Light rail is the recipe for a financial disaster for the ACT

It highlights the excessive and disproportionate amount of money being spent on the ACT government's light rail project. Such expenditure has contributed to the ACT's AAA credit rating being downgraded to AA+. Stage 2A will only add to the government's growing debt and increasing interest charges.

The major financial and engineering issues associated with the planned stage 2B to Woden are scary. Far more sensible transport options are outlined in the report, from a financial and practical perspective.

Similar to a dud defence procurement project gone wrong, the ACT government seems intent on digging a bigger financial and practical hole for itself, clinging to dogma that defies common sense.

The Woden to Civic bus service, from its earliest iteration as the 333, to the current R4 and R5, is effectively a "bus rapid transit" service. It has dedicated lanes, very limited stops and operates at high frequencies.

For travel between Woden Town Centre and Civic, this has been an excellent service for over three decades. It could be incrementally improved with a bit more capacity at peak times, a short extension of the bus lane opposite Phillip Pool and of course should be converted to electric vehicles once the new depot in Phillip is completed.

It does not need to be reinvented or replaced, which is obviously the core of the government's challenge in articulating the case for light rail stage 2B.

I believe that case can be made, as a key part of a city-wide network, but it is difficult to make for this route in isolation.

The notion that we should be investing in "trackless trams" or dedicated busways ("Ditch expensive light rail and push for trackless trams: advocates", February 23) to improve the service on this route is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem.

On Friday morning we awoke to the sound of chainsaws in our street. Being curious about what was happening, we found a group of ACT government workers and trucks cutting up a large dead street tree, which had fallen down across the road in the early hours. So far so good.

However, this is the same tree I had reported (with photos) via Access Canberra as potentially dangerous to people and property - first in July 2023, then again in September, and most recently in January 2024.

Of course, as to be expected from this government, nothing was done until it had to be done. As foreseen, and forewarned, the tree fell across a neighbours car causing damage. I wonder if the government is liable?

Fortunately no one was hurt (or worse). Had this happened a few hours later it could have been a disaster as our street is a morning rat-run from Hindmarsh Drive into Red Hill, Manuka, Parkes, and so on.

As it was, many vehicles seeking to use the street this morning were blocked on reaching the work site. They then had to to do U-turns via neighbouring driveways causing a bit of a minor traffic snarl.

Credit where credit is due however. The workers attending to the problem were very efficient and had it sorted in a few hours.

Like Jenna Price ("Banducci's horror interview offers lessons about usefulness of media training", February 23) I've worked on both sides of the media fence. She is right about the value (and pitfalls) of media training. On Four Corners we saw a Coles CEO well prepared with bland non-answers (but appearing uninvolved), while her Woolies counterpart, dressed to look like one of "the blokes", was obviously poorly briefed about the questions he was likely to get. Worse, nobody apparently told him that spitting the dummy in front of the camera invariably becomes the story - as it did.

Unfortunately, with one exception (the misleading way Coles markets its wines) the reporter was also lacking. There was no explanation about pricing strategies, not just at the farm gate, but right though the whole process up to the shelf (there might actually be some reasonable explanations).

We didn't get to explore possibilities because the reporter failed to probe either CEO with carefully thought through questions that demanded proper answers. Instead we got a series of leading questions (in which the answer is pre-supposed) that allows a well-prepared guest to easily evade a decent answer (as the Coles CEO did).

Good training is essential on both sides of the media fence and today we're not getting it on either.

I guess C Williams may call me one of "the usual band of Canberra propagandists for Israel" (Letters, February 20), but there are good reasons why so many of us have reached similar conclusions about this tragic conflict.

Many Jews (and non-Jews) truly understand the complexity of the deep historical issues underlying this tragic conflict and have very good reasons for not trusting any terrorist group, sworn to the destruction of Israel.

The 1947 UN Partition plan was the first of many opportunities for both Israel and Palestine to set up two nations living side by side in peace. Tragically, the opponents of the tiny Jewish state refused to accept this plan. Israel is now a modern, highly successful democratic nation. Palestinian leaders have repeatedly rejected a two state solution.

There were more Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) after 1948 (with a history going back over 2500 years) than Palestinians? That vast MENA region is now Judenrein (Jew free), except for one tiny Jewish state.

Israel is not perfect, but it is the only democracy in the region and its politics are fiercely contested.

Are the critics of the Israel lobby prepared to accept the fact that most Australian Jews have found common ground, are deeply concerned about the security of Israel, want to see a genuine two state solution and are prepared to express their concerns in a variety of forums?

I refer to media reports about ACT Greens MLAs divesting themselves of investments in Israel-based companies.

Whatever investment strategies they choose to adopt is entirely a personal matter for themselves but it should not constitute a media story.

There is an ACT election in October. Maybe they could tell us what they have done in three and a half years for their respective electorates and what they intend to do if re-elected.

I personally would not be directing my preferences to local MLAs who seem to think that grandstanding constitutes their elected roles.

Further to John Grace's letter about insane kangaroo culling in the ACT (Letters, February 19) we recently had overseas visitors who wanted to see kangaroos in "the bush capital".

We took them to all the places we used to see "tame" kangaroos (including Weston Park) without finding any. We ended up driving to Burra in NSW to find some.

Perhaps the bush capital needs to import a few kangaroos from NSW that are not gun-shy to keep our visitors happy?

As a retired marriage celebrant, I am disappointed by the article "Lodge your bets on location of wedding" (February 16).

In particular, an unfortunate remark by marriage celebrant Judy Aulich: "I would love to do a quickie in the Lodge" trivialises the importance of the marriage ceremony.

An authentic ceremony would normally involve extensive consultation with the two parties about their hopes and expectations for their shared life, and these would be reflected in a ceremony which is all about the couple and their values.

Similarly, a marriage celebrant would spend time assisting each party to craft their own vows, in words that encapsulate their deepest feelings for their partner, and become a public statement of their commitment.

A "quickie " it is not.

Vale Alexi Navelny. Thomas Jefferson wrote, the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Such was the sacrifice of this most noble of modern heroes. We should all bow our heads for a moment, in wonder of a man that held such deep and abiding love for his country and people, that he gave his life for it and for them.

The world is poorer and shines a less brightly without Alexi Navelny in it.

We live in troubled times, only with the help of such people will we survive.

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