The ACT needs independents to break the policy deadlock

I hope that Canberrans take such assertions from the big three parties with a large grain of salt. The evidence from the federal Parliament suggests independents have significantly improved legislation because they put more weight on the community's views than those rusted on to the "party line".

This is particularly pertinent for the ACT given we do not have an upper house or house of review.

If we re-elect an ACT Labor/Greens majority government it will continue to whatever it wants. If we elect a majority Liberal government, we get whatever they choose.

I suggest that Canberrans vote for any and all credible independent candidates.

If we can get at least one in each seat there will be five across Canberra.

That would markedly improve the assembly. Independents could, and almost certainly would, insist on community consultation, transparency, and accountability.

These are really important for good governance. Independents would also be able to guard against extremes on both the left or right.

On the matter of President Biden losing his train of thought: I am the same age as Biden. I have been retired for 17 years.

When I talk with my friends we often have a pause when we lose a word or a phrase.

We call it a "senior moment?"

Should we now call it a "Biden moment"?

The ACT Liberals too often slide back to their comfort zone of socially conservative, if not reactionary, voting records on personal rights, principles and related reforms.

On June 5 only four Liberal MLAs, including the Leader of the Opposition and her deputy, voted for the voluntary assisted dying bill that will give very ill individuals choice about the timing of their death, if they meet quite restrictive eligibility criteria.

Five Liberals chose to vote against it. Then, on June 6, when the "Paterson" motion was put to and debated by the Legislative Assembly, to enable it to receive a report in May 2025 on pathways that could assist individuals who have gone through all the assessment and approval stages for VAD but then lost capacity and thus their access to VAD, only one Liberal MLA voted for it.

Seven Liberals including the Leader of the Opposition and her deputy voted against allowing this exploratory work and reporting exercise to proceed.

It is therefore hard to believe the moderates' reported view that "... conscience voting in the party means the big scary conservative social agenda is hardly a threat".

There is no convincing evidence to suggest that the following would avert reversion to the past: "... In government, if the Liberals split, the progressives would vote with the moderates . No threat to abortion access, voluntary assisted dying or whatever other cause you nominate, they say ... ".

If a majority of socially conservative Liberals held full or minority power in the assembly, how many would support bipartisanship on personal rights and basic humanity, and how many would be guided by personal and religious beliefs or religious lobbying?

We deserve answers.

Peter Dutton's policy embrace of nuclear energy was a smoke screen used to keep us reliant on fossil fuels.

It was a theme pursued by the media who were less critical of the Labor government's approval of coal and gas projects and ignored their sudden welcome of a return to fast rail.

The government has allocated $500 million towards high-speed rail even though previous governments have carried out similar studies and abandoned the idea as too expensive.

In 2013, the Australasian Transport Research Forum put the cost of a high speed rail line at around $17 to $43 million per kilometre. The Sydney to Newcastle link would involve 50 kilometres of tunnels. One tunnel would have to be 30 kilometres long.

It is these sorts of costs that have led to the curtailment of high speed rail projects and operational losses in existing lines in all countries where they are in use, including Japan.

The government's failure to heed these results matches Albert Einstein's thought that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

If we assume that the current minister is not insane, then there must be a reason for contemplating such an expensive undertaking. This was made evident by the High Speed Rail Authority's objectives, which are to identify plans for large-scale urban development for future housing. It would be a bonanza for developers, a repeat of the corruption that followed the establishment of Sydney's second airport and another victory for the lobbyists who pervert our democracy.

In her letter (July 11) Anne Willenborg berates you for using "average" and "median" as if they were interchangeable.

While it is true that the terms are not synonymous, the median is in fact one of several possible precise measures of the more vague idea of average.

No doubt Anne was correctly drawing attention to the superiority, for house prices, of the median over another measure, the mean (or average).

Keith Hill's reflection (Letters, July 8) on the moral position of a senator who has a change of heart about the party that sponsored their position in Parliament causes me to think back to a time when the NSW government paid my university fees and a living allowance so I could become a teacher of the baby boomers.

In return I was under a bond to teach for a given number of years in NSW or the ACT.

The Wyndham scheme of 1966 had a brand new syllabus but no textbooks.

Twice I was transferred long distances midyear. After three years, exhausted, I resigned, breaking my bond. My Dad helped me pay back what I owed.

Just saying.

I agree with Bill Deane's views of pop singer Taylor Swift (Letters, July 3).

Perhaps her live shows are a good night out for entertainment.

But as a recording artist Taylor Swift has an ordinary and, in my view, effectively indistinguishable typical modern "pop" voice.

I was not aware of any of her "hits" until I heard one on the radio recently because she was identified beforehand as the singer.

"Great, I'll get to hear what Taylor Swift sounds like and hopefully discover what all the fuss and hype was about," I thought.

I was underwhelmed by her vocal ability and her song, just as Bill Deane was.

My 1975 contract with the then Commonwealth Public Service gave me a CSS pension that would be indexed to compensate for the increase in cost of living as measured by the then CPI index.

Given that the CPI was changed in 1990 by ABS to be a measure of the performance of the economy and hasn't been a true measure of the increase in the cost of living since then, the Commonwealth has been illegally paying CSS pensioners by an incorrect index.

This was confirmed when the ABS told three separate inquiries into CSS and Defence pension indexation in 2002, 2003 and 2009 that the CPI was not a measure of the increase in cost of living.

When Jenny Macklin introduced the PBLCI for aged pensioners she also said, and it was incorporated into Hansard, that the CPI is no longer a measure of the increase in cost of living.

My pension hasn't even kept pace with CPI. It is up only 102 per cent in 27 years compared to 104 per cent for the CPI.

In all the years it was in opposition the ALP promised to revise the indexation.

Then Lindsay Tanner immediately reneged on the promise when the ALP got into office.

You can't trust politicians.

Those correspondents who keep calling for Senator Payman to resign and seek re-election might like to explain why.

The current rules have been in place for decades.

I can't recall them ever being officially challenged in the Parliament or in any party room.

Nor do I recall any similarly intensive public outcry over the matter when other MPs have taken, equally legally, the same decision.

I wonder why this young, intelligent, devout Muslim woman of non-Anglo background is uniquely attracting such negative and often offensive reactions.

Letters to the editor should be kept to 250 or fewer words. To the Point letters should not exceed 50 words. Reference to The Canberra Times reports should include a date and page number. Provide a phone number and address (only your suburb will be published).

Responsibility for election comment is taken by John-Paul Moloney of 121 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra. Published by Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd.