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tters to the Editor
Undue haste in plan for tack-on suburbs
Received 13 November
ONCE again the Planning Authori
ty, in an attempt to fast-track the
socially disastrous tack-on of new
suburbs in West Belconnen, has re
leased draft variations to the Terri
tory Plan with inadequate time for
residents and community groups to
organise responses.
As was the case with the Prelimi
nary Assessment Report released in
November 1990, the community
has been granted only a little over a
month to comment on the plan, in
the period leading up to Christmas,
when most people have heavy social
and family commitments.
In addition, the Draft Outline Im
plementation Plan was not available
on November 11 as promised.
Gcarly an extension on the dead
line of December 20 is necessary,
preferably into 1992 — let's say Feb
ruary, so we may comment with our
votes.
Given that both the Parliament
ary Committee on the ACT and an
independent expert town planner
from the UK recommended against
the proposal, a full public inquiry is
essential to debate the necessity to
proceed with the development at all.
Gungahlin has the capacity to meet
Canberra's housing needs for many
years to come, and there arc omis
sions and flippant dismissals of en
vironmental and social issues in the
Environmental ImDact Statement.
KAY PARKES
Charnwood
Crass, ill-considered
Received 13 November
THE ACT Government's surprise
gift to commemorate the 50th anni
versary of the Australian War Me
morial has just been revealed: sell
off the reserve land directly opposite
the monument for residential real
estate.
This crass and ill-considered pro
posal will be rejected by all who
respect, or have visited, the War
Memorial as something akin to pira
cy.
The sense of peace and tranquili
ty which surrounds the War Memo
rial — Australja's foremost tourist
attraction — will be irreversibly lost
if its natural bushland and parkland
setting is threatened.
This setting includes not only the
lawns and bushland immediately
surrounding the monument but also
the Y-shaped vista comprising An
zac Parade, Reid Oval, and the re
serve bounded by Fairbaim Avenue
and Crcswell Street — the area be
ing proposed for subdivision.
This latter reserve in fact abuts
closely onto the Attaturk memorial.
These areas were never intended for
residential use.
The ACT Administration should
show vision and purpose, and pre
sence dedicated parkland such as
this for the people of Canberra and
of Australia.
Instead, they seem to be opting
for the quick cash-flow solution —
short term gain, long-term shame.
M. E. PIDCOCK
Campbell
Aid but not
normalisation
Received 13 November
MR HURLE of Dickson argues
(Letters, November 10) that interna
tional and trade relations with Viet
nam should be normalised. Why?
The communist regime of North
Vietnam illegally occupied South
Vietnam in 1975. The South Viet
namese people showed clearly after
the war that they did not want com
munism, which was imposed on
them by the north and by the inter
national communist community.
I am not against humanitarian aid
to Vietnam but normalisation of
trade, cultural and sporting relations
with yietnam should be suspended
until it meets the following condi
tions:
(i) abolition of the communist
type apartheid;
(ii) release of all political prison
ers;
(iii) introduction of democracy in
Vietnam.
After all, all these conditions are
embedded directly or indirectly in
the United Nations Charter of Hu
man Rights.
Besides, why should the commu
nist countries be treated differently
from South Africa?
ROMAN KRATOCHVIL
Torrens
Report upset
bureau staff
Received 13 November
I WAS disappointed with your story
ofNovember 6 (p.3) which criticised
the Attorney-General for allegedly
not caring about Consumer Affairs
matters and also criticised the Con
sumer Affairs Bureau's perform
ance.
The Attorney-General issued a
starag personal rebuttal illustrating
lus very considerable involvement
in consumer-affairs matters, which
appeared in part on November 7
(p. 14).
From the bureau's perspective my
staff are offended by the statements
about their professional ability.
Contrary to your report, high quality
policy advice is prepared for the
minister, a considerable volume of
effective legislation has been pre
pared and the bureau provides an
outstanding education/awareness
service, a nationally recognised
trade measurement service and a re
sponsive consumer advisory service
handling some 15,000 matters a
year.
Also contrary to the report, the
Trade Practices Commission has
not criticised the bureau but rather,
as with the federal bureau and other
state bureaus, enjoys a very good
working relationship with my office
clearly evidenced by the recent con
sumer-affairs ministers' meeting in
Canberra.
The bureau works in a very de
manding environment and, whilst
appreciating constructive criticism,
does not need criticism which
wrongly denigrates the work of de
dicted staff within the bureau.
TONY CHARGE
Director of Consumer Affairs
ACT Consumer Affairs Bureau
Infringement
of liberties
Received 13 November
ACT Minister Terry Connolly pro
poses to compel cyclists to wear hel
mets in all circumstances from 1
January. This infringement of civil
liberties contrasts sharply with his
comment ("Anti-pom Bill fails; Ste
none Help
Getting a letter published:
• Keep it under 250 words.
• Make it legible. If handwritten,
make it double spaced.
• Sign it.
• Give full residential address
(suburb only published).
• Send it to: "Letters to the Edi
tor", The Canberra Times, PO
Box 7155, Canberra Mail Cen
tre, ACT, 2610.
We pet too many tetters to acknowledge or
publish on. Those wanting acknowledgement
should enclose a stamped addressed enve
lope. Letters may be edited lor space unless
mariied lor publication in lull or not at all.
venson under fire" CT, September
19, p.3) that people should be al
lowed "the maximum degree of free
dom until the point at which that
freedom affects another".
Mr Connolly's proposal has scant
regani for the uniquely favourable
cycling conditions in CanbeiTa, but
simply follows similar action by
some of the States. They, having
seen the public accept compulsory
seat belts and the negligible inconve
nience they cause, have not hesitat
ed to infringe further upon civil lib
erties. But the inconvenience of
helmets is not negligible and will
discourage much of the casual cy
cling Canberrans enjoy.
The only evidence Mr Connolly
has cited to justify his proposal is
that admissions to hospital and
deaths of cyclists are mainly due to
head injuries. But bicycle fatalities
Australia-wide represented only 79
out of 2329, or 3.4 per cent, of total
road fatalities in 1990. Head injuries
are common in motor accidents too,
but there is no proposal for occu
pants of cars to wear helmets! Nor is
a campaign planned to make motor
ists more aware of cyclists. The pro
posal, therefore, unjustly discrimi
nates against cyclists who . would
have to bear the whole cost
Mr Connolly has disregarded re
quests to discuss his proposal, being
unconvinced that many cyclists arc
opposed to it. For the purposes of
persuading him otherwise, I invite
opponents of the proposal to contact
me on 251 2984.
W. J. CURNOW
Aranda
Attack on unit
was unfair
Received 13 November
AS A former member of the ACT
Government Investigations Unit I
would like to express my concern
about the unfair attack on that unit
(CT, November 12, p.l).
The effectiveness of the Investiga
tions Unit is clearly illustrated by
the number of prosecutions its
members have instigated since the
unit commenced. From the statistics
your reporter provided, over 50 per
cent of complaints made in 1990-91
resulted in prosecutions. Successful
prosecutions would result in com
pensation orders being made and a
recovery, or partial recovery, of lost
revenue.
It is my experience that persons
allegedly involved in criminal activ
ity will often complain about the
conduct of the investigators, to
"muddy the waters" with the inten
tion of trying to avoid their respon
sibilities. Ultimately it is for a court
to decide whether evidence has been
obtained improperly or unlawfully
and whether an accused person is
innocent or guilty.
It is the responsibility of ACT
Government agencies to ensure that
Government assets and revenue are
protected. The Investigations Unit
has proven itself to be an effective
tool in combating fraud and waste
within the ACT Government Ser
vice. This warrants the support of
members of the Legislative Assem
bly, not criticism.
JOHN R. TAYLOR
Cook
Let us end it
Received 11 November
SURELY it is time to close the cor
respondence on the closure of Royal
Canberra Hospital.
As the Americans would have it:
"That horse is dead, Dad."
(Mr) M. D. FLEMING
Gowrie
Ultimately apt
Received 12 November
WITH reference to new words that
grate (Letters, November 7), I would
like to advise that I recently received
some literature from a gentleman
who referred to himself as the Chair
of a committee. The word Chair
grated upon me until I realised that
ne usually gave a wooden perform
ance and in his last public appear
ance he had definitely been sat up
on,
K. KEIRVEN
Melba
An inspiration
for ACT health
Received 8 November
THE FOLLOWING extract from
the final paragraph of Mr Lindsay
Grigg's letter (CT, November 6)
Ought to receive constant repetition
and quotation as inspiration for ana
lysis and action by all involved, and
those who ought to be involved, in
the provision of health services and
facilities in the ACT:
"Across the board the pursuit of
power needs to be substituted by a
motivation for service, and hubris
by humility. Are our doctors, nurses,
administrators and politicians equal
to the challenge? Is our community
prepared to forgo the unwritten as
sumption that no good can come out
of Canberra and give its doctors and
nurses the chance to provide the
services of which they are capable?"
Analysis and action could extend
the many excellent services that ex
ist and liquidate the obvious inade
quacies that Mr Grigg's letter ad
dresses.
T. W. W. (Bill) PYE
Ainslie
Socks... only
in Canberra
Received 12 November
ONLY THE citizens of Canberra
could be become obsessed with their
socks. (I exempt the denizens of
Tuggeranong from this criticism.)
The recent spate of letters on the
subject is really a reflection of the
problems afflicting the country, as
the socks are not actually missing.
Consider, Canberra is still largely a
public-service town. It is well known
that public servants have tunnel vi
sion (as anyone who drives here can
attest) and suffer from various
forms of myopia. It is also well
known that public servants have (as
the rest of the country can attest)
only a nodding acquaintance with
reality. They (and certain journal
ists) are also inumerate over-paid
and generally under-employed
(hence the correspondence).
This places these people at a grave
disadvantage when they shop, for
this is where the so-called missing
socks are. Left on store counters by
their intellectually impoverished,
but honest, purchasers who don't
know what two of a kind makes but
would probably bet on them. (Tug
geranong residents, who are under
paid, numerate and comfortable
with their own awful reality, profit
from this and are never heard to
complain about odd socks.) Clearly
there is a moral in this for the entire
nation — as soon as I find that other
sock...
R. HENRY
Pearce
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