But Dr Watchirs writes approvingly about the use of the Victorian charter of human rights by young criminals to challenge their transfer to a prison.

However, if these individuals had paid more attention to their responsibilities as citizens, e.g. to obey the law and had respected the rights of others, e.g. to not be assaulted or robbed, then they wouldn’t have been incarcerated in the first place.

Interesting, is it not, that such individuals are obviously happy to invoke their own rights but are not at all concerned about the rights of the victims of their crimes or their responsibilities as citizens?

The debate on this issue needs to be balanced by an equivalent focus on the responsibilities of citizens and the need to respect the rights of others.

Rights come with responsibilities.

We need an ACT Human Rights and Responsibilities Commission.

Jim Derrick, Florey

I cannot fathom why the ACT government is so obsessed with proceeding with Stage 2 of Light Rail, given the ballooning deficit to fund Stage 1 and this project’s glaring logistical and technical deficiencies (e.g. electric buses are far more efficient, versatile and cheaper as they don’t need ugly overhead wiring or expensive steel tracks that make intersections hazardous for cyclists and motorists on wet days).

The tram’s financial viability is not helped by the lack of free parking for commuters who live in Yass, Murrumbateman, Hall and Canberra’s north-western suburbs (having to pay for parking and a tram ticket will be too expensive for most folk).

Congested York, England, has free parking at outlying locations, so why not in Gungahlin and Mitchell?

Increased travel times is another negative (Giralang and Kaleen residents will lose their direct bus service and have to travel via Dickson to Civic).

The budget deficit will inevitably worsen as, unlike the Gold Coast, there aren’t any tourist attractions, hospitals, universities or mainline stations along the route to attract passengers.

It is crazy not having a link to the airport.

As Stage 1 is already showing signs of being a financial disaster, there is absolutely no hope for Stage 2.

Inevitably, both will prove to be as ineffective as an ash tray on a motorbike. I find it galling that many generations are going to be saddled with having to pay dearly for a stranded asset. This lose-lose-lose scenario will inevitably increase the risk of the Chief Minister and his team being voted out of office.

Peter Sherman, Aranda

Last month the Prime Minister shovelled out, very swiftly, more than $200 million of taxpayer funds for some Queensland water projects in return for Bob Katter’s pledge of support for the minority Coalition government.

In comparison, a $266 million spend over 12 years to expand and transform the National Museum of Australia is not a lot of money (‘‘National Museum 2.0’’, canberratimes.com.au, December 8), especially given how it will benefit millions of Australians, assist the preservation and promotion of our national heritage and history, and further develop our cultural image and reputation at home and abroad.

The museum deserves this funding and much more government support to help it underpin and expand its highly accountable and creative operations and public service delivery.

Many will look forward to hearing the federal government announce, with enthusiasm and pride, provision of the balance of funds needed to implement the museum’s plans, as well as a commitment to meet the additional ongoing operational costs associated with the expansion.

The amount sought is, after all, a fraction of the $600 million that the government has provided recently for major new building and redevelopment projects at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the Sir John Monash Centre for World WarI interpretation near Villers-Bretonneux in France.

Sue Dyer, Downer

Yet another drug death and many hospitalised at a recent youth festival should stop more such events.
Senior toxicologist Dr Andrew Leibie of Safework Laboratories has told the Canberra community and Australia that pill testing is not safe (‘‘‘Oversold’ pill testing not a magic bullet: toxicologist’’, October 9, p2).

According to Dr Leibie, the equipment used by the promoters and accepted by the ACT government – infrared spectroscopy – will tell you nothing about the dose, which is key to determining toxicity.

More than 90 per cent of the total drug can be in less than half the volume of a pill.

Before long, with proposed new cannabis laws, we’ll have teenagers in ‘‘cannabis land’’ wandering off to youth festivals under the false impression their lives are safe.

And while on the subject, the police have already expressed alarm at the bill to legalise cannabis, being concerned about therapeutic controls and driving under the influence.

Given houses with multiple residents could have multiple cannabis plants each, how can non-user neighbours, visitors, workmen etc be fully protected?

Colliss Parrett, member, Drug Watch International, Barton

While there have been concerns expressed that only 49 per cent of patients are seen on time at ACT hospital emergency departments (‘‘Conditions critical for ACT patients’’, December 6), the situation is not nearly as bad as portrayed.

People presenting at EDs are seen based on a five tier category of need: category 1 (resuscitation), requires they are seen immediately; category 2 (emergency), within 10 minutes; category 3 (urgent), 30 minutes; category 4 (semi-urgent), one hour, and category 5 (non-urgent), two hours. Our hospitals achieved 100 per cent for category 1 and 77 per cent for category 2, the most important categories.

It is, nevertheless, a worry that category 3 was just 37 per cent.

Many people still go to EDs when they really only need to see a GP – possibly to avoid paying for a consultation – but there are bulk-billing GP clinics in Canberra. This clogs up the ED and will contribute to longer waiting times for category 3 patients.

In 2017-18 almost 70,000 attendances were for these lower categories, with category 1, 2 and 3 accounting for just over 84,000 presentations. Of the total of almost 150,000 ED presentations only about a third required hospitalisation.

Colin Smeal, Holder

The Australian Christian Lobby is increasingly a voice for reactionary extremists, not Christians. Nothing shows this more than posts on its website about climate change.

On December 11 the ACL published a blog by managing director Martyn Iles criticising School Strike 4 Climate Action.

In his usual supercilious manner, Martyn claimed the students were uninformed pawns in a political strategy by ‘‘the social progressives’’. With galling hypocrisy he pontificated that young people should ‘‘love wisdom and instruction’’.

Martyn himself rejects the scientific and moral truth about climate change. He is blinded by his socially conservative and economically right-wing political ideology. As long as he thinks this ideology is Christian he will remain blind.

Martyn would hate to admit it, but some leading climate scientists are evangelical Christians. Professors Sir John Houghton, Mike Hulme and Katharine Hayhoe are examples. They have promoted the truth about climate change and the biblical values and morality that demand action.

The ACL hasn’t always dismissed action on climate change.

On December 5, 2006, an ACL page titled ‘Climate Change is a Moral Issue’ announced its participation in ‘Common Belief: Australia’s Faith Communities on Climate Change’ launched by the Climate Institute.

The then ACL managing director Jim Wallace wrote, ‘‘Christians recognise a moral duty to be stewards of the creation and to express God’s love and care to all people made in his image. At the next election, I think the Christian constituency will be seeking to weigh the degree of determination in each party to tackle climate change.’’

Ian Morland, Kaleen

So taxpayers shelled out $4.5million in severance fees as a result of the change of PMs in August. And a total of 607 staff members’ employment changed and 136 staff were terminated. The fallout is significant and no reason has been given for the leadership change.

Malcolm Turnbull was not given the opportunity to run the full term of government without explanation. It is wrong that this is allowed to happen, the instigators, perpetrators of this fiasco should be made to foot the bill unless they can state just cause for removing the PM. Poor taxpayers should not have to pay the cost of the antics of over-ambitious politicians with inflated egos.

Phil Nicolls, Monash

While many of us will empathise with C. Williams (Letters, December 12) about downsizing Canberra, the dual reality of the world today and for the foreseeable future is that global population will continue to grow (predicted to reach at least 11billion from today’s 7 billion) before stabilising and then perhaps declining, and that mass migration and the redistribution of that population will continue unabated.

Through ignorance, greed or just the need to survive, most of these people will continue to trash our home world and I don’t see how Australia, let alone Canberra, can escape the same fate.

It will take enormous political will to hold the line.

Malcolm Robertson, Chapman

For the 160,000th time, a migration program of 160,000 not 190,000 is not in any real sense a ‘‘strong signal’’ or a ‘‘cut’’.

It’s just the precipitously high number that Morrison, Shorten, and the rest of the growth lobby are pushing as the new normal.

Evidently their shallow trick is working pretty well.

Over 1972-98, our net overseas migration (NOM) averaged a tick over 80,000 a year. There was no ‘‘end of the world’’, as chief spruiker Peter McDonald would have us believe.

The last couple of calendar (or fiscal) years, it’s been well over 200,000.

A migration program of 80,000, with a fairly similar level of NOM would be a real cut, or at least a return towards historical norms.

But you won’t see that happening. Only the environment and the electorate would want that.

Stephen Saunders, O’Connor

As an official from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 20 years ago, I participated in annual consultations with state governments about Australia’s annual immigration program, drawing on detailed data about demands that any immigration would generate for infrastructure, education, health and for government services.

This was, in effect, the Australian Population Council, although that name was not used, as officials just got on with the job of managing the well-known, positive nationwide impacts of immigration.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a process that doesn’t seem to do anything more than what was done before, but is still not called Australia’s ‘‘population council’’.

Trevor Wilson, Chifley

The head of Origin Energy, Frank Calabria, has said that he would not risk investing in the expansion of the Shoalhaven pumped hydro plant while the government waves the ‘‘big stick’’ of forced divestiture in his face (‘‘Origin Energy chief warns against PM’s laws’’, Business, December 8, p28 & p29).

In contrast, Mr Calabria commended Labor’s ‘‘clear’’ approach to energy and climate policy, which gives his company more certainty and confidence in its planning.

As for climate policy, I find it very hard to understand why any administration would be reluctant, as is the Morrison government, to act on reducing emissions when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in October that the world may have as little as 12 years to act seriously on climate change before we reach the point of no return.

Meanwhile, a recent report in The Medical Journal of Australia about the effects of climate change on human health states that heat stress alone is costing the country $616 per employed person per year. Given that, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are 12.67 million employed people, that means that climate change is costing us $7.8 billion a year in lost productivity.

I cannot understand why any government would stand by and see that happen without taking appropriate action – and I certainly could not forgive that inaction.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Sesame Street always had its letter and number of the day but now Google has its word and image of the day.
For some ‘‘unknown’’ reason a picture of President Trump appears when you do a Google image search for ‘‘idiot’’.

I wonder what words would be linked to other world leaders, perhaps ‘‘handsome’’ with Canada’s Justin Trudeau or ‘‘unemployed’’ with Britain’s Theresa May and the use of profanities may produce a few of the world’s despots and dictators.

The use of a single word to describe a person or action is too simplistic although after the latest White House office conference regarding votes and funding for the ‘‘wall’’ some words that could be used are bombastic, unrealistic, inappropriate, argumentative and even diplomatic so long as it is accompanied by a negative.

Google provides information that is meant to be unbiased although the results are influenced by commercial interests and ads as well as previous searches so the worrying thing is why are so many people linking the words Trump and Idiot. The people have spoken or at least typed.

D. Fitzgerald, Box Hill, Vic

So, Theresa May has been given another year to do absolutely nothing. What a relief. Churchill would be proud.

M. Strong, Yass, NSW