Reinstate the Causeway Axis and instal the tramway from Russell Hill (tramline-linked via Constitution Avenue to Civic) to tram-forgotten Narrabundah – on the axis alignment, says letter writer JACK KERSHAW.

A FORMER ACT Labor health minister, Wayne Berry, “dug in” on the former Royal Canberra Hospital site on Acton Peninsula, and installed a fine, north-facing hospice there, in a preserved heritage-listed building. 

A subsequent Liberal government, on advice, abandoned the hospice in favour of its current remote siting on south-facing Menindee Crescent, Russell (technically Barton). 

Unfortunately it is right on, and blocking the Causeway Axis, a very important transport and spatial element in Griffin’s plan, extending from Russell Hill to the western end of Captain Cook Crescent, Narrabundah.

In time, the hospice should be relocated to a better connected, sunnier site – even back to the peninsula isthmus. 

That would enable the reinstatement of the Causeway Axis, and the installation of a very useful tramway from Russell Hill (tramline-linked via Constitution Avenue to Civic) to tram-forgotten Narrabundah – on the axis alignment, over a riparian trestle bridge with cafes, etcetera (our “Pontev-eco”), along the existing historic The Causeway in Kingston, and splendid Sturt Avenue (the latter two roads were constructed as dual carriageways in recognition of their Causeway Axis alignment, and related potential for development). 

Eventually, that tramline could be extended from Narrabundah, via magnificent Captain Cook Crescent, to Manuka, and then connected to the Civic to Woden line, via Canberra Avenue.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah 

Donor families arc up at social media constraints

FOLLOWING the tragic death of my daughter, Brontë, in 2020, she generously donated several of her organs.

This resulted in four people becoming recipients, and from what our family has been told, they are now living healthy happy lives due to organ donation. 

It provides some comfort, knowing that Brontë lives on in the lives of others.

I was also fortunate to meet one of Brontë’s recipients; no longer suffering from Type 1 diabetes, nor on dialysis every two days. Meeting this recipient was extremely validating regarding our decision to donate Brontë’s organs on her behalf. 

However, recently I was stunned to read on a Facebook site (for donor families and recipients in Australia) that the site is at threat of being shut down by Donate Life.

Comments have been flowing in, with some donor families stating they would have reconsidered donating organs of their loved ones if there were such restrictions placed on being able to access and contribute to the Facebook sites.

As donor families, we did not “sell” our loved one’s organs; we agreed to provide them in pure goodwill and good faith.

Like many other donor families, the chance to meet the recipients of our loved ones was a significant contributing factor in making the “yes” decision to donate our loved one’s organs.

I implore people to make a noise about this; if not, I fear organ donation will radically decrease if such sanctions of Donate Life are imposed.

Janine Haskins, Cook

Commissioner had the measure of Morrison

AFTER the release of Commissioner Holmes’ well researched and thoughtful robodebt report (“Commissioner flays ‘crude and cruel’ robodebt”, citynews.com.au July 8), Scott Morrison MP was quick to criticise her for not understanding “the processes of government”. 

This was a bit rich, coming from a former senior minister, treasurer and later prime minister, whose idea of government and governance was too often about what he thought he and others could get away with doing – or not doing – for the benefit of mainly party and factional politics, and the Coalition at the next election. 

The list is long, but arrogant leadership, risk-taking, shortcuts and abuse of process led to, inter alia, the blatant rorting of multi-billion-dollar national grants programs, persisting with a poorly thought through and illegal robodebt scheme, and racking up five extra ministerial portfolios for a prime minister. 

Many of these quests were pursued relentlessly and in relative, if not total, secrecy.

Media coverage about the Royal Commission report has shown that Commissioner Holmes understands Scott Morrison much better than he understands himself and his personal projections. 

She certainly deserves a top Australia Day Awards honour, while Scott Morrison must surely never even be nominated for any level of honour.

Sue Dyer, Downer

Paul’s definitely an on-earth kinda guy

I AM writing in relation to Robert Macklin’s article (“Give us this day our daily hypocrisy in parliament”, CN July 13).  

As someone who is almost 68 and has been an atheist for the past 48-50 years, in the first instance I would like to say that I agree with much, if not all, of what Robert has said in his column.

While I don’t support “prayers”, I am fascinated by the wording of “The Lord’s Prayer” where it says “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”.  Personally, I live “on” earth, not “in” earth and, as such, I would replace this wording with this “prayer” as follows: “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”. (As an aside, I have heard some people believe that hell is in the centre of the earth, which is an absurd notion.)

Paul Myers, Karabar, NSW

My answer to the cull question is simple…

MY questions about the scientific evidence for the ongoing culling of the ACT’s kangaroo population and its ultimate goal, were not answered by the responsible ACT minister (written several times). 

I wonder then, what is driving this senseless slaughter? Just a few thoughts: land development brings in big bucks; kangaroo meat for the pet food industry is booming (hard to get anything else at the supermarket) – also brings bucks; job creation; ongoing habit; ignorance…

Conservation of the Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon (Tympanocryptis lineata) is an oft touted reason. As a scientist and ecologist, I find this difficult to reconcile. Again – where is the evidence? Also, population genocide of a native species in the name of “conservation” for another, is typically not the answer. 

I concur that the natural habitat of this little lizard is severely reduced and highly fragmented – indeed some 99 per cent of Australia’s temperate grasslands are now lost. But roos and lizards have co-existed in native habitat for millennia. And, this particular dragon also spends a fair amount of time sheltering underground in spider and insect holes.

It’s clear from the 2009 Recovery Plan for the earless dragons, that grazing from stock and rabbits (ie invasive species) in the ACT has a far more detrimental ongoing impact than any potential impact from kangaroos. (Note, this Recovery Plan is also in urgent need of review – should occur every five years). 

But the ultimate foe for the dragons, is the destructive clearing of native habitat. Whatever the government’s reasoning (not yet well-explained), the Barr Labor/Rattenbury Greens combo has lost my ACT vote (after 30+ years). That’s my answer!

Dr Gina Newton, Hughes

Cull should have the Greens worried 

The ACT Greens should indeed be worried about next year’s election. Their unwavering and ongoing support for the annual kangaroo slaughter will reflect at the ballot box. “Killing kangaroos with joeys in their pouches or young standing nearby is morally indefensible and completely reprehensible”. Thank you Greens senator, Mehreen Faruqi.

Alex Kucharska, Griffith

Let the kangaroos do their job

THE most environmentally friendly inexpensive solution to the weed attack in our nature parks are the kangaroos.

The more the Labor-Greens government kills them, the worse the weed problems become.

Stop the killing, stop the use of heavy vehicles and mechanical slashing of weeds; no more cloven-hoofed cattle and sheep in our nature parks.

The kangaroos nurture our native grasslands and microfauna. They have been doing it a whole lot longer without the destructive environmental impact of the Labor-Greens government.

C Stevens, via email

Time for a review of culling kangaroos

An independent review of culling kangaroos in Canberra’s Nature Reserves is well overdue. 

The cost to Canberra’s taxpayers would run into millions of dollars over the 15 years of this cruel and unproven program. 

The quantity of resources and studies that have been ongoing to justify the cull is mind blowing. Website after website has been developed producing reams and reams of reports and information related to this topic. 

Add to that the cost of shooters each year and now the cost of darting kangaroos with GonaCon vaccine. 

If those resources had been directly applied to physical maintenance and weed removal from the nature reserves, they would be in far better condition than they are today, and huge savings would have been achieved. 

For years now many of the reserves are left in a state of total neglect. Weeds are left to seed and spread. Weeds pose a far greater threat to the local flora and fauna than kangaroos. Isn’t it time that supposedly intelligent humans realised their attempts to interfere and control nature nearly always lead to poor outcomes. 

With three years of above average rainfall and a diminishing number of kangaroos to graze in the nature reserves more expenditure will be needed to mitigate the impending bushfire risk this coming summer. 

Oh, and think of the savings that could have been for the poor taxpayer if wiser decisions had been made!

Julie Lindner, Farrer

Global heating will sort out population problem

VI Evans (Letters, CN July 6) wrote: “The human population is getting out of control, but short of doing what China did with the one-child policy, there is not much we can do… I do not agree that the decline in food production would be due to extremes of climate change.”

I strongly suspect that the global heating we have already set on track (not any “extremes”) will take care of the population problem, for example by large tracts of food-producing land in southern and south-eastern Asia being flooded by rising sea levels and rendered useless. 

“The main problem with crops” is not “the arable land being taken over by… solar panels and… wind turbines”. It is the continuing degradation of broad-crop farming land by repeated use of phosphate fertilisers that cause leaching of other plant nutrients from already-weathered and depleted soils and the relentless expansion of already too-large urban areas such as Sydney and Melbourne swallowing up some of our most valuable agricultural land.

Power lines, including high-voltage trunk lines, exclude the use of actual or potential farmland over very small total areas. 

Modern wind turbine blades can be recycled or converted into biodegradable refuse; and new-generation solar panels are also at least recyclable. Neither will decompose in situ and drop toxins on the crops or soils below.

Perhaps Ms Evans could cast her mind a little more broadly.

Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Do we just lie back and think of England?

VI Evans’ response of July 6 (CN, Letters) may be pedantically correct in that she didn’t “exactly” (sic) assert that human population controls of some sort were necessary to stop the planet from being overrun. 

Vi certainly implied it and now says there’s not much we can do about it. Do we therefore just lie back and think of England (as per the Victorian-era advice to aristocrat brides)? 

Seriously, it is an issue we better start concentrating on, because it’s based on the evidence of climate scientists around the globe.

Furthermore, Vi is definitely astray when she dismisses concern that climate-induced food production shortages will create immense future problems. 

Primary production food security globally and in Australia is under long-term risk according to successive UN and CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology climate reports. 

Furthermore, solar farms and wind turbines don’t necessarily impinge on agricultural or grazing lands – land formations can be quite different for these different usages. Where they are similar and not compatible, decisions may have to be made by governments as to which usage is most beneficial for the long term future. 

Either way, unchecked population growth is a vital factor in the climate-change equation.

Eric Hunter, Cook