Govt should resume Thoroughbred Park for development

What would the board of a horse racing business know about urban development? I would bet that this development will enrich the interests of Thoroughbred Park rather than maximise the benefits for the Canberra community.

Thoroughbred Park is on 64 hectares of prime real estate in Lyneham. It is centrally located and serviced by the tram. This is the perfect location for a range of much needed community facilities, including public and affordable housing.

Canberra Racing only survives due to the $7 million annual rate payer subsidy that covers half of its annual outgoings. To undertake the massive urban redevelopment it has to first get agreement from government for a Territory Plan Variation to rezone broadacre to a high density residential. This act of rezoning will create a windfall worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

A lot of struggling businesses would love this gift. How does Canberra Racing get this opportunity without a competitive process?

The alternative is that the government resume the site and capture this benefit for ACT residents. It was done with the Calvary Hospital site. The government could then manage the urban design master plan for the site on behalf of Canberrans. Canberra Racing obviously has more pull than the Catholic church.

The recent pay increase for APS secretaries has highlighted how their pay has become obscene.

Approximately $20,000 per week is over the top. It would not pass the pub test and this is for just sitting on top of a monopoly. No competition. No customers. No shareholders meetings. No dividends. No tax to pay. No productivity metrics and little accountability.

I think George Orwell was a little early.

Everyone and his dog are is talking about "the target". A target has a bullseye, an inner and an outer score. Some targets have more scoring rings. If you miss the bullseye you still get some points.

If we miss the bullseye for the climate change target it will be because we did not do enough.

We should be trying, and trying damn hard; not sitting back and whining and whinging about the cost or playing political games. If we push for more of the old and worn out systems we will certainly miss the target. Completely.

And we will be left with some dirty nuclear waste or ashes to be disposed of somewhere.

Don't hit the "bomb button" with Dutton. Go flat out with Albanese. Easy.

I've never understood why Australia has been so antagonistic toward nuclear power. In my opinion, nuclear power generation needs to be considered even if it doesn't come on line until 2040.

Australia will still need non carbon-burning energy provision of some sort 24 hours a day. However, Peter Dutton's proposal to go nuclear smells primarily of being a wedging initiative against Labor.

In any event, I'm confident that based on their recent performance in charge of the country, any future Coalition government would be utterly incompetent at implementing an effective nuclear power strategy.

The awarding of the Companion of Australia to the former premiers of Victoria and Western Australia is a cruel insult to those millions of citizens who needlessly suffered as a result, respectively, of one the greatest failures in public administration and sheer legislative stubbornness.

The approach of both men to the handling of the coronavirus in 2020 and 2021 was akin to a pest controller bulldozing an entire house in order to deal with a rat infestation. Granted, the original problem is solved, but the degree of collateral damage is almost incalculable.

Shutting down schools, a state border or domestic travel was lazy, with long lockdowns ultimately an admission of failure.

True leadership is about managing risk and protecting both lives and livelihoods. To that end, if any leader deserves a King's Birthday award it should be former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who was the standout public servant during that difficult social season.

She spoke to her constituents with compassion, rather than antagonism, handled the lion's share of returning international travellers, and managed to balance personal responsibility with judicial regulations, rather than simply locking people up or out.

So Australia is to foot the bill to salvage the Puamau patrol boat it gifted to Fiji.

It's said a friend in need is a friend indeed. Australia is such a friend. When border surveillance on the seas surrounding Fiji became critically important to keep a tab on drug trafficking (and keep Chinese influence in check) Australia gave this state-of-the-art naval patrol vessel to Fiji.

When that vessel got stuck on a reef for reasons as yet undisclosed Australia has come forward to help with the salvaging and the bill.

Fiji is lucky to have such a generous friend.

It is extremely disappointing and concerning that opposition leader Peter Dutton has turned his back on climate action this decade.

Up to 84 per cent of Australians have been directly impacted by climate-change-fuelled events such as heatwaves, floods, bushfires or droughts since 2019.

The cost-of-living crisis is also worsened by climate threats as evidenced by rising home insurance premiums.

By failing to provide policy that would urgently tackle these climate impacts, the federal LNP is ignoring their responsibility to protect Australian people from harm. Our economy, environment, and collective well-being will suffer from this irresponsible and retrograde decision.

Once again Chinese students are bussed in to drown out legal protests against the Chinese Premier. How can we let this happen?

Then Chinese officials try to disrupt a press conference in Parliament so a former Chinese detainee cannot be seen or filmed.

This is outrageous behaviour. If the PM does not protest and Senator Wong does not call in the Chinese ambassador for a dressing down we are a laughing stock.

No one would question the courage of people like Barry Traill who put their lives on the line for the good of our community, nor fail to appreciate their commitment. ("I've nearly died fighting bushfires. Dutton is gutless on climate", June 17)

Without even becoming prime minister, Peter Dutton is fast building an army of "Dutton haters" to rival the old "Menzies hater" and the not so old "Howard hater" armies.

Is this because he is an effective leader? Because he demands answers? Because he is a relentless challenger to the status quo? Or because he is a threat to the current government?

Opposing what is proffered as the accepted wisdom might be considered unscientific or even silly (ask Galileo), but rather than it being considered a display of gutlessness, I believe it is more often a display of courage.

It appears the electorate is beginning to appreciate the emergence of a leader with courage and with a commitment to practical solutions for our energy supply.

According to one poll, Peter Dutton is now the preferred prime minister.

Well, well, Robert James (Letters, June 18) now that you mention it, the compensation paid to slaughtered Palestinians should be the same as the compensation Hamas paid to the slaughtered and kidnapped Israelis. I believe that is zero.

Barry Traill is to be congratulated for his article "I've nearly died fighting bushfires. Dutton is gutless on climate" (June 17). Unlike many federal politicians he has experienced a grim reality of climate change: wildfires made more severe and widespread by the heat and winds of a warming atmosphere. Peter Dutton seems inclined to join forces with climate change deniers such as Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and Keith Pitt and ignore what is in plain view all around the world: record-breaking heat waves, floods, droughts, and wildfires.

These people will soon realise that the cost of inaction easily outweighs the cost of doing the right thing for their country - and humanity.

The headline read: "Australian city world's second most unaffordable, with four others among top 20". How unfortunate have we become after we were the envy of the world.

On June 15 the question was asked in The Canberra Times on Saturday "who comes after Andrew Barr?". The answer is surely "anyone else would do".

The Greens spokesperson for Justice and Digital Rights is correct. Rather than victimising minors who are soft targets Attorney-General Dreyfus go after the source of the harm; those who monetise the "deep fake" algorithms and programs.

I like Kevin McCue's suggestion of a nuclear power plant in Lake Burley Griffin (Letters, June 15). If it heats the water enough we might have a "Canberra bubble" for real.

Re the suggestion of a nuclear power station for Canberra, how about windfarms on Mt Ainslie, Black Mountain and Red Hill?

Australia has probably missed the golden opportunity to build nuclear power stations. Before the proponents get my vote I would like to be told how long it would take, what it would cost and what would be done with the nuclear waste.

How can anyone reject the word "gotten" when it is used such classics as the The Man Of La Mancha (Original Broadway caste)? When Dulcinea asks Sancho Panza what he gets out of serving Don Quixote, Sancho replies: "Why, I've gotten ... I've gotten ..." He can't think of anything he's gotten. (He replies simply "I like him".)

The only effective and lasting way to defend Israel is to bring justice to the Palestinian people. That process needs to start with an orderly withdrawal of settlers from the West Bank and with a substantial investment by Israel in the rebuilding of Gaza, including the olive orchards they bulldozed.

Re: "Such an old white guy': Health staff slam Howard's Sirius interjection" (June 17). Better to be a white old fart than a young drongo.

I'll be making my usual pilgrimage to the next Lifeline Southside Bookfair at the end of this month. I'll undoubtedly be joined by thousands of other like minded and informed Canberra bibliophiles. In advance I would like to thank the Lifeline volunteers and staff who make a Canberra institution an enjoyable event. Who says our city has no soul?

Mr Setka's trademark head-high tackling has all the merit of a drop kick.