Poverty amid plenty, environmental destruction, mistrust of institutions, rampant urban spread, employment uncertainty, disaffected youth and financial chaos, welcome to Planet Barr, says letter writer BILL O’CONNELL.

As 2024 dawns, a picture of Planet Barr and its clapped-out ministerial asteroids, orbiting Yes, Minister bureaucracies and neoliberal gas rings emerges.

Poverty amid plenty, environmental destruction, mistrust of institutions, rampant urban spread, employment uncertainty, disaffected youth and financial chaos.

Swarming Planet Barr, 6000 settlers a year seeking sustenance, shekels and shelter, only to crash-land on government and bureaucratic planning wastelands, packed with superseded billion-dollar transport rattlers and a rainbow roundabout.

Housing scarcity is pushing prices to an average of $1.1 million, units to $700,000 plus, with renters squeezed, 1800 homeless and up to a five-year wait for public housing.

Hospitals are beset by staffing shortages and overcrowded emergency departments, with doctors and nurses suffering from burnout.

Schools struggle to find and retain teachers and support staff to deal with larger class sizes and reduced individual attention.

Green space is being pillaged.

Public housing is proof the Labrals and Greenrals on London Circuit think social justice is a nag running in the fifth at Kembla Grange.

An example.

A southside Housing ACT complex, home to the elderly and disabled, resembles a garbage dump, a tree branch and bark littered fire hazard, a rodent’s playground, replete with leaking roofs, collapsed brick walls, cracked footpaths, and a sinking roadway swimming pool.

Solution?

Either elect independents, abolish the Legislative Assembly and return Canberra to federal government advisory bodies, or create local councils, say four, two northside, two southside.

Bill O’Connell, Chapman

The anti-Australia Day whine is alive and well

SEEMS like the annual anti-Australia Day whine is alive and well with big corporates such as Woolworths and Aldi refusing to sell Australia Day items. 

What is becoming a tiresome waste of time each year is organisations such as Woolies devaluing Australia Day. 

January 26 is symbolic because it marks the settlement, modernisation and colonisation of Australia. Eleven old sailing ships made their way peacefully into Sydney Harbour full of convicts and free settlers. Anti-Australia Day advocates like to think there were no free settlers, but a lot of the guards/marines/others had no intention of going back to England. 

The first few years were very tough with little success farming in the hot and dry climate. Starvation was an issue and supplies had to be sent from other countries. Perseverance prevailed and we now have a modern, first-world country with a health system that is the envy of the rest of the world.

January 26,1788, was a peaceful and idyllic day (unlike other national days, eg Independence Day and Bastille Day), no Aboriginal people were killed or harmed, some had even ventured down to Sydney Cove to see the fishing pots of Capt Arthur Phillip and his crew the day before. Anti-Australia Day advocates imply racism that it is a white invasion, but neglect the fact there were 12 Africans on board the First Fleet. 

They also feel like they are speaking on behalf of indigenous people in not celebrating Australia Day, but neglect another fact that many indigenous people do celebrate Australia Day and may not want Australia Day changed. If one looks at the anti-Australia Day protests the majority of them are white, fairly young and many do not even know what they are protesting against, confusing Capt Cook with Capt Phillip.

Australia Day is the one and only day of the year where we can all get together and celebrate what a great nation we have become, through thick and thin, good and bad. 

Ian Pilsner, Weston

Stop the wind turbines killing birds

Well done letter writer Ian Pilsner (“What the weird lot write”, CN January 4). We have been fighting this disaster for many years. 

What about the environmental devastation from wind and solar? Of course, we must destroy to save. Ha! Go nuclear. Stop the wind turbines killing our birds and other critters.

Julie Gray, Tarago, NSW

Happy New Year to all, weird or otherwise

I had hoped, with sublime optimism, that our well-educated, letter-writing community might start the New Year with a burst of intellectually-based assessments, clothed in respectful acknowledgement of others’ viewpoints. 

Sadly, it was not to be. Heading up CN’s first contributory missives for 2024 (January 4), our ever-energetic penman, Ian Pilsner, shows how much he respects his fellow letter writers by describing them as “weird” – just because they speak against nuclear power for Australia. 

Never mind the experts’ conclusion that nuclear is an uneconomic and time-short proposition for this country compared with renewables. Conservative Ian is similarly disparaging of those who vote for parties that happen to be outside his ideological frame of mind. 

Ironic really, since Ian and the politically like-minded are always keen to give us the impression they are vigorous supporters of our monarchy-led “liberal democracy” (sic), which supposedly enables freedom of choice and equality for everyone. Happy New Year anyway to all, weird or otherwise.

Eric Hunter, Cook

Disgusted by eating area’s filth and rubbish

Occasionally, my husband and I treat ourselves to a meal and coffee at Hungry Jacks Burgers Belconnen. We have both been disgusted at the filth and rubbish in the outside/lakeside eating area serving Hungry Jacks and Oporto. This area is filthy. 

While we were considering where to sit, two families walked away saying it was disgusting with overgrown shrubs, litter, filth on paving, even rubbish stuck between slats on tables and seating and weeds everywhere. So this is going to be the cleanest/greenest city, oh dear!

Years ago it was an absolute delight to drive into and around Canberra. Not any more. Overgrown nature strips, parks and walkways, it’s really on the nose I am sad to say. Footpaths are a hazard.

I am enclosing photos of the eating area between Hungry Jack’s and Oporto in Belconnen, see for yourselves.

This area has been like this now for a couple of years.

Claire Eames, via email

Stop the ‘crazy’ spending on the tram

Since 1975, patronage of our public transport has fallen rapidly such that only 7 per cent of our working population use it. Thirty years ago a bus trip from the outer suburbs to Civic door-to-door took 90 minutes and, as of December 30, that figure is unchanged.

So what? If you keep doing the same thing and nothing changes, perhaps you need to take a different approach. Stage 1 of light rail has cost us nearly $2 billion and, to date, Stage 2A is heading to $900,000. 2B will cost around $3 billion for about 11,000 people. Just crazy.

According to government sources, Stage 2B will be a number of years off but we are all concerned about greenhouse emissions. We could solve that tomorrow by immediately reaching out to industry and buying and replacing our 451 diesel and gas buses with electric right now.

But what we need is a moratorium and cessation of further work on buying trams. During a moratorium period, we need to talk face-to-face with each catchment and find out what it would take to leave the car at a park and ride. It has never been done.

Clearly, the majority of the commuting public don’t want to use public transport but the government continues to ignore the elephant in the room: waste our money on a project that doesn’t stack up.

Light your candle folks. In 2024 let the government know you will not exchange municipal services, health, education etcetera for a money gobbling tram.

 Ryss Morison, via email

Catch the solar-powered, electric bus

Isn’t it about time Chief Minister Barr and Minister Rattenbury dragged themselves out of the 19th century in wanting trams for Canberra’s future public transport. 

They need to do away with their three-piece suits and black homburgs that were appropriate for a sedate tram ride through Berlin or Prague in the 1880s and immediately reconsider Stage 2 of the light rail project.

Stage 2 is not only an economic and commercial joke, it is also an environmentally irresponsible option compared with 21st century solar-powered electric buses which do not require permanent steel rails and overhead wires produced from energy-intensive industries. 

We have all heard the specious argument that light rail will give developers the certainty to invest in housing developments along the tram lines. 

Looking around Canberra, I don’t think developers need much incentive to invest in such a beautiful city. Moreover, it is unlikely that future demographics and associated demand for urban housing will always remain in lockstep with permanent tram tracks – electric buses are a much more flexible option.

Bob Allen, Fadden

Health suffers as spending continues on ‘stupid tram’

My experience at old Calvary hospital recently was the same as columnist Robert Macklin’s at Canberra Hospital last year. 

I saw my GP at 5pm due to breathlessness and high pulse rate > 130 (I’m 84) and he called an ambulance and sent me to Calvary. 

I did go straight into emergency and a cubicle and bed, but from then on it was slow and, after 11 hours, I discharged myself at 5.30am and got an Uber home. 

I had blood tests, a chest X-ray and a CT scan just after midnight. I had a brief discussion with the intern about the blood tests, not much about the X-ray and the CT result wasn’t available after four hours. 

No sleep was possible with the beep-beep of monitors, snoring patients, a troubled possibly autistic child (nurses were very good with him). Eventually at 5am Dr Google suggested I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic cephalexin, breathlessness and breathing difficulties, so I discharged myself knowing that I wasn’t going to have a heart attack and went home to have a sleep.

The state of the health care system is to be expected, given the bucket load of money being spent on a stupid tram. 

Barr and co should go to Stirling in WA and check out the Chinese trackless tram that is being trialled. At about $4 million each, we could have 200 of them, running on all the major roads in Canberra, just for the price of the tram extension to Commonwealth Park. 

Of course, they won’t look at a trackless tram as that would mean admitting that they were wrong in the first place.

How Barr et al can lie through their face about the state of the healthcare system, the swimming pools, the roads, basketball halls for Canberra Capitals to play on (Radford has a better facility than the ACT!) is beyond me and most of the ACT population.

Dave Roberts. via email

Gone with the lake…

Columnist Robert Macklin (CN January 4) compares the Chief Minister with the fictional character Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) in Gone with the Wind. 

A non-fiction comparison could be Emperor Nero, a petulant ruler who is alleged to have planned the destruction of a great city to rebuild it in accordance with his own vision.

John Dowden, via email

ACT government ‘suckered’ into the PPP racket

Many are rightly appalled at the eye-wateringly high cost of light rail here. 

The PPP (“Public Private Partnership”) delivery method, put together by lawyers and giant “can-do” head contractors, is largely to blame. 

PPPs are reportedly responsible for the excessive end costs of the new Cotter Dam and ACT Courts projects – and look at where Snowy Hydro 2 is going. 

The ACT government has been suckered into this racket, largely abandoned elsewhere. Sub-contractors and suppliers frequently get screwed over. Design is often made expedient, or compromised – take a look at the way that the bulky new ACT Courts building blocks the important University Avenue vista to City Hill. 

Scrap PPPs now, and, in the public interest, get back to thorough independent feasibility studies and systems assessments, comprehensive design documentation, watertight contracts and competitive tendering.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

News outlet with no stomach for scandals?

In his article “Smears, secrets and bastardry by which bank?” (CN January 11), Robert Macklin wrote of the battle between the big banks and customers with grievances will continue in 2024, and “we’ll all celebrate when the occasional scandal hits the pages of our news outlets big and small”.

Perhaps we shall celebrate, but I would be mightily surprised if such scandals were published by the News Corp press.

Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Not vaping at all is the best option

Re Ross Fitzgerald’s column “The case for vaping as the least worst option” (CN December 14). 

Sorry Ross, but plumbing the depths of reason and logic tells me that not vaping at all is the least worst option. And the same for the other drugs.

Colliss Parrett, Barton

Unhappy new year for human rights

Happy New Year to Canberrans, at least those of whom are not locked up at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) – Canberra’s prison.

While I am unsure who made the gravy (thank you, Paul Kelly), what I do know is that current detainees and new detainees at the AMC were royally let down over the Christmas period.

Visit bookings were unavailable for some visitors/detainees, as the visits officer was apparently not present. Many detainees missed out on Christmas visits due to this issue; clearly this also impacted on their loved ones who had expectations to be able to visit.

This involved limited staff available to induct new detainees ie provide prison clothing, phone calls to loved ones and, in one instance, a newly inducted detainee being unable to make a phone call to the RSPCA to care for his dogs and chickens.

I cannot imagine the overwhelming fear and anxiety for first timers, ie first time being remanded in custody, where there was no one to provide induction booklets to assist them in their navigation of the AMC.

As I often do, I am scratching my head and wondering just exactly what a “human rights” prison facility means to detainees locked up at the AMC, as well as their loved ones, and the general community.

Human rights are not a privilege; they are legislated, and a breach of human rights is a real-time breach.

Janine Haskins, Cook

14 children seems like a good recovery

As a visitor to Canberra I was delighted to read Katarina Lloyd Jones’ cover story (CN January 4) about Joan Plunkett, of Kambah, who was celebrating her centenary.

I especially noted that her husband contracted scrub typhus and although he survived, it “knocked the stuffing out of him”. 

And he went on to have 14 children. Seems like a good recovery to me!

Ailsa Meehan, via email

Police officer shows ‘unbecoming’ bias

A/Insp Mark Richardson, by referring to certain citizens as a “sub-species of the human race” and suggesting IQ testing stations be set up (“Revhead ‘moron tourism, sub-species’ disappoint cops” citynews.com.au, January 8) has proven himself unfit to be in a position of authority within the police force. 

The police are there to enforce the law without bias or prejudice, but he has shown an enormously unprofessional bias unbecoming of a police officer, let alone a senior officer.

By all means be frustrated with the behaviour which was seen, but express it in a professional manner. The extreme bias in this public statement is unacceptable as it reduces public confidence that all people will be treated fairly in their dealings with police, and it would be a shame if junior officers followed the leader and believed it to be acceptable to treat certain groups within society as a “sub-species”.

Samuel Gordon-Stewart, Reid

Little things do count, voters will remember 

I noticed in my last rates instalment notice that $556 million of the total revenue collected diverts into City Services and this has left me puzzled.

The stolen Fraser suburb sign reported on October 2 and my stolen street sign reported the same day remains inactioned, despite a string of follow-ups emailed to the offices of Steel and Barr. No one seems to give a toss. 

The little things do count and voters will remember that at the next election and see through the smoke and mirrors of “vote for us”. May you be sent speeding on your way with joyful hurrumps. 

In the meantime, will the fat-cow gang please get off their rumps and replace the frigging signs, or contract it out if it’s beyond your intellectual/technical capacity.

John Lawrence via email