public service. It doesn't matter to them that the Labor government has already saved a billion dollars by reversing outsourcing. Their desire to outsource is purely ideologically driven. It makes no sense from a fiscal perspective.

The gutting of the public service by the previous LNP government led to the disaster of "robodebt' and a dearth of quality departmental advice.

The Head of the CSIRO has criticised Dutton for being anti-science for criticising their report showing nuclear energy is financially unviable and will never be an option.

Dutton has rendered Pauline Hanson irrelevant as he has adopted her policies and stolen her act.

Re the article by Dennis Moriarty on the need for an inheritance tax to solve the housing crisis.

It is not the fault of boomers who own their own homes. They have worked hard to provide a home for their families.

Two of my children have their own homes, the third, at 24, is still with us.

To have an inheritance tax foisted upon us would mean she would have to sell the house to pay the tax, thus making her homeless.

This solves nothing except lining the government's coffers.

I fully intend to leave her the house in order she has somewhere to live, somewhere she grew up and has childhood memories of.

At least the conservative Australians for Constitutional Monarchy group has had the good sense not to complain about Vincent Namatjira's substitution of dingoes for corgis in his compelling renditions of royal family life ("Reports Rinehart urged NGA to axe portrait", May 16).

I won't be voting in the ACT election for anyone who calls others a "subspecies" ("Cop who took aim at 'subspecies' hoons to run in election", CT , May 18). Such public comments feed polarisation, the very thing that's eating away at our democracy.

The federal treasurer claims his budget will both stabilise inflation and tackle the cost of living. That would be magic. Why has he kept it under his hat, or at least let Penn and Teller have a look at it?

I cannot understand the uproar concerning all households, rich and poor, across the nation getting the $300 power rebate. The federal government is giving the power companies the funds. Those companies do not know which household is rich or poor.

Miles Farrell (Letters, May 18) would have us vote for the continuation of an Albanese government. That's despite the fact that after two years nothing has improved. In fact we are going backwards. The Albanese government has no vision.

During a recent gathering here in Adelaide I was directed to write to The Canberra Times posing a question. When will the ACT government establish a twin-city arrangement with Gaza? We all agreed that this proposition would be warmly embraced by the Barr government.

How surprising that Peter Dutton's answer to the nation-wide housing crisis is to slow immigration to Australia. I presume that he plans to address the problem by re-instating the White Australia Policy.

Peter Dutton has suggested cutting immigration by about 45,000 a year to solve the housing crisis. It's not the answer. We can't build the required number of houses because we do not have the capacity. We rely on foreign labourers, materials, and expertise. It will take time.

Very interesting article by Des Moriarty: "An inheritance tax is a fair way to address the housing crisis" (May 28). Given he is targeting billionaires, perhaps it should only apply to estates valued at, say, $10 million or more?

Trump has been described many times by prominent Americans as a serious threat to US democracy. Scott Morrison publicly gives his support to Trump by describing his legal troubles as a "pile on". That surely tells us something about Morrison's values.