Our elected representatives should better represent us

Furthermore, we know from Senator Seselja's record of voting as part of the Coalition block that a vote for Zed is effectively a vote for Barnaby. Clearly, the Senator thinks his record will continue to attract the support of at least 33.3 per cent of ACT voters (the proportion needed to retain a Senate seat).

However, I'm hoping that at the next Senate election we elect someone who is a closer fit for the ACT's views on social matters and who will also demand more transparency, accountability and straight out honesty from whoever forms the next federal government.

I'd like to acknowledge how thrilled I was to receive Zed's four-page, glossy, colour election material entitled "Community Newsletter." It had no less than nine photos of Zed highlighting all the sensational things Zed is doing for our community. Many of the infrastructure projects listed have nothing to do with him.

Sadly one of the things he isn't doing for our community is giving them an opportunity to have a vote on voluntary assisted dying laws. The majority of states now have voluntary assisted dying legislation but Mr Seselja's religious views are far more important than giving the people of the ACT a choice.

I hope people keep this in mind when they cast a vote at the next election.

Nationals senator Matt Canavan recently revealed that farmers only make up around 5 per cent of the party's voters ('Senior National admits farmers are not party's core constituency' July 6th). Who exactly do the Nationals stand for, then? By Canavan's own admission it is certainly not the farmers, whose livelihoods are threatened by increasingly severe drought conditions. Not the majority of women, with whom the Coalition government is rapidly losing popularity.

Maybe he means the emergency workers or the military, who are faced with the task of rescuing disaster victims and cleaning up afterwards? The regional coal mining workers with no plan for transition to jobs in place, when coal becomes unviable, perhaps? Canavan opposed the federal government setting an emissions target. This does not reflect the view of most Australians, who see climate change as an urgent issue. It would be interesting to see what demographic the Nationals really do represent!

While I agree with Crispin Hull (Forum, July 3) and Jenny Goldie (Letters, July 5) that Australia needs to have a sensible conversation about population growth and the role of immigration, the concept that the over-65s will fill the workforce shortages of the future is clearly unrealistic.

Even though I have an active and healthy lifestyle, at over 60 I can attest that I am not able to do many of the things I could do at 20 or even 50. Physical strength and flexibility, declining hearing and eyesight, reduced reaction times and reduced cognitive capabilities are all inevitable as we age, albeit at different rates for different people. While over-65s may still be capable of desk-based jobs such as journalism, these are not areas of growth in the economy. Crispin Hull also seems to think the over-65s contribute more than the under-18s. A quick check of the ABS website shows that there are more people aged 15-19 in employment than aged over 65, and the number of volunteers over 70 is similar to that of those aged 15-24 - the bulk of volunteering is done by those aged 25-54.

And while government expenditure directly on the aged ($86 billion in 2021-22) is less than the combined expenditure on families and schools (some $108 billion), the oldies use a lot more of the health system (which totals over $135 billion).

So yes, as indicated in the IGR, we should be considering how to deal with an ageing population both from a workforce and a budgetary perspective, and keeping a few more over-65s in the workforce is not going to cut it.

Victor Diskordia (Letters, July 6) says that if the Labor Party win the next federal election there will be marginally higher taxes, larger budget deficits, more regulation and an expanded welfare state. I have to ask if Victor has been paying attention for the past eight years. Except for the wealthy, tax rates have barely moved, the budget deficits have been eye watering and government debt has quadrupled, regulation particularly in terms of security is all pervasive and corporate welfare has exploded. On top of all this the LNP government is arguably the most corrupt in our history. No matter how bad a future Labor government may be that will be streets ahead of the rabble that currently occupies the government benches.

Minister Steel please tell us the truth. Your Assembly speech re: the proposed dog tax assured us this would be a 'once in a dog's lifetime' tax of $57.75 (why exactly $57.75?). Your new dog tax poster headline, "Annual Dog Registration", is not only false but is misleading.

Tell us what you are going to do with your $8.6 million dog tax windfall. It would be morally irresponsible to use it other than to benefit our dumb but loyal mates with more dog parks, poo bag dispensers and bins (mandatory in Europe), insurance, funding to dog pounds and RSPCA etc. Our companions deserve pampering. The duplicated dog registration is not cheap and perhaps should be paid weekly or monthly, possibly, in cash, especially for dog owners experiencing financial hardship.

Being an armchair epidemiologist, I've noticed the current emphasis on those that will cost the most to treat, while annoying everyone else, who were told "Stay. Sit." This almost ignored the fact that diseases need moving vectors. Next pandemic, could we focus on the travellers, please? Priority should be those who will treat, then everyone else based on the distance they travelled in the past month, multiplied by the number of people they "handled" in that month.

Planning of the light rail stages 2a and 2b proceeds despite the chosen route being most unsuited to a fixed-track public transport system. The difficult topography, terrain levelling, lake and culvert bridging to carry these 40-tonne vehicles, overhead wire-free NCA stipulation for the parliamentary zone, removal of historic Himalayan and Atlas cedars near Albert Hall, unpopulated stretches near the prime ministerial lodge and elsewhere along the route and the central bridge pylon at the Novar-Kent street overpass make the route a logistical nightmare.

And don't ask how passengers will access stops located in the middle of a six-lane highway without disrupting vehicle traffic flow.

Remarkable to think that buses already cruise this Woden-Civic route every day without fuss. Just because we have a tram from Gungahlin to Civic does not mean a tram system needs to be delivered to every part of Canberra. Canberra's public transport system should be a mix of systems most suited to the conditions. It does not have to be trams everywhere.

It would save a lot of money, urban disruption and heartache if the ACT government used common sense and adopted modern electric buses for stage 2.

The federal government is responsible for our vaccination supply and rollout which so far has been very slow, (under 10 per cent of Australians) due to lack of supply and vaccination distribution points. The issue of supply was badly handled by the government putting all our eggs in one basket, leaving the nation currently without enough vaccines and having to slow down rather than escalate vaccination.

Comparable countries such as Britain, France, Germany, Canada and America all ordered a number of different vaccines to spread and cover the risks of unknown efficacy and safety of these newly developed vaccines. The government played a risky game and lost. No excuses. A great pity after so much hard work, learning and medical expertise virtually eradicated Covid from our nation.

I really don't get it. This is Australia, the country which, in my lifetime, has smoothly introduced decimal currency and weights and measures, the GST, Medicare, run censuses every five years, dealt well with Cyclone Tracy and several disasters overseas. And we can't vaccinate our fairly small population. Have all our public servants disappeared or are they not listened to?

Now that Senator Zed Seselja is once again using his personal views and religious beliefs to interfere with and control the ambit of territory lawmaking, fed-up Canberrans will be hoping that enough voters will force him to follow his retiring colleague, and no doubt strong supporter and mentor, Kevin Andrews MP, out the door at the next election.

Oliver Raymond (Letters, July 7), writing about Senator Zed, said "It is high time ... a candidate [was] found who would better represent the ACT community". Oliver, you should have left out the word "better". Zed has never represented the ACT community as a whole. He has only ever represented his own self interest.

The Vandals are remembered for their destructive sacking of Rome. However, after King Alaric I of the Visigoths had done a good job before them there was probably not much left to do. The Visigoths did not enter Rome without a good reason. It was the incompetence of successive Roman leaders and their arrogant suppression and unwillingness to talk to their subjects outside the "Roman Bubble" to address grievances that were the root causes. Sound familiar?

Kathryn Lewis' article on the Canberra Pfizer vaccine rollout (July 6) ends with the statement that people aged 40 to 59, or eligible under phase 1a and 1b of the rollout, can get Pfizer. People over the age of 70 are members of the 1b phase, but unfortunately the choice of Pfizer still appears to be being denied to them.

It is good to see that Stephen Byron CEO of Canberra Airport also has expertise in medical matters. Mr Byron knows what would be a safe level of vaccination for Canberrans to allow more freedom of movement through his airport. This potentially represents a big saving to the public purse. No more need for scientists and medical experts.

The mothers, nonnas and nanas who volunteer their time at Joey's - St Joseph's College in Sydney - are disappointed that a sensible health measure - vaccinations for Indigenous student boarders heading home for the holidays to sometimes remote or rural locations - was politicised by the media. The school family stands behind our headmaster Ross Tarlington, a former Canberran and a much loved and respected headmaster. Many Indigenous families would be grateful for the foresight that protected their boys.

It beggars belief that even this cold-hearted government could hang their Afghan translators, gofers, and other assistants during that long drawn-out failed war out to dry in the face of the Taliban insurgency. Blind Freddie (sorry Fred) could see that their days are numbered if they aren't extracted and brought to safety asap. God help any of the current applicants for refugee status already here if that is their response to this group.