Public servants are being coerced into compliant silence

More broadly, employees who are beholden to the employer 24/7 are under considerable pressure. It borders on coercion in many instances as a method of control leading to a supine workforce.

If employers demand acquiescence to employment policies outside of work hours, then they should pay for it, hour by hour. People should not be working for free. No pay, no say, Mr Employer.

Given all the talk coming out of the US and various sources in Australia (e.g. ASPI, the Opposition Leader) about the apparently inevitable forthcoming war between the US and China, into which Australia would ineluctably be drawn under our current interoperable defence arrangements with the US, I expect that plans are already being made to intern 1 million or so Australians of ethnic-Chinese origin?

If this forecast war is as inevitable as is being predicted in increasingly numerous quarters both here and abroad, I would imagine that managing those Australians would be a priority matter for Australian policy-makers.

I assume that any such plans would be a 'whole-of-government policy' and would involve Defence, DFAT and Home Affairs and that an IDC (inter-departmental committee) to develop a policy is well and truly under way.

Your columnist Ian Warden is correct about Canberra's quaint and peculiar characteristics ("Tell me I'm not the Lone Ranger", June 8).

The quietness of our beautiful city is all around us and this secret excitement lends itself to solitude. There is a delicate balance, though. While we love solitude and can't do without it, too little interaction can distort our sense of reality.

Thankfully, Canberrans can attend question time in Parliament House and observe realpolitik. And afterwards, wander lonely as a cloud towards Riverbend at CMAG.

Thanks, Sidney Nolan.

As a regular user of Florey shops I fully support the comments made by Steve Provins regarding the parking at these shops.

The Irvine has added life to the precinct but the absence of time restrictions on the most used parking spaces has reduced the amenity of a much-used local facility.

The Albanese government set a short-term target for emissions reduction and deserves credit for that. One can argue about the level of ambition but not the decision to opt for accountability rather than maximum wriggle room. Those representing their country at sport are measured on performance in the most unambiguous terms.

Why is it deemed acceptable for those aspiring, at least ostensibly, to represent the public interest to not want to set and achieve performance goals that really matter?

Re the ACT Brumbies' low attendances numbers. Rules are too complex. The free-flowing game of earlier decades and centuries is buried in a mire of infringements (mainly at the bottom of a scrum or ruck). The scrums and lineouts take too long to set.

In 1960s-70s, we forwards ran out, busted our guts, sucked on an orange for five minutes at half-time and were back for more intense physicality in the second half. I can't speak for the pretty boy (oops, can't say that these days) backs.

I wonder if the criticism of Brindabella Christian College's $100k investment is premature. Perhaps if Spot the robotic dog takes over as CFO, things might start to pick up?

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