On-line scammers are getting more sophisticated all the time

Recently an email purporting to be from McAfee thanked me for agreeing to pay $499 for anti-spam software. That was strange because an annual subscription for this product costs about $70.

The email provided what purported to be a Melbourne phone number which I called. "Alex" was very sorry I had received this email as it was obviously spam from the US. To trace this person, he asked me to open a website then enter a code.

Had I entered that code it would almost certainly have given Alex access to my computer. He hung up when I asked the address of his Melbourne office.

A most helpful woman from the Australian Communications and Media Authority said scams of this sort almost certainly came from outside Australia. Relevant legislation, from 1997, did not allow tracing of communications, including phone numbers and emails, generated from outside Australia's telecommunications network.

Another scam doing the rounds at present purports to be from the Australian Taxation Office. "You have a new message in your myGov Inbox. CLICK HERE to view".

Genuine emails from myGov ask people to log in, not to click on a link. Indeed, Scamwatch advises "never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information from their official website or through their secure apps".

Mokhles Sidden can't have spent much time in our parks and reserves if he thinks they're populated only by snakes, lizards and magpies (Letters, January 11).

They provide habitat for a wide variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, fish, insects and plants. They are essential to arresting the worldwide anthropogenic species extinction crisis in which Australians are highly complicit.

We are just one part of the web of life that depends on the survival of other species.

More recent and closer-to-home "memories of flag-caped yobbos" than those cited in your recent editorial relate to the flag-adorned sovereign-rightists and anti-vaxxers who sought to take over many ACT public spaces, including EPIC, in 2022.

The major brawl at Summernats this month also quickly attracted the active participation of at least one large flag on legs ("Unity and diversity aren't incompatible", January 13).

Peter Dutton and his dog whistling team seem greedy for the votes of these individuals and are prepared to deliberately trigger their penchant for destruction of property and aggression towards others as another Australia Day approaches.

In this ACT election year Elizabeth Lee and the ACT Liberals will find it harder and harder to shield themselves from the fallout generated by the promulgation of fake and skewed ideas about patriotism and nationalism that are designed primarily to serve narrow-minded Coalition targeting and priorities at the federal level.

Your correspondent (Bill Bowron, Letters, January 12) points out that many MPs own rental properties, and this is undoubtedly true of federal, state and territory politicians and their political advisers.

Sadly, MPs do not have to manage such conflicts of interest.

If they were required, like local government councillors in NSW are, to absent themselves from debate and votes on matters that might benefit or disadvantage them, on pain of potential findings against them of serious misconduct or even corruption, our parliaments would function very differently.

Governments would often fail to have a majority, and would need to negotiate across party divisions, in a more consensus-style political approach.

I can't see a downside to this. Over to you Mr Albanese and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

I enjoyed reading Steve Evans' article "Historic Gus' cafe to close after 57 years" (January 13).

While Gus's Civic café is rightfully celebrated for his introduction of outdoor seating, there is little recognition of his first innovative café in Manuka.

That was located in the then uncovered Thetis Court (now Manuka Court), opening in 1965. He advertised as "The café, Thetis Court, with the continental flavour for the early bird and the nightingale".

The illustrated advertisement showed tables and umbrellas in the courtyard. He ran that café for many years.

Gus was nothing but enterprising. He has Augustine's Balcony Restaurant at the Playhouse, the Copacabana Night Club and more. He spent considerable energy developing plans to reinvigorate Garema Place. Trish Frei's book Canberra. The City on the River. The Australian Migrant Experience is a comprehensive account of Gus's life.

Let's hope that Gus's name will live on in the redeveloped site. The pavement marker commemorating Gus will no doubt stay - just keep an eye on it as similar markers have a habit of being "mislaid" when there's a development.

I concur with your editorial "Lee's Libs need to be a real alternative" (January 15) but take issue with the suggestion the $100 million suburb spending spree is heading in the right direction.

I am underwhelmed and disheartened by their key platform "Putting your suburb first". It is a political cash splash designed to capitalise on the wave of discontent with the appearance of the city.

The last thing established Canberra suburbs require are more new public assets. It is the ongoing maintenance of existing assets and services and the lack of accountability within the assembly at a local government level that is the chronic problem.

This has been the case for years, even before the Labor-Greens partnership.

There is an inherent flaw in our unique city state model of self-government. It is a novel entity that is neither a state or a municipality.

Unfortunately none of the positive characteristics of local government were incorporated into the framework at the time of self-government.

A 25 member Legislative Assembly operating on a ministerial framework dominated along party political lines does not serving the ACT community needs at the local council level.

It always remains open to a future ACT government to review and possibly alter any aspect of the existing self-government model.

Well said Mario Stivala (Letters, January 16). Common sense does appear to be in short supply when it comes to the simple precaution of preventing COVID infections by wearing a mask.

Wearing the correct mask (N95 respiratory mask) mitigates the risk of infection by respiratory viruses of all types.

Vaccination to prevent severe disease with COVID does not prevent infection by the virus in the respiratory tract. This is a message that health authorities are failing to communicate.

Why aren't people taking the simple precaution of wearing a mask to mitigate the risk of COVID and therefore of long COVID?

Senator Penny Wong's choice not to visit the massacre sites during her visit to Israel is like going to Gallipoli and not paying a visit to Anzac Cove to pay respects to the fallen.

Australia and the world are watching Senator Wong.

Her choice to avoid paying her respects to the victims of the massacre denotes indifference, the taking of sides and a possible sympathy with Hamas.

Clive Williams ("Penny Wong is unlikely to sway Netanyahu government", January 16) claims Israel wants to replace Hamas in Gaza with the Palestinian Authority because the PA is easier to control.

He's wrong. Israel wants Hamas out of Gaza because it is a genocidal terrorist group committed to destroying Israel, not just because it is hard to control.

But Israel doesn't want the PA to replace it because the PA is corrupt, ineffective and encourages terrorism.

It's also important to note that the violence committed against Palestinians by extremist settlers is roundly condemned by Israeli leaders and enforcement action is taken against those responsible by Israeli authorities.

This is in sharp contrast to the way the Palestinian Authority glorifies and financially rewards Palestinian terrorists.

Well said R Webb ("South Africa's rampant hypocrisy", January15). Of all the countries to bring a case against Israel, South Africa should be the last one to lead the charge given its own record.

The dictionary defines "liberal" in many ways including favourable to progress and reform; leaving individuals as unrestricted as possible; free from prejudice or bigotry; giving freely and abundantly and not strict or rigorous. The federal Liberals don't meet any part of that. They should change the name to represent their true values.

We are very lucky in Canberra to have David Pope as the cartoonist for our local newspaper, in particular for his insightful commentary on the Gaza/Israel conflict. If he worked for the ABC he would have been sacked months ago.

Prime Minister Albanese may rest assured that no overall job losses will occur as patriotic Australians boycott Woolworths. Workers who lose their jobs will be redeployed by the competition.

Bill Stefaniak ("Pocock naive", January 16) is clearly too busy skolling the Kool Aid to see the truth. I suggest he open his eyes, mind and heart to what is actually happening to the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli Defence Force instead of continuing to try to defend the indefensible.

Mary is hardly glamorous. She is very plain. Her clothes sense leaves much to be desired to put it charitably. There is no comparison with the clothes and style of her mother-in-law Margarethe.

Denise Cameron (Letters, January 16) might care to research "Gillick competence" and "mature minor" consent to medical procedures. She would find such concepts already exist in NSW legislation where she lives.

Donald Trump promoted a lie, resulting in the storming of the US Capitol, property destruction, loss of life and over a 1000 charges being laid. Peter Dutton had a culture war dig at Woolworths, resulting in some rude graffiti. It is almost as if Mr Dutton isn't really trying.

Thanks for your article on Weereewa/Lake George. It's a fascinating and beautiful spot. Alas you didn't include any stories or history from the many thousands of years previous, which a Ngunnawal Traditional Owner would no doubt have shared.

Experts say Trump's trials could affect his success in the primaries. I doubt it. I think Trump will secure the nomination. Even if he is jailed he can be still be president from behind bars. That's the beauty and wonder of American democracy.