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Canberra Today 13°/16° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Letters / Standing up for the arboretum

EVERY great idea has its pessimist doomsayers. The National Arboretum has ex-forester Peter Marshall.

His diatribe against this fabulous venture (“Doom grows over the arboretum”, CN June 8), attracting more than half a million visitors a year, reminds me of the line from John O’Brien’s poem: “‘We’ll all be rooned,’ said Hanrahan”.

The arboretum is not a commercial timber plantation but a wonderful public garden. Marshall should stick to his knitting and reflect instead on the environmental ruin caused by his profession in our dwindling native forests as well as by habitat loss due to massive monoculture planting of Pinus radiata.

The arboretum should preserve his miserable outburst in a time capsule so that Canberrans 50 years hence can read it in the shade of the many magnificent oaks and have a chuckle at old-time thinking.

Peter Sesterka, Hawker

Thumbs up for Mr Hynes

GOOD on you, Mr John Hynes (“Dangerous dogs – much talk, little action”, CN, May 24). Ninety per cent of the public are with you.

Anyone who puts the protection of dogs above that of children, it’s obvious they don’t have children of their own.

Any responsible parent would automatically protect their child as Mr Hynes did.

Some dogs that are unregistered, not on a leash and running free are dangerous, but they’re all terrifying while running towards you and especially to children.

Two thumbs up to you, Mr Hynes.

M Thompson, Farrer

Dogs are ‘uncontrolled weapons’

WITH all the letters about unrestrained dogs, I feel I must share my experiences. I am now retired, but was a postie for 21 years.

In my opinion dogs are simply uncontrolled weapons and their owners think it’s funny to see a postie or a child doing all they can to get away from the “tough” dog straining to get to them. It’s quite amusing; I mean why would their beloved dog hurt anybody? It’s  harmless!

That is until you pull out an old golf stick to defend yourself. Not so funny then. They make a very wide berth, thinking you must be a lunatic!

Of course, you can report them to Australia Post management, but they don’t care. They’re too busy delivering letters in less than 2-3 weeks from Sydney (the best I’ve had is one day less than a month!).

By the way, I was brought up on a farm with dogs all of my life.

John Hobbins, Monash

Affordability by halves

THE ACT government can achieve market and treasury-preserving housing affordability by enabling committed owner-occupiers to directly purchase the front half of a new block of land, with an agreement to purchase the back half later.

The owner procures a planning-controlled “stage-one” house on the front half and pays the full-block’s rates. After a maximum of say, seven years, the owner completes the land purchase and may extend the house.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

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Ian Meikle, editor

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