Seselja badly out of step with majority on assisted dying

Zed Seselja may think he's a winner on this but his reputation in the ACT has diminished by the day.

Why did we go through the farce of having self-government when he doesn't believe that we have rights?

Someone who served in the Legislative Assembly for a number of years believes the Legislative Assembly and the will of the people of the ACT count for nothing.

According to the census 22 per cent of Australians nominated themselves as being Catholic.

I'll be generous, let's say 30 per cent of these are regular churchgoers. Mr Seselja is forcing his religious views and those of a small minority on others.

In 2019 approximately 90 per cent of Australians supported voluntary assisted dying.

Mr Seselja is the odd one out here but obviously his views matter more than hundreds of thousands of Canberrans.

Every time this issue is raised we invariably have people rabbiting on about what happened in Nazi Germany and using every tedious distraction in the book to avoid logic and the will of the people.

This is about letting people die as painlessly as possible and with dignity.

We already have Australians who can afford it flying to clinics in Europe to die because they are in so much pain.

Let Zed know at the ballot box that his views are not more important than those of the majority.

I fully agree that the Andrews Bill should be repealed to give the territories equal democratic rights to that of the states, thus enabling them to legalise voluntary assisted dying legislation.

However as this is now legal in five states, with NSW likely to shortly follow suit, I fail to see the urgency in this instance.

Territorians considering such action can do so by simply travelling to another state.

While this is not ideal, the option is there.

I'm trying to picture what a submarine built by the UK and the USA-built submarine would look like - especially after the Coalition get their hands on the plans.

One half is likely to be made in the UK and the other half in the USA. Imagine a Morris Minor bonnet with a Chevy Impala boot. Let's hope for the submariners the joint in the middle will line up and is waterproof.

Trying to steer with both right- and left-hand drive options could be a challenge. And the comedy of errors would continue with different measurements, gauges and nuts and bolts that will not screw together.

So be alert but not alarmed. Australians can take some comfort in knowing how effective and efficient the Coalition has been in taking action on climate change. We may never see a new submarine materialise in our lifetime.

There's been a bit of discussion in the letters columns as to who has been the worst prime minister.

As a child I did the standard visit to Parliament House and viewed the portrait gallery of prime ministers. Seeing the final portrait in the row, that of John Gorton, I felt that going by appearances the country was in good and kindly hands.

Imagine my concern when I learned that only past prime ministers had their portraits up on the wall.

Now imagine the comfort people of all ages would have if Scott Morrison's portrait was to join that gallery.

It's always annoying to get a speeding fine. Most of us grudgingly blame our stupid selves for not paying attention. Not so many who've fallen foul of the recently introduced limits in Civic despite the period of grace allowed before they took effect.

If Manikandakumar Shunmugavel (Letters, October 6) can't see the speed limit signs on Northbourne Ave/London Circuit, how can he be sure there's nobody on the streets? If he's wilfully ignoring the signs, then he deserves the fines.

The front page story on The Canberra Times of October 6 says "80 per cent of eligible Australians have had their first dose". That is incorrect. The figure relates to Australians aged 16 and over, but Australians aged 12 and over are eligible for vaccination.

We know that Morrison and Hunt lie to obscure the government's appalling incompetence but why does The Canberra Times go along with them?

Recently during my morning walks around Lake Tuggeranong I have noticed a marked increase in people not wearing masks.

On Thursday morning I estimated six in every 10 people I passed were not wearing masks at all and at least another another two in 10 were not wearing masks correctly.

A compliance rate of just 20 per cent is, quite frankly, appalling.

Is it apathy or deliberate intent? No way of knowing. While a case could be made for not wearing a mask in such circumstances, that is not the point; it is a legal requirement intended to limit COVID-19 transmission.

A fresh campaign about mask-wearing would seem to be in order.

Hear, Hear, Thomas Macknight (Letters, October 5). My wife and I have often ground our teeth in irritation at the endless proliferation of mostly US "actors" and "singers" listed in the daily birthdays on the Private Capital page.

Surely a little research would provide information on birthdays of people who have actually made a positive contribution to this planet.

History provides a vast array of worthies in all fields of endeavour, who would be far from vanilla in their achievements.

Anthony Bellanger's article "The future of Afghan journalism is up to us" (October 4, p9) provokes some harrowing questions.

What do the Afghan women journalists say to each other now that they are only allowed out to visit the mosque; what topics do those men, previously proud of their wives in senior government positions, discuss over dinner; how do the university lecturers fill the gaps without their female colleagues and how do young girls talk to their brothers when they come home from school?

I cannot even begin to imagine how to answer such questions but I do know it's important to try to imagine these situations.

I think this because we sent our armed forces to Afghanistan, promising that, if the Afghans helped us, we would ensure that they would never again face such oppression.

Since before Christ, wise men have been asserting that "the pen is mightier than the sword". I agree with Ballenger. We have no right to stop talking to and about the journalists of Afghanistan and we must go on searching with a passion for ways of communicating with the people who live in that benighted country.

M Shunmugavel says it "is ridiculous" for him to get speeding fines and that "nobody is on the streets". J Coats says booking people for speeding is "raking in revenue". (Letters, October 6). Sure, traffic is light. But deaths and injuries haven't fallen proportionately: they are staying up. This shows we don't have too much enforcement of road rules at present. We have too little.

The ACT government has, for a second year, waived the annual rideshare vehicle licence fee payable by rideshare drivers. Those rideshare drivers (like me) who took the option of acquiring a six-year vehicle licence don't (now for a second year) receive a 12-month credit. This anomaly needs to be put right.

Andrew Forrest has called out the Morrison government's proposed "technology solution" to climate change as a "smokescreen" and "a highway to climate disaster".

Mr Forrest's green hydrogen is made using renewable energy whereas the blue hydrogen technology the government is financing uses fossil fuels to produce the hydrogen.

Australia has abundant natural resources both to export green hydrogen and to use it for onshore manufacture of energy intensive aluminium and steel. We should not miss out on this great opportunity to secure our economic future in a rapidly changing world.

If the rumours are to be believed, the PM will be a G20 and Glasgow no show as he's fearful of the criticism he's likely to receive from our besties the US, the UK and on-again, off-again besties the EU and France. Forget the importance of these events for Australia, protecting a glass jaw is what counts.

With barely a month till COP26 Scott Morrison says he wants to explain the emissions plan to Australians before "people overseas". After eight long years in government the Coalition has still not managed to cobble together a coherent climate policy. Unbelievable.

There can only be one reason why the PM refuses to create a federal commission against corruption with teeth.

You don't have to be particularly smart to know what it is.

If Tony is in Taiwan to show them how to "shirt front" China, then I hope that he stays there till that happens. We would finally be rid of him.

Finally a smart premier. No more daily briefings in NSW. Please extend the trend around Australia. I have been hearing the same old, same old from every state leader for almost two years. Please have mercy on us. We've had to endure both them and COVID-19.

As does every democratic leader upon assuming office, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has promised to represent all constituents. That's tantamount to resolving to teach ravens to fly underwater.

Australia Post's free postcards were a lovely idea. It is a pity it took 11 days for mine to arrive from Brisbane.

During the 1919 influenza pandemic in NSW nursing staff in mental hospitals received extra pay for caring for Spanish flu patients.

Why does Rod Matthews (Letters, October 6) think we are the most important endangered species? It is this thinking that has resulted in the exploitation, abuse and cruelty to so many other species, many of which we have driven to extinction.

It seems we all need to be on our guard against the virus, each other and governments. Be alert or be aware? I prefer to be a "lert", I think the country needs more "lerts".

In the words of Sir Humphrey NSW's new supremo has taken a very "courageous" decision. If this backfires and it turns out he went too far, too fast he may be the shortest-serving premier in the convict state's history.