News location:

Canberra Today 12°/16° | Saturday, March 30, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Letters / Malcolm, best leader Labor never had

MALCOLM Turnbull needed a few more days in The Lodge, thinks columnist Robert Macklin (CN, September 20). Really?

Why? So he could destroy, irrevocably, the Liberal Party he purported to lead?

Fortunately rank-and-file members persuaded senior Liberals to vote him out – and, displaying (for the second time) that he wasn’t going to stick around, he petulantly upped and flew to his $US3 million, New York dwelling (“Mr Central Park Mansion”?) leaving Australian taxpayers to pay for the upcoming Wentworth by-election.

Malcolm was the best leader Labor never had. Fortunately, most Liberals agreed and tossed him out.

It doesn’t matter that Robert Macklin thinks Prime Minister Morrison looked uncomfortable in Jakarta – he’s comfortable here at home and the majority of Australians are comfortable with him (just ask Bill Shorten).

Christina Faulk, Swinger Hill

What’s not said

MUCH has been said about pill testing and its implications for our youth. But much has been left unsaid.

For any government to approve such testing is akin to replacing the Therapeutic Goods Administration with a government directive on what substances can be ingested, when toxicologists and other professionals have said the testing equipment is unreliable and can give false results by failing to detect some dangerous substances.

Colliss Parrett, Barton

Trams without tracks

I HAVE again heard on radio about trams that don’t have to run on a light rail.

It’s a Chinese-tested invention of a tram-like vehicle that runs along a road, not on an expensive dedicated light rail. It is controlled by satellite and runs on rubber wheels.

No need to disrupt businesses on the light rail construction route. Is has been costed at less than the old-fashioned type of rail we are going to be given.

Townsville in Queensland and WA are looking at taking up construction of such a system. If we wanted to extend such a system we merely buy more vehicles, not spend on the present destructive, expensive, time-consuming system. Why are we waiting for others to overtake us?

Lesley McGrane, Watson

Changing view of planning

COLUMNIST Paul Costigan should not be surprised that our chief planner or his directorate should change their minds (“Is working with residents that hard?” CN, September 20).

Here are some other examples:

  • He increased the number of elements in the Territory Plan from 95 to more than 300. Now he says the Territory Plan is too complicated.
  • He may be right. The directorate rejected a development application for two new Dickson supermarkets. Then it approved it. Then ACAT rejected it.
  • Before he became chief planner he created 60 new Precinct Codes. Then he realised that the Planning and Development Act requires codes to include rules or criteria. Oops!
  • In Notifiable Instrument NI 2012-622 he said that Technical Amendment TA 2012-06 amended Zone Development Tables, created Precinct Maps, created Precinct Codes, created a new Development Code and relocated Territory Plan provisions into both Precinct Maps and Precinct Codes. Did he realise that the Act requires major Territory Plan changes to be referred to the minister and to the Planning Committee?

Leon Arundell, via website

 

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Share this

One Response to Letters / Malcolm, best leader Labor never had

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews