“The grand-daddy waste of money of them all is the perseverance with light rail, despite the availability of much cheaper public transport options that can be delivered far quicker and to the entire city,” says letter writer COLIN LYONS, of Weetangera.

Upgrades to Sulwood Drive and the ongoing speed restrictions are taking an eternity and one might ask for what purpose and benefit?

I have driven regularly along that road over the last four years and infrequently was there more than one car waiting at the Mannheim Street T junction.

I have never seen an accident, yet the government has spent a lot of money on a set of lights (between $500,000 and $1 million) that simply were not needed. 

There still remains only one lane in each direction, so why all the expensive road upgrade? 

A very experienced traffic engineer told me that traffic lights increase the incidence of tail-end collisions, which is quite understandable as motorists brake suddenly and unexpectedly.

Furthermore, a small fortune has been spent on a “Rolls Royce” bike path, which is also taking months to complete.

This substantial investment could have been far better spent on maintaining our parks and gardens, footpaths and upgrades to more suburban shopping centres. 

Maybe the government could even have reduced the punitive level of taxes and charges in Canberra if this massive spending had not been incurred.

Of course, the grand-daddy waste of money of them all is the perseverance with light rail, despite the availability of much cheaper public transport options that can be delivered far quicker and to the entire city. 

This unwarranted set of traffic lights is a good case of a solution waiting for a problem!

Colin Lyons, Weetangera

Could you boast about the state of Canberra?

A recent letter was boasting about how a majority of Canberrans voted for the Voice in opposition to the rest of the country. 

I wonder if this person would boast about Canberrans voting for a government that has lost its AAA rating, seen its hospital and education system go from one of the best in the country to one of the worst, CIT and HRMIS failure, failure to maintain and protect outdoor community facilities such as Phillip Pool, increase of heat-seeking high rises apartments while pretending to care for the environment, lies about the ACT being powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, cosy dealings with unions and no transparency in its spending of our tax dollars. 

Then we have another writer with a bit more sense outlining how Barr has transformed Canberra from an open, tree-lined city with much green space to a suburban concrete jungle of houses and units crammed in with little space to go outside and cool down in the heat rather than use a community facility like an open, fresh air Olympic-sized pool, with the most likely outcome to sit inside a unit using air conditioning which the neighbouring state of NSW is telling its residents to limit the use of.

As for the trivial issue of flying the flag, I wonder how this person would handle it if the Aboriginal flag that represents three per cent of the total population was removed from all government buildings? 

Ian Pilsner, Weston

Increase housing land is the only solution

In my letter describing Henry George’s method to reduce house prices by providing low cost land (CN November 14), I have been approached by people concerned by the effect of falling house prices causing them to make a loss on their mortgages.

The solution to that problem is simple. Since the government has been the major gainer from increased property prices, through land sales and increased land taxes, it would just guarantee to pay any financial losses on a mortgage during a resale. Nobody would be worse off. As all property prices will be going down in value at the same rate, property owners will remain relatively well off.

Ideas to subsidise house buyers will not work, as it will increase demand. To solve the housing crisis, you have to increase supply, and reduce supply prices. Increasing the supply of housing land is the only solution, not increasing demand.

Tim Walshaw, Watson

Will dad test Barron’s belief?

In his opinion piece, Lessons in how to win an (American) election (CN November 21) Andrew Hughes rightly attributes Trump’s appearances on podcasts such as Joe Rogan, as a major factor in his victory.

These appearances provided Trump with opportunities to speak directly to young, white, non-college educated males, who felt Trump was speaking directly to them, understood their fears, and had the answers to their concerns.

Clips from these podcasts were subsequently watched many millions of times on other social media channels also frequented by young men.

As a result, Trump was successful in garnering 56 per cent of this 18-29 cohort, compared to 41 per cent in 2020, and many were voting for the first time. A huge bonus for Trump.

What is less well known, is the significant role Barron, Trump’s youngest son, and his “bestie” Bo Loudon, played in the development and implementation of this strategy.

Like many, I always wondered how Barron regards his father. Particularly after watching him walk awkwardly down Pennsylvania Avenue to the first inauguration, and more latterly, seeing him on stage on the night of his father’s re-election, appearing to be quite emotionless.

Given the assistance he gave his father’s campaign, there seems to be no doubt that Barron is indeed a “true believer”.

It will be interesting to see if he remains so when the implementation of his father’s policies inevitably fails to provide the outcomes this cohort is hoping for.

Ian De Landelles, Murrays Beach, NSW

Where is the Australian food?

Where is the Australian food? We’ve got the choice of Pakistani rice, Chinese beetroot, Indian peanut butter and Turkish dried fruit. Then there’s American cherries, Chilean frozen blueberries and tuna from all over the place. 

Help. I want to support Australian farmers!

Sue Pittman, via email

Another year of turmoil for council

The government-funded Conservation Council held its annual general meeting on November 21. The meeting capped another year of turmoil for its board. 

The board had summarily expelled me, a long-standing member of its Transport Working Group, because I had argued for bus rapid transport. The Magistrates Court rejected its application for a court order to prohibit me from contacting the council or writing about it in the media. 

The council’s executive director, treasurer, climate campaigner and vice president subsequently resigned. None of the remaining office-bearers stood for re-election to their positions. 

Candidates were asked to state their positions on light rail. One candidate referred to the ACT government’s submission to Infrastructure Australia, which found that bus rapid transit would be twice as cost-effective as light rail. 

Damien Haas, of the Public Transport Association, responded with the bizarrely incorrect claim that the government’s submission concluded that light rail would be the better option. 

Haas was elected in preference to the other candidate. 

Stephanie Booker, who had not previously served on the board, was elected as the council’s new president.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Electronic transfer avoids the card fees

Gerdina Byant has complained about the Australian Taxation Office charging her for paying with a debit card (“ATO charged me for paying my tax bill!”. letters, CN November 21).

There is a form of electronic payment to the ATO that doesn’t attract any fee: electronic transfer (without a debit card).

John Burge, Curtin