I am dismayed by the government's proposed legislation in which no asylum seekers, even those found to be refugees, arriving by boat since July 2013 can ever be resettled in Australia.
What Australia is doing is wrong; it is punishing innocent people cruelly.
The fate of those who might have come by boat is unknown: just because they didn't drown in Australian waters does not mean they haven't died elsewhere. There is no evidence this policy is saving lives.
Mistreating those who come by boat is a deliberate policy of deterrence. This policy is not the only way.
There is no reason we cannot do what we did after the Vietnam war: process people in South-East Asia (in this case mainly Indonesia and Malaysia) and bring them here safely.
Australia can easily accommodate 50,000 refugees a year.
Of course you can have quotas to avoid the much-feared "flood" of refugees, but if people have hope there is a safe way to come here, they will stop getting in boats.
Clare Conway, Ainslie
I thought that the government had reached the absolute depths of barbarism and depravity in its inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, but I was wrong.
Under the government's latest proposal, if a person who is currently imprisoned on Manus Island or Nauru needs life-saving medical treatment in 20 years' time that person will be refused entry to Australia and left to die. If a current asylum seeker in years to come wants to attend the funeral of a relative in Australia, they will be refused entry.
If an asylum seeker in the future becomes a leader of a government in another country, they will be refused entry.
This is not fanciful; the current Governor of South Australia came by boat to Darwin as a refugee.
When the Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton, announced the policy he made it clear the government wanted to use this issue to stir up division in the Labor Party.
How could anyone with a modicum of decency and humanity use the suffering of other human beings to try to score political points?
Charles Body, Kaleen
Australia's Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull has announced his country's door is closed to asylum seekers languishing on Nauru.
Why?
Because they fled their atrocious conditions in their homelands by boat, assisted by paid smugglers.
What a shameful way to handle this situation.
Judy Angus, Ainslie
Amnesty International recently labelled our treatment of refugees on Nauru as torture.
In March 2015 the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture also found our treatment of these people was torture.
In 1994 the UN Security Council gave authority for the prosecution of people for, among things. torture.
Yet nothing happens. Are politicians no longer fearful of international law?
To date all that has been achieved is the opening of the gates of the internment camps.
Perhaps it is expected the internees will be satisfied with enjoying the scenic delights of Nauru? But leave the island they may not!
These people have not committed a crime on Nauru.
Other than for money, on what basis does Baron Waqa and his government detain these people?
C. J. Johnston, Duffy
Will there be an inquiry into detention centres or is there just too much to hide?
We are very lucky to have people like the teachers from Save the Children who have the courage to speak out about the treatment of children in these centres, even when they risk legal action .
There was such a hue and cry when Four Corners aired footage of the treatment of cattle in Indonesia and then exposed the mistreatment of dogs in the greyhound industry — where is the equivalent indignation following the episode about children on Nauru?
Jenny Madden, Aranda
It is disappointing we are left with little idea of what our Prime Minister stands for.
He appears to have abandoned (or at best, severely modified) many of his formerly strongly held commitments to issues such as climate change, the republic, the plebiscite for marriage equality, and the treatment of refugees.
All of this in order to placate the far-right wing of his party.
Yet another example of this now seems to be his apparent wavering in his previously strongly expressed opposition to amendments to 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
We seem to be basing our country's policy framework on shifting sands.
Annette Gilmour, Melba
A healthy thank-you
I am writing this because our ACT health system – in particular the public health system – gets a lot of adverse publicity and little praise.
Last week I needed to be taken to the Canberra Hospital.
I am very grateful for the excellent treatment I received.
The ambulance men were quick and skilled. The attention and skill in Emergency excellent and the care and kindness in ICU and ward 7B also wonderful.
I am well now and very grateful.
Jan Appel, Deakin
Snakes and warriors
My husband Ron, to this day, remembers when serving in New Guinea during World War II, he and his mates saw blue coral snakes where they swam. It was not only enemy bullets the men had to dodge; but also the sting of that deadly viper.
Praise the Lord Ron and many mates made it back safely.
Evelyn Bean
Government treatment of welfare recipients anxiety inducing at best
Recently, I received an online letter, through Centrelink, advising me of a $13,000 discrepancy in my 2011 reported earnings.
The short letter offered a website to confirm, or deny, said monies, with a deadline set at October 20.
Attempts, for me, to access this site were continuously thwarted, perhaps due to my ineptitude, but also with questions I could not answer, the result being my inability to respond.
Hours spent on the phone gained me assurance my affirmation was registered.
A week later the same letter was received, urging a response.
I, myself, have no concern of any wrongdoing, however, being dependent on Newstart to survive, my anxiety was real.
On October 25, an online letter advised a decision had been reached, and could be viewed on the aforementioned, inaccessible website.
The next day Centrelink advised me, online, all was good, and the matter was now closed.
Worry, stress, and anxiety over a matter which need not have concerned me at all?
To me, unable to work due to a physical disability since 2014, this is another slap in the face from a government that treats welfare recipients with contempt.
I doubt there would be many who would enjoy being dependent on social services.
Graham Mortimer, Dunlop
Give up wine whining
Regarding Karen Hardy (Private Capital, October 30), and her continuing outrage someone she spilled her wine over at the cinema had the cheek to express their disconcertedness to her.
I am the feistiest feminist you could meet yet I am finding your bow to be drawn rather long in suggesting the expressed discontent came from a man who wanted to put down a woman.
I too would have had something to say if some wine-quaffer managed to spill their drink on me when all I wanted, and paid my money for, was to watch a movie in peace.
It is particularly unfair that this person may be reading your pieces and is not in a position to present their view.
Do us a favour. Firstly, be more contrite about your own fault in the matter. No one's under an obligation to make you feel better when they have to remain soggy and you offer nothing but an apology.
Did you offer to pay for a new pair of shoes if those were ruined?
That may have changed the tone.
And secondly? Enough already.
Meg Foreman, Queanbeyan
Weak link in secrecy
ASIO now admits publicly to having long been penetrated by Soviet intelligence and, perforce, being comprehensibly second-guessed by the opposition for decades.
Not a surprising revelation for anyone who read in 1987, some 30 years ago, ex-MI5 operative, Peter Wright's controversial Spycatcher.
Spycatcher contained a pointer, a wake-up call at least for Australia, vindicated by the admission now that we were not as clever as we thought.
We were amateurs as it turns out, the weak link, in the US-UK-AUS alliance in protecting the West's secrets.
Unsurprising really, given the aggressive and well-honed tradecraft of the opposition.
What is surprising is that this early wake-up call did not stir the smug and the complacent to respond with a fierce and implacable determination to look inward, for as long as it took, and as painful as it might be, to root out the suspected cancer within.
A. Whiddett, Yarralumla
Independent system
Jack Waterford's great article "Time to herd political cats who habitually rort taxpayers' money" (Forum, October 29) points out the deficiencies of our party-dominated democratic system and calls for regulators to administer the parties' behaviour.
We know that our party pollies aren't going to have a bar of this and never will and our democracy will continue to deteriorate.
The only answer is to have a Parliament made up completely of independents. Sceptics and party members will deride this, saying it is unworkable and there would not be enough candidates.
I think politicians only join parties because it improves their chances of getting elected.
Policies would be submitted by private members bills and debated on the floor.
Votes would be legitimate, not dictated by party policy formulated in back rooms or by ideologically radical think tanks.
Max Jensen, Chifley
Ads for every citizen
Peter Tait (Letters, October 28) misinterprets my observation about certain sensitivities of "ideologues travelling on the public purse" as somehow applying to all Qantas patrons.
In a similar narrow vein, David Roth and Sue Wareham (Letters, October 28) ignore that concern for our common defence — like jury duty — is a universal responsibility of Australian citizenship, not just a matter for ADF personnel or other defence staff.
As for any legal commodity in a free society, and particularly in the case of equipping our defence force so they can protect us efficiently, all these correspondents miss that such advertising is accordingly in part directed at every citizen.
Surely this is especially pertinent to those citizens who do not keep up with informed debate about this particular issue due to apathy, ideology or emotion.
Neil James, Executive Director Australia Defence Association
Reform-light Labor
As usual the Canberra Times editorial (October 30) made sense. However the mention of a progressive government did not.
There has already been a bipartisan committee investigating reform in the past year.
They made many recommendations and I think only one was accepted by the minister responsible, Joy Burch.
The last election revealed Clubs ACT is a paper tiger but I think there is still enough residual apprehension in this Labor government to block any significant reforms.
This is a good reason for Shane Rattenbury and Caroline Le Couteur to sit on the crossbenches where they can vote freely on measures that affect Canberra.
Howard Carew, Isaacs
TO THE POINT
TEA PARTY GESTURE
Eric Hunter's suggestion (Letters, October 29) that someone's worries — real or imagined — about Muslims would be alleviated by attending an open day sponsored by them has as little validity as assuming peoples' concerns about the activities of outlaw motor cycle gangs or union thuggery would be assuaged by attending tea parties hosted by the Hell's Angels or CFMEU.
John Murray, Fadden
ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE
Male pregnancies? These days, anything could happen. Keep an open mind, that's what I always say. What do you always say?
Barrie Smillie, Duffy
FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE
Given there are several thousand gods, could I request letter writers referring to one or more specify which god/s they're talking about?
Fred Pilcher, Kaleen
DISARM, CROSS CHECK
Weapon makers advertising to the general traveller are bizarre. Considering it requires an international arms dealers licence to barter in this material locally, it seems queer.
Matt Ford, Crookwell
ENERGETIC DISCOURSE
In his letter of October 29, responding to my letter of October 27 about the Law Officers Act, Ernst Willheim suggests I might hold the view giving legal advice is not one of the ordinary functions of counsel. I do not hold such an absurd opinion.
G. I. Bellamy, Pearce
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
While some are tricking and treating on the eve of October 31, others may be remembering what happened that evening in 1517. Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Thus begun the Protestant Reformation that changed the world.
Evelyn Bean, Ainslie
DAMNED IF YOU DO ...
Perhaps our government is trying to hint to women they could deal with the systemic sources of their historic and current disadvantage if, like men, they refrain from bearing children. Of course, when they do that it leaves them open to insult and invective.
Janelle Caiger, Stirling
MISERABLE SOULS
This LNP government has endorsed the sentiments of every previously failed PM embracing tough policy on asylum seekers. Malcolm Turnbull, you are destined to join their ranks. May a higher individual have mercy on the miserable souls of you, Minister Dutton, and others who show no such mercy.
Greg Simmons, Lyons
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