Campbell Primary School redevelopment was a travesty

Well done to your reporter Sarah Lansdown for her dogged and detailed pursuit of this saga in the face of overt denialism and obstructionism by an incompetent government beholden to unions.

When our children are denied better education facilities to the tune of $900,000 because an inferior tender was chosen thanks to alleged political interference, it's clear that there is something wrong about the way that ratepayers' money is doled out in the ACT.

Public tenders should be transparent and merit-based - principles which seem to have been abandoned in this instance.

While minister Berry and her colleagues seem to have learnt little, the million-lumen light shone by the Integrity Commission has done much to illuminate the dark corners of political deal-making in the territory which, if proven in this instance, has cheated students out of the best outcome for their future.

The cost of living, interest rates, housing affordability, extreme climate conditions are just a few of the pitfalls challenging the Albanese government.

It's like discovering fields of landmines placed by a defeated army.

Whilst some can be defused, blowing up others is, in reality, the only option.

And then there are the more sinister, long term boobytraps such as the AUKUS submarine deal which is destined to explode in the face of future governments grappling with the needs of future generations.

JH Crone and Douglas Mackenzie (Letters, December 9) seek to ignore or downplay the damage from falling gum trees, increasingly obvious with more intense storms as part of climate change.

As if to underline my letter of December 5, a severe storm hit Canberra on the night of December 8, bringing down trees, especially eucalypts, across the city.

Several homes and vehicles were damaged, with at least two people being transported to hospital after a tree fell on top of a vehicle.

The majority of the more than 600 calls to the ACT SES were for tree damage.

The insurance industry is well aware of the increasing financial bill for the above. Not far from me, in the 2022 storms, falling eucalypts smashing roofs caused damage amounting to tens of thousands of dollars.

As my recent letter made clear from the Legislative Assembly report on the West Belconnen supercell storm of January 2022, appropriate tree selection and location are very important.

Planting large growing eucalypts close to homes is just asking for trouble as storms become more intense.

Dan Tehan's suggestion that the Albanese government is not only weak but also not interested in protecting the public from immigrant criminals shows he has learnt nothing from the "robodebt" inquiry.

The inquiry's main message was that government decisions and operations should be legitimate - no exceptions, then, now or ever.

Mr Tehan apparently believes the government should have ignored the High Court's instruction to release detainees who had no prospect of being deported.

If this attitude is representative of the LNP we're looking at a repeat of the Morrison years should they regain power.

Why is it that the prices numerous tradies and others charge in Canberra are often double what people charge elsewhere?

Is it because we don't have enough tradies? Many of them work incredibly hard and are very skilled at their jobs but some charges are completely removed from reality.

For example a total fee of $516 for a plumber for 20 minutes work on a Saturday which included a $450 call out charge.

I'm aware that it was a weekend rate, but really.

Or a quote of $1600 for a garden clean-up which the person quoting said would take four hours. A $1500 quote for a half-a-day pergola repair.

Some of our leading medical specialists don't charge at this rate.

Competition allegedly regulates prices. Does Canberra have any? Should the government be involved in fixing maximum prices?

It's clear competition isn't working. Things seem to have become worse since COVID. So kiddies forget the university degree and HECS debt; go out and tidy up gardens for $400 an hour.

Profiteering appears to be rampant.

I would like to send a big thank you to all the many people who donated to our Christmas drive at the Hawker shops last Saturday.

We had a group of volunteers from our local church (Christ Church Hawker) stand outside Woolworth's supermarket collecting goods for St John's Care in the city.

We were able to fill 11 supermarket trolleys with donated goods; a record for us.

In this time of worry and despair it is so good to see such generosity going to those most in need.

Our democracy is threatened by sensationalist reporting which gives voice to a right-wing cohort pushing the argument Australia is being invaded by hordes of unwelcome people.

The claim is that we need to stand up and defend ourselves from this group of people who will take our jobs and houses. Peter Dutton has been able to tap into this mood.

The reporting of the High Court decision regarding the illegal indefinite detention of those who have served their sentence but are without a country to return to has been disgraceful.

The media has a lot to answer for. Journalists would rather stir up controversies rather than report the facts.

While recognising weather is the shorter-term manifestation of climate trends we should all be concerned that over the last week global heating has been on full display.

Warmer atmospheric temperatures can lead to more heat as well as more atmospheric moisture and disturbance.

Witness on December 9 a record 40 degrees in Sydney. And how unusual has been the early summer heat in Canberra along with the amazing storm of December 8 with torrential rain and power outages followed by more heavy rain on December 9.

Canberrans and humans everywhere had better get used to it. It would help if the media, including the ABC had the wit to cover global heating instead of subjecting us to endless footage of Australians engaging in hot weather water frolics.

Ross Hawkins' article ("Voluntary assisted dying legislation must be amended in the ACT", December 9) on Calvary's refusal to recognise patients' choices to die on their own terms demonstrates the need for a government-run northside hospital.

If you count the number of times "Calvary" is cited in the article it is considerably more than "patient". It is hard to see that Calvary is focused on patients and patient-centred care when Calvary is front and centre in the article.

Most distressing of all is that during a period of unnecessary and unchosen suffering a patient who wishes to elect for VAD would need to arrange a transfer to another facility that supports patients' choice for VAD.

Let's hope that at the end of all our lives, particularly when the suffering is relentless and terminal, that we find ourselves in facilities that respect our choices, including to end our suffering in a safe and supported way.

No, Harry Davis (Letters, December 8), we don't get the government we deserve. We get the government foist upon us by the two-major-party system in which political donations (read soft corruption) are rife and opaque.

Both major parties' prime interests are their political fortunes.

Both are very heavily influenced by major donors, notably the fossil fuel industry. Then, in the hierarchy of interests, come the individual fortunes of lawmakers whose careers are in politics.

Only then comes the national interest such as in dealing adequately with the existential threat of climate change.

I am dissatisfied in so very many ways with Labor but horrified by the Coalition. As I contemplate voting in the next election I am in a quandary. The best outcome I can hope for is a minority Labor government and a strong cross-bench.

Good luck to Leanne Castley on being elected deputy leader of the Canberra Liberals and the ACT opposition.

Love the sentiment of UK minister Robert Jenrick that Britain will put its national interest before "interpretations of international law". Another day in the life of the international rules-based order.

My lawn is looking a bit sketchy, but if it costs $339,412 per metre to buy some specially selected grass or plants, I might leave it for now. ("Light rail cost reveal", December 8).

I'm surprised John Skurr (Letters, December 9) thinks building more freeways is the way to go. Adding more road space doesn't speed up traffic. It leads to more congestion as driving increases. Building freeways also destroys trees, wildlife, grasslands and farms. land and increases wildlife carnage and destroys their habitat. Public transport would be far better environmentally.

Warren Buffet's observation that his secretary pays (proportionately) more tax than him would resonate with workers whose pay is automatically taxed. Australian companies regard tax as optional, one third paying none. Multinationals employ barely legal, avoidance strategies.

The Canberra Times (December 8) reported a contract price for stage 2A of $577 million. The article fails to say whether that figure includes the cost of raising London Circuit and crossing Parkes Way (an estimated $200 million) or 20 years of operations and maintenance at about $112 million). The figure of $577 million is meaningless unless we know what the components are and the cost of each one.

Israel has turned Gaza into a vast, indiscriminate killing field. And if the "end" is long-term peace and security, then they are kidding themselves. They are much more likely to reap what they've sown.

Once again a thunderstorm has left many Canberrans without power, some for days. Isn't it time we replaced electricity lines strung between termite ridden wooden poles with underground reticulation, as used by telephones, NBN, water, gas, sewerage, and storm water?

I am mindful of the Beatles song All You Need is Love in regards to the awful situation in the Middle East.

Ian Jannaway (Letters, December 11) is euphemistic when he says "the state" will pay for the first visit of King Charles III. And what extra qualities of human excellence does one acquire when they are elevated from being a "highness" to a "majesty"?