Overhaul of tax system needed to build a fair future for Australians Treasurer Joe Hockey's likely tax cuts is a vote-seeking exercise.
Just in time for the Canning by- election and in a desperate attempt to change the Coalition's fortunes, we find Joe Hockey signalling there will be personal tax cuts.
Very nice, but it is difficult to avoid being cynical. This is shades of what the Howard-led Coalition did on several occasions prior to an election and, sadly, what Rudd-led Labor felt they needed to do in 2007 to attract voter support. 
The cuts that occurred eroded Australia's revenue base and we now have diminished capacity to build an enlightened, competitive, society which would stand us in good stead in the 21st century. Tony Abbott's vision of being "the infrastructure prime minister" is severely compromised.
Nevertheless, the need for tax reform is a pressing priority.
This must extend far beyond simplistic plans to reduce rates of personal income tax.
Australians are capable of understanding and getting behind comprehensive reform proposals. These should give a complete picture of revenue and expenditure plans so that all voters can see the options, judge the fairness, and assess the alternative pathways to the future.
Before the 2016 election, both major parties should grasp this opportunity. They should not treat voters as if they are just self-seeking mugs whose votes can be bought by a few dollars in their pockets.
Keith Croker, Kambah Unsustainable life ABC's 7.30 Report on Monday featured apparently affluent, non-Indigenous families in remote western Queensland, such as Birdsville, suffering from what Leigh Sales called "nothing more annoying" - internet connections little better than dial up.
One of the residents, with several broken bones from a quad bike accident, explained of having to take expensive flights to Toowoomba because she couldn't hold teleconferences with her specialists. She said she wouldn't live anywhere else; it was the best place in the world.
I wonder if Tony Abbott will tell her that her remote quad- biking lifestyle is unsustainable?
Or perhaps he'll adjust his view after his tour of Indigenous communities.
C. Shipp, Tuggeranong Stop him now There is nobody I would trust less than Tony Abbott to make an accurate and dispassionate decision on whether to enlarge Australia's role in the Middle East war. In his shameless search for national security- related headlines, Abbott has flagged his intention to "decide" on this military expansion in the near future.
But from past performance we can be sure that the risks to Australians' lives and our reputation, the financial cost and the strategic consequences of the war will play no part in making this decision.
Instead his considerations will be how best to use the matter to his electoral advantage.
War and its consequences are far too serious to leave to the discretion of an arguably competent man who has infamously stated that he would do almost "anything" to get into power and to stay there.
Memo to the Liberal Party from a concerned majority: Do something.
Julian Robinson, Narrrabundah Climate change John Collee ("Australia bets that everybody else is wrong", Times2,   August 24, p5) castigates the Abbott government for ignoring the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. No one need bet that those relying on IPCC advice are wrong. A comparison of the IPCC's temperature projections against actual observations shows that they are wrong.
Whatever the future trend of global climate, models that cannot reproduce a known case are worthless as a basis for setting policy.
Stephen Jones, Bonython Mygov not a success Centrelink CEO Grant Tidswell claims that Mygov is an "outstanding success" ("Centrelink accused of shooing away clients",   August 21, p6). I am sure I would have many supporters in strongly disputing that claim.
My interaction with Mygov has not been such that I have experienced the performance problems which many have complained of. I am however aware that Mygov is a very poorly designed system.
Poor design is illustrated by the ridiculous situation that if a husband and wife both want Mygov accounts it is necessary for them to have discrete email addresses. I have no doubt that this is because designers have taken the easy option of using email addresses as a key identification data item. There are other options which require a bit more design and programming nous. The ID verification procedures are also too inflexible (eg, the system discriminates between mathematics and maths as an answer to a "secret question" regarding favourite school subject).
Users also too readily find themselves backed right out to commence the whole login procedure from scratch.
Incidentally, I have no idea why it is necessary to have a Mygov account in order to lodge a tax return using eTax.
I would appreciate some elucidation on this.
T.J. Marks, Holt Shipbuilding I refer to Professor Hugh White's article "Australia's shipbuilding plan a massive mistake" (Times2,   August 18, p5) and to Admiral Jones' comments (Letters,   August 21). I would suspect that Admiral Jones might have a better feel for the use, operation and survivability of naval vessels than a senior academic such as Professor White but that White might be more attuned to the probability that such vessels might be called into use for one reason or another to meet some global exigency. Both should be major contributors to any government consideration on the future of our navy, its purpose and its capabilities.
Ignoring some assumptions in White's article, his primary thesis is correct: that the government is running headlong into a continuous naval shipbuilding program without proper strategic assessment and without regard to sound and safe project development and industry involvement.
I commend both Admiral Jones and Professor White for their recognition that we should approach this shipbuilding program following the example of the successful Anzac ship project, noting the contribution that Professor White made to that project.
B.L. West, Yarralumla