Manuka Oval's facilities are an embarrassment to the capital

The portable toilets are disgusting and an embarrassment to one of Canberra's major sporting facilities. My interstate friend could not believe this was the best we had.

Our sympathies went out to the venue staff who were working their backsides off to try and keep these woeful amenities functional and we cannot commend them highly enough for their efforts.

Perhaps a few of our elected representatives who attend these matches could spend some time down with the regular supporters so they too could wade through the mud and urine while using the portable toilets.

In the unlikely event that this were ever to happen, I bet we would see an immediate injection of much needed funding that would help to bring the public areas of Manuka Oval up to a satisfactory standard.

I live in hope.

Your editorial "Snoozing at the wheel on emissions" (April 23) is right on the money. If the European Union can reduce emissions from vehicles, Australia can too. Also Peter Brewer's article on fuel efficiency ("Regulations stuck in the fast lane", Forum, April 22) explains another reason why we are lagging behind. Somehow emissions from vehicles has slipped under the radar while PM2 emissions from bushfires, controlled burns and home heating has gained a lot of air play. Fuel emissions need consideration at the same time. They are not a minor player when it comes to asthma cases and other health issues.

One reason vehicle emissions have been sidelined in the debate has to be that air quality testing has ignored sulphur since petrol was unleaded, and it hasn't been measuring nitrogen dioxide levels until recently. A shock report from the University of Melbourne found "vehicle pollution could be putting more than 19,000 people in hospital for heart and lung issues, and causing asthma cases to spike by 66,000 each year."

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners wants action taken on this: "... up until now, estimates have not factored in NO2 gas emissions, grossly underestimating the real picture."

We can't change everything at once, but this needs urgent attention. While electric vehicles will make increasing inroads into this health emergency, action on fuel pollutants and efficiency needs to be taken seriously. The government's fuel efficiency standards have gone back to the negotiation phase which will further delay implementation. Importing fuel efficient vehicles will make no difference until the fuel itself is cleaned up.

The argument advanced by opponents of the Voice that not all First Nations people agree with the Voice proposal so this provides a reason to vote "no" is nonsense. Why is unanimity required on this matter when it is not demanded for anything else in our community life? What government has ever been elected with 100 per cent of the vote? Even after the horrors of Port Arthur there were many opposed to regulation of gun ownership, I could go on.

So not every First Nations Australian agrees with the concept or format of the Voice proposal. So what? I trust the wise minds that consulted so widely and so long to produce the Uluru Statement which represents the views and wishes of the vast majority of First Nations Australians.

Bradley Perrett reminds me of those Sunday soapbox speakers down in the Domain ("The threat ministers can't discuss", April 22). Every weekend he tirelessly pushes his "China is the enemy" obsession.

There is one rhetorical trick after another - here an emotive word, there a misleading fact - it's a dynamic mishmash of (non) sense. It would be laughable if the logical consequences of his stance (war with China) were not so likely to be catastrophic.

I did study history formally at university (including China) and absorbed some basic methodology. Wherever possible go to primary sources. Seek to corroborate facts. Approach every issue with a critical mind and always look at issues "from the shoes" of every actor. Avoid secondary accounts that could, in short, be labelled "propaganda" or more fully understood as the "manufacture of consent" by the powerful elites.

We are fortunate to have web access and newspapers for information and a handful of courageous and informed academics with expertise and balance. I commend the book China Panic by David Brophy. It's a starting point.

We desperately need a surge of people with goodwill, balance and the energy to think through the situation fully. War is far too important to be left to "the professionals".

Senator Lidia Thorpe's vigorous response to Anthony Albanese's gaslighting her behavior highlights an abuse of power, worthy of the PM's predecessor.

Albanese should stick to his knitting and directly address the issues Thorpe raises - legal bias, police recruitment and training, and equity of opportunity for Indigenous people deprived of their livelihood by colonial occupation. With a scurrilous implication that Thorpe might be frail, Albanese kicks the can further down the road.

Thorpe follows in a proud tradition of radicals who highlight uncomfortable truths with direct action. Without that nothing progressive ever happens. Many such people have difficult lives that do not improve until after they pass on and become revered as visionaries and heroes.

Senator Thorpe is a national treasure who speaks from her heart, she does not deserve the attention of thugs and wowsers she constantly gets. Anthony Albanese could show a glimmer of the statesmanship he yearns for and support Lidia in her difficulties with those malign forces, no matter her political persuasion.

I fully agree with David Perkins' stand on "a major public hospital ... run by a religious order of a minority religion", but completely disagree with John Smith who believes Mr Perkins' letter should not have been published.

Does he not believe in freedom of speech? Smith is hypocritical by calling Perkins' letter "prejudiced".

Does Smith not realise that increasing numbers of Australians are turning away from religion as reported in recent censuses?

Mr Smith has every right to believe in the unscientific and unprovable (that's why it's called faith!), but grounding in history and philosophy doesn't make it true.

Kyle Wilson (Letters, April 21) may not appreciate Mary Kostakidis' contributions but I welcome her analysis of tensions in the region, including of Foreign Minister Wong's recent National Press Club speech.

Wong says: "So countries like ours in this contested region need to sharpen our focus on what our interests are ... Our focus needs to be on how we ensure our fate is not determined by others, how we ensure our decisions are our own."

And "A war over Taiwan would be catastrophic for all ... we know that there would be no real winners, and we know maintaining the status quo is comprehensively superior to any alternative ... our job is to lower the heat on any potential conflict, while increasing pressure on others to do the same."

But the Albanese government has clearly aligned itself with the US at this time and abrogated our sovereignty by making Australia a US military base. "Upholding our interests" would be best done by taking a more unaligned position in relation to Taiwan and not engaging with the US in the South China Sea. I sincerely hope she is "increasing pressure" on the Americans "to lower the heat", while also doing the same with China.

At this time of remembering those who have sacrificed their lives in war, it is beholden on us to analyse past conflicts and not fall into the trap of being drawn into another avoidable, disastrous military adventure which could have existential catastrophic consequences.

The restoration of warning signs to mobile speed cameras in NSW ("Warning signs return to sides of NSW roads", April 24, p3) is a very welcome move.

NSW Premier Chris Minns' comment "I would rather people slow down in the first place rather than receive a fine in the mail two weeks after they committed the offence" shows a willingness to forgo considerable amounts of revenue in the hope of saving lives.

The ACT government would do well to emulate Premier Minns' move.

Speed camera warning signs could have saved drivers in Civic large sums of money, and just may have saved the life of Matthew McLuckie on Hindmarsh Drive in May 2022.

John Smith (Letters, April 23) claims that "Catholic beliefs are well grounded in history and philosophy." To quote a well known modern philosopher, Tim Minchin, from White Wine in the Sun: "The tenacity of an idea does not mean it's worthy."

Some years ago, White Wine in the Sun was voted by ABC radio listeners as their favourite Christmas song. To quote another well known person, Adam Bandt, "Just google it, mate". It's on YouTube.

It may surprise many Australians that Australia is second in the world to Indonesia as the largest coal exporters. It is therefore clear that Australia is a major cause of global human induced climate change.

It is obvious to me that it is now only a matter of time when multiple countries across the globe will object and react strongly and appropriately to their needs, regarding Australia earning large coal export dollars, which is at their unfortunate expense.

Barry Humphries' satire could be cutting and he was sometimes outrageous. But he was fantastically funny without profanities, and many modern comedians could learn a lot from him. He will be greatly missed.

One of Barry Humphries' most masterful quips was during an interview by Michael Parkinson that touched on female impersonation. Dame Edna indicated, rather testily, that she'd never had much time for men who dressed up as women.

It is disappointing that Miriam Margolyes, Bruce Beresford and Kathy Lette downplay Humphries' comments about transgender people. They are not acceptable, and it is about time people stop excusing comments like these.

Felicity Chivas, Ainslie

Your correspondent ('Please do better', Letters, April 21) methinks doth protest too much at M Kostakidis' opinion piece, "Wong says it's all the way with the USA". How is it a descent into "personalised abuse" to critically analyse a purported seminal public statement by the Foreign Affairs Minister, especially when the issues are fundamental to Australia's national security?

Deng Xiaoping said it doesn't matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice, so extravagant, grandiose, bureaucratic "rebranding" decisions, purported to improve competitiveness(?), represent Alice in Wonderland "muddle-headed assumptions" (Lack of brand affects CHS, as $1.5 million price tag revealed, April 22, p8).

John F. Simmons (Letters, April 23) asks if Jesus would vote "yes" or "no". He'd say "Look, we've all been equal under the law since 1965, let's keep it that way, vote 'no'".

Here's to the WWII anti-aircraft gunners, particularly those at the victorious Battle of El Alamein, against the Germans, in the Egyptian desert in 1942.

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