However, we disagree with the CT's conclusion Amnesty was "over-egg[ing] the pudding" by defining the government's treatment of asylum seekers as "torture".

Amnesty's use of the word "torture" is not a mere expression of frustration. What Australia is doing fits the legal definition of torture under international law, specifically the UN Convention against Torture.

When Amnesty says the policies amount to torture, we are saying refugees on Nauru experience severe mental suffering intentionally inflicted by the system set up by the government of Australia.

Amnesty gave Dutton the right to reply and explained the organisation would publish their response alongside the report if they responded within the given time frame.

They have failed to provide any evidence contrary to what our report states.

Kate Waterford, ACT/Southern NSW Branch Committee, Amnesty International Australia

Although I hold the same concerns as A. Smith about the very high cost and low transport value of the light rail project, I am unable to agree with the suggestion (Letters, October 18) that imminent improvements in driverless vehicle technology will dissuade the government from extending the line from Civic to Woden.

Given the government proposed and committed to Stage 1 from Gungahlin — Civic in spite of its own objective economic analyses and then proposed Stage 2 from Civic to Woden without bothering to undertake any such analyses, it is hard to imagine it will adopt a more rational economic approach in the foreseeable future.

The government no longer has to worry that light rail only offers low value transport benefits for very high cost, or that rates will have to be hiked to pay for it because it can justifiably claim the electorate has just given it a mandate to sign contracts without any regard to cost or benefit.

Given the CFMEU has provided significant funding to the ALP and the Greens, coupled with the fact that, with the possible exception of property developers, the union's members will be the major beneficiaries of light rail, the government has strong political incentives for proceeding with Stage 2.

Bruce Taggart, Aranda

Jim Allen (Letters, October 21) talks of "alarmists" and misunderstandings about the role wind turbines played in the SA mass blackout.

He totally missed the point of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) report.

Yes, according to AEMO, it was wind farm settings that contributed to the mass blackout. We could rabbit on about the "safety" settings of the wind farms being wrong, being factory configurations and so on; but unlike other generation facilities, it was the wind farms that stuffed up and plunged the whole of SA into darkness.

Ironically, if the safety mechanisms didn't kick in, then we could have learnt the other truth: in the absence of baseload power from the interconnector, intermittent sources of energy such as wind turbines couldn't run a grid.

The immediate victims of wind energy, those living close to wind farm noise have to date been mocked and dismissed.

Now the rest of Australia is slowly discovering the extent of the problem — high energy prices and an unreliable grid.

George Papadopoulos, Yass

In seeking to dismiss or otherwise soft-soap Hillary Clinton's many serious crimes, Julie Szego imagines herself championing the feminist cause ("Sorry, Hillary, only men can afford to be mediocre", Comment, 20 October).

What she actually does is demonstrate her knowledge of Clinton's record is pretty superficial.

While it is not hard to understand why women — or any gender of feminist — would not want to support Donald Trump, anyone supporting Clinton needs to understand they are supporting the war candidate.

As John Pilger remarked in an address to Sydney University earlier this year: "Hillary ... embodies the resilience and violence of a system whose vaunted 'exceptionalism' is totalitarian with an occasional liberal face."

Szego confuses Clinton's gender with her politics, not understanding that Clinton's politics, like that of Madeline Albright before her, are masculine, and aggressively so.

Greg Ellis, Murrumbateman

The treatment of the Ingram family of Watson is appalling ("South African family's bid to stay in Canberra denied", CT, October 18).

I do not know the Ingrams but when I read their story I was amazed and disgusted by the reason given for their deportation.

The Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Alex Hawke, denied their application for permanent residency because Mrs Ingram's medical condition may become a burden on the Australian taxpayer at a future date.

What a feeble reason to uproot a family who have been here for six years, working and contributing to the Australian economy.

It appears that the Dept of Immigration has absolutely no flexibility when it comes to compassionate treatment of people.

Barbara Godfrey, Lyneham

While I don't own a firearm I have shot them in the Regular Army and on relatives' farms.

The Alder lever action shotgun is not a "rapid" fire weapon but a single shot in the sense the lever has to be moved to chamber the next round.

That said, any sporting shooter or hunter who requires more than five shots to hit the target should reassess his sporting choice and change to golf or lawn bowls.

Adrian Jackson, Middle Park, Vic

One can only hope Philip Clark's departure from ABC Breakfast does not open the way for the return of Ross Solly. It has been so pleasant listening to Philip in the morning.

David Hall, Wanniassa

Anthony Albanese's democratising influence is questionable.

In commenting (Canberra Times, October 18) on Anthony Albanese's claimed interest in democratising the ALP's Senate pre-selection process James Massola notes the NSW ALP process is currently more democratic than Victoria's.

In reality the factions have control over the process in both states. Merit is an optional selection criteria.

James is nevertheless probably correct but the comparison is about as moot as concluding that the Chinese process for electing its president is more democratic than North Korea's.

The issue has been raised because of the closed shop selection by the Victorian ALP of Kimberley Kitching to fill the Senate vacancy created by Stephen Conroy's sudden departure.

A gathering of the factions apparently decided it was her turn. It has been reported that Kimberley is of and from the Health Services Union, allegedly a mate of Bill Shorten and a person of some interest to the Heydon royal commission. One positive thing about her appointment is she is not Kathy Jackson. Were it not for the royal commission Ms Jackson would be in the Senate too, because her turn would also have come up by now.

Jon Stanhope, Bruce

How delicious to witness the figurative gnashing of teeth and rending of garments of mourning ACT Liberal Party supporters in the letters page.

From Mario Stivala's lament that well-educated people tend to vote Labor or Green, to Greg Cornwell's decision to punish local charities, to Alan Cowan's fatuous linking of Andrew Barr with communism, to S. Sainsbury's plaintive cry for voters to "wake up", we are given wonderful examples of how to be bad losers.

I think some of these folks might have been among those demanding federal Labor roll over and support Malcolm Turnbull because he has a (one seat) "mandate" to govern.

I expect them now to encourage the ACT Liberals to get on board the tram and give up their usual conservative obsession with stopping change.

Steve Ellis, Hackett

Could anyone clarify how the ABCC will address two critical issues amid all the murkiness of the construction sector?

Is the federal government actually promising – as it has slyly been claiming – apartments will fall in price by 30per cent after the ABCC legislation is passed?

No free market; no overmigration, negative gearing and overseas investors-induced artificial housing bubble over-demand; no developer greed. Just cheaper housing, not wider-still profit margins.

Will this bill guarantee that developers consistently deliver buildings to customers – in design, workmanship, materials and durability – of a non-routinely condemnable standard? Or will it simply be business as usual?

Alex Mattea, Kingston

Daily you read about violence in the emergency department of hospitals. Take the drug and face your own destiny. There is no reason why society should look after these addicts at all.

Hans Sander, Gordon

Christine Bollen ("Name Disrespectful", Letters, October 21) and her allies should be grateful they live in a society that tolerates religious satire. Oh for the day when another pub named with an Islamic pun competes with Hale and Mary in an environment free of consequences far grimmer than letters to the editor.

Peter Robinson, Ainslie

I sincerely doubt Hale and Mary set out to offend ("Poor Taste at Pub, October 20). For a sports bar that shows the NFL, this is a very clever name. It is a desperation play in the NFL, implying it would take divine intervention for it to succeed.

Chris Doyle, Gordon

The only reason we have stage 1 of light rail is after the 2012 election the Greens forced the Labor Party, in the parliamentary agreement of December 2012, to commit to start building stage 1 in 2016.

To form a second minority government, is Mr Barr going to again let the Greens "extort" Canberrans by signing another parliamentary agreement, committing to build stage 2 to Woden?

M. Silex, Erindale

Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott appear to be accusing one another of lying about a deal with David Leyonhjelm on the Adler shotgun.

I know which of them I believe and it's driven me to limerick:

The (dis)Honourable Member for Warringah,

Has delivered himself of a zinger,

He said, and I quote,

I could stop any boat,

Had I not caught my tongue in the wringer.

Peter Moran, Watson

Registration worry

I don't know the circumstances which have led to Jan Spate the local vet at Hall being deregistered.

My experiences with Jan have all been positive and compared with other vets in Canberra very inexpensive.

I hope the deregistration is genuinely about serious veterinary professional issues and not artificial, self-righteous or trumped ones aimed at protecting the financial or other interests of her competition.

John Popplewell, Hackett

Anthony Reid (Letters, October 17), like many others, needs to know the difference between a plebiscite and a referendum.

A referendum, like the casein Ireland, is necessary for changes to the constitution.

A non-binding plebiscite is an unnecessary waste of money as parliamentarians still need to vote regardless of the outcome.

As the last national plebiscite on the Australian anthem showed, the government can ignore the outcome if it isn't what it wanted.

David Grills, Kambah

For a party and its followers that dislikes the ABC with the same intensity it has for Labor, Tony Abbott's performance on 7.30 on Wednesday was a sterling effort worthy of acknowledgement.

It wouldn't have done his quest for a return to the top job any harm.

D. J. Fraser, Currumbin

THE ANSWER MY FRIEND

Bob Dylan has ignored the phone calls from the Swedish Academy to notify him of the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Academy has stopped calling. What to make of this? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

John Rodriguez, Florey

How many times must Mr Dylan be criticised for winning a Nobel prize and how many times must the poison pens fly, before they learn to write?

Matt Ford, Crookwell

LIFE JUST AIN'T FAIR

Trump for President and our wonderful Hall veterinarian, Jan Spate, struck off! What a disgusting and depressing state of affairs!

Jennifer Nichols, Scullin

ON TRACK FOR BLOW OUT

North Canberrans can celebrate the fact they will get their tram paid for by the South. If Canberra's cost blow outs are anywhere near the billions predicted for Sydney's short tram runs designed to serve a population of millions, South Canberra will never see a tram.

Tom Cooke, Pearce

SAME SONG, MISSED NOTE

G Bell (Letters, 20 October) makes an assumption about me and misses my point. In 1977 the national anthem plebiscite was initiated and ignored by the Fraser Government. The outcome wasn't implemented until 1984 by the Hawke Government. I was too young to have a preference.

David Grills, Kambah

BITTER TASTE TO ELECTION

I am sorry now I sold my vineyard as the election seems to have made sour grapes flavour of the month.

Tim Terrell, Farrer

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