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Canberra Today 17°/20° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Letters / Choir story raises questions

THE article, “New choir plans to empower girls through music” (CN July 5), does concern me, so I hope the choir replies.

quillNicole Muir, CEO of the hosting organisation, the Australian School of Performing Arts, says she “admits to a feminist agenda”, but appears not to have researched what feminism is all about. The girls perform mostly in pink or magenta.

The article also claims that “the girls are taught how to smile and … are coached in costume and make-up”. This is the opposite of feminist.

All babies learn to smile at around six months; so teaching females to smile (usually at males) is not necessary and even anti-feminist, as smiling becomes an act to placate and entertain.

Teaching make-up benefits the cosmetics industry, but simply teaches girls to paint themselves rather than learn to read music or otherwise hone their skills. Why can’t girls wear neutral colours, not have to dance all the time, learn skills rather than how to perform and decorate? In what way is Ms Muir a feminist?

Karis Sanderson, via email

Plastic surprise

MY wife did some shopping at Coles at the Belconnen Mall and when she got home she found all this plastic stuff in one of her bags. It all ended up in the rubbish bin!

Fred Wolf, Evatt

An angle on speed cameras

I READ with interest the article on speed cameras (CN, July 19). It is very obvious to anyone with any knowledge of basic geometry that the acuter the angle a speed recording is obtained the more inaccurate it is.

If you put your thinking cap on you will discover that taking a speed recording over the hypotenuse of a rapidly shortening angle guarantees inaccuracy.

In Victoria, on some main roads they mount the cameras on an overpass so that they can take a head-on reading. However they are still recording over a vertical hypotenuse and still the closer to the camera the motorist is the more inaccurate the reading will be.

In Victoria, from memory, there have been at least two infringements sent out for speeds beyond the car’s capacity. After an appeal they were quashed. I brought these points up when I received a speeding ticket. I was let off with a nice note from the issuing officer wishing me safe driving. I assumed from this that I was on the right track.

To repeat myself, the wider the angle and the closer the reading is taken to the device the more inaccurate the reading is.

In short, if you take a reading from the opposite side of a six-lane highway full of speeding cars it will be significantly out. Adding injury to that fact are the high penalties charged for even being five kilometres over the limit.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

Trees are heritage items

I REFER to the article July 12th by Cedric Bryant on tree removal on Commonwealth Avenue for stage 2 of the light rail development. I support his views and would further his comment.

I have reviewed the draft documentation released outlining the stage two route. Within the report there is a statement “around 36 trees will be removed from the median along Commonwealth Avenue. However, these trees are in decline so not an issue to remove them.”

As reported in the above-mentioned article these trees should be considered as a heritage value and worthy of retention.

I would like to point out that the trees are to be removed to allow the construction of the light rail in the median and its footprint requirements and not health issues. I would further outline that due to the impact of rail construction there will be insufficient room to plant trees legally.

I wonder why alternative locations for the rail were ever considered.

A further note, the proposed light rail runs along Kings Avenue median requiring removal of 20 more Cedrus spp. that also should be considered as an impact on heritage values of the road.

Have the designers of the Light Rail no responsibility to Canberra’s history?

John Easthope, Urban Planning, Hawker

Mess of the inner south

MANUKA and Kingston have rapidly become a metallic mess with wall-to-wall cars, separated only by roadworks, building signs and speed warnings.  

A number of things contribute to the mess; the absence of accurate early planning for the two suburbs concerned and too much money going to the tram (the present planning of which I have been told will blow out to $1.15 billion).

Parking is like a rugby scrum. Yes, there is a carpark, but repeatedly I have seen 80-100 vacant places advertised at most times of the day, and again I am told that in a climate of tight wages and overall incomes people can’t afford parking charges. This puts an unbearable burden on streets such as Franklin and Furneaux Streets with another three or four well-placed disabled parking spots needed urgently.

It can be well argued that these two suburbs could be the showplace of Canberra, especially because of their proximity to the new and old Parliament Houses, Telopea Park, Manuka Oval and the swimming pool and Lake Burley Griffin. At present, too many empty shops and dilapidated buildings detract from the natural beauty of the area. Urgent surgery is needed.

Colliss Parrett, Barton

 

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