Zoning and planning are again being targeted for their role in supposedly limiting grocery shopping competition ("Planning laws give top stores fighting edge", August 6).

These arguments are drawn from a recent report by Allan Fels and others for the Urban Taskforce. The Fels report and the Urban Taskforce misrepresent planning policy in Sydney, while aspiring to dubious American examples for alternatives.

The State Government's Metropolitan Strategy does not expressly limit supermarket developments. It does favour concentrating development in and around Sydney's centres - of which there are more than 500. This concentration creates a catalyst for retail and associated development, minimises travelling and maximises public transport investment.

Directing new housing, retail and business development to centres also minimises the erosion of well-positioned industrial land, and reduces the potential for conflict with traffic-generating activities (such as supermarkets) in residential areas.

The approach in parts of the United States of allowing unfettered out-of-centre retail development has, in some cases, led to lower prices for retail goods. But at what cost? Many US cities have downtown areas which are unsafe and unfriendly to pedestrians, vast areas of car parking and vacant shops.

Americans are reaping false economies from their cheaper retail goods. Data from the US Department of Transportation shows that the length of shopping trips grew by about 50 per cent between 1991 and 2001. In Sydney, between 1999 and 2006, they grew by about 6 per cent, roughly the same as population growth. Americans travel more than 10 kilometres on average to shop, compared with about six kilometres in Sydney.

Some commentators say that because retail floor space per person in the US is roughly twice that of Australia, there is room for substantial retail expansion here. The American figures are higher because retailing is dominated by large-format, characterless stores - and because so many shops in downtown areas, also counted in the figures, are under-trading or vacant. Australian cities are world-class by any measure, and our generally well-planned retail centres are a key to this. Planning is not the reason for increasing retail prices. Those suggesting otherwise misunderstand or misrepresent planning's role in managing the competing interests in our cities.

Patrick Fensham director, SGS Economics and Planning; co-author, Sydney Metropolitan Strategy

Through a smog darkly arise visions of the present

The pollution in Beijing is a bit thickish as the Olympics begin, but Australians and the rest of the world should remember that if it wasn't for China's ability to produce cheaper consumer goods, we might not be able to watch the Games on relatively inexpensive technology. You can't have cheap everything without paying a price.

Robert Franzos Tathra

Is it possible to provide a positive drug test after inhaling copious amounts of photochemical smog?

John Blackhawk Umina Beach

Why must Beijing's climatic conditions be constantly in the news? We know the city has a pollution problem and there is nothing that can be done about it. If anyone took the trouble to understand the terrain, they would realise it is subject to constant inversions, and the only way to fix the problem is to move Beijing.

C. John Carter Bardwell Valley

I have a bad feeling that in years to come these Olympics might be remembered as the Invisible Games.

Peter Bower Naremburn

With Beijing still shrouded in haze, despite the closure of surrounding industry and the removal of more than a million cars, organisers may have to consider that all this hot air is actually coming from within the International Olympic Committee.

Adriana Maxwell Jervis Bay

Arrogant protesters from the US and Britain seem to have forgotten that they are guests in China. How would Americans feel if Chinese visitors draped a banner from the Statue of Liberty protesting against the many American human rights violations against their own and other countries' citizens? How would we have felt had Chinese visitors mounted a protest against our treatment of Aborigines during the 2000 Olympics?

Cadel Evans and others need to become better informed about Tibet before they think about protesting. And even then, they should choose an appropriate time and place.

Rod Lander Surry Hills

May I request, right at the outset, in order to maintain sanity among us poor long-suffering viewers, that Olympic commentators refrain from using the following cliched terms: sensational, superfluous, medalled, PB, legend, creating history, tatters, dream, unbelievable and spectacular.

Last Olympics I was virtually driven to self-evisceration as a result of their mindless repetition and even now merely reading the terms brings on fits of nausea.

Matthew Adams St Ives

Instead of asking for more money, why doesn't John Coates sell raffle tickets in a meat tray? That's what half the other sporting clubs in Australia have to do to make a buck.

Jude Quinn Lavender Bay

May I suggest that once these Olympics are over, HECS be introduced to students at the Institute of Sport and removed from those studying nursing and primary education?

Margaret Ferrie Newtown

Wong and Saddam an odious comparison

The Opposition has lowered the standard of debate to that of their US Republican Party counterparts in comparing the federal Water Minister, Penny Wong, to Saddam Hussein. The Murray-Darling has been a recognised environmental concern for more than a decade, about the time the former government twiddled its thumbs, blew hot air and did next to nothing.

Alph Williams Red Rock

Will the Opposition water spokesman, Greg Hunt, now be sending truckloads of Australian wheat to Penny Wong's Parliament House office?

Ross Pulbrook Wyong

Wong like Saddam? Perhaps the analogy is more appropriate to the Federal Opposition. After all, they appear to be in possession of weapons of self-destruction.

Geoff Saunders Jamberoo

How hard can it be for the Government to resolve the Murray-Darling issue? If the local government wanted my land for a road, they would legally resume it from me, at their price. If the State Government wanted my land for a railway, they, too, would legally resume it, at their price. Cubbie Station is greedily siphoning a great percentage of the flow needed to keep this river system alive. Surely the Federal Government can do a little resuming of their own - at their price?

Dan Mills Toowoomba (Qld)

Jury duty can be a trial

It's fine for the NSW Law Society to call for better education for potential jurors but what the legal profession needs to understand is that it is impractical to expect people to put their lives on hold for months if they are summoned for jury duty. The trial of Gordon Wood was expected to last three months. This is a long time to put your life on hold. How can a small business owner cope with the loss of an employee for such an extended period? It's up to the employer to top up the difference between an employee's regular income and what they are paid for jury service. If the employer deems not to make up the difference, a long trial can cause enormous financial strain on a family.

Victor Marshall Erskineville

The reality of our legal system is very different from that seen on television. The jury will hear much more than they are able to rely on as evidence. They are not free to explore evidence and question witnesses to clarify the points they consider important. They are forced to negotiate significant matters with strangers to make a determination that affects the lives of many. This is a weighty and complicated task beyond most others required of citizens.

Philip Cooney Wentworth Falls

Suggested reading

It wasn't surprising that the reading list selected for Conservative members of Britain's Parliament included Political Hypocrisy, which argues that there is nothing wrong with double standards ("Tory leader's list: read it and weep", August 6). Oppositions generally have plenty of time to read and Brendan Nelson might consider a list for his team. I'd suggest Beckett's Waiting For Godot (to imply that those waiting for Peter Costello's leadership are wasting their time) and the Kama Sutra (which has useful advice for politicians in difficult positions).

James Moore Kingsgrove

Divided we fall

I was very disheartened to see in a local newspaper the picture of "Labor's line-up" for the forthcoming local council election. What is there to gain from having divisive, politically based factions in what should be a united group of councillors serving the community based on expertise rather than political affiliations? Nobody in the community benefits. The only contestants with true credentials for council elections are those of independent basis.

Chris Turner Castle Hill

Truth in Keating's vitriol

Paul Keating may not be subtle ("Dump Queen, bring on the nong - Keating's big spray out", August 7), but he is right on the money, particularly regarding the ex-treasurer. Don't the Liberals understand why they were voted out? Australia does not want the Abbott and Costello pantomime.

Michael McGrath Manly Vale

Now that Paul Keating has given Peter Costello his snarl of approval, can the leadership be far away ?

Alexander Haege Tamarama

Keating also had contempt for John Howard, and was done like a dinner.

Ken Millar Cronulla

Stamping out affordability

How would a reduction in stamp duty improve housing affordability ("Stamp duty a curse on housing", August 7)? It would simply lead to buyers having more money available to pay higher prices for what they want.

Norm Neill Darlinghurst

Stamp duty is a ridiculous tax that stops people upgrading or downsizing their home and keeps new entrants out of the home market. The State Government collects the tax, does nothing while in office and says it needs the money, presumably to fund more reports on projects that will never happen. Stamp duty should be abolished, along with state governments.

Justin Pettit Manly

There we go again - stamp duty bashing. This is not the worst tax. At least in stamp duties we presumably have someone using a stamp. Try payroll tax, where we pay for the privilege to employ more people.

Lee Chua Newington

Economists are a unique breed among seers. They alone look to the past to foretell the future ("Housing's downhill run has upside", August 6). In the recession of the 1990s there was no GST or state infrastructure levies. Taxes and charges now account for $130,000 of the price of an entry-level house and land package in Sydney. This is not affordable. It will not become affordable. Taxes distort markets. This is a structural, not a cyclical, change. Taxes and charges must come down.

Scott N. Woodcock Chief executive, Urban Development Institute of Australia (NSW)

Monorail maintenance flawed

Maintenance seems to be very poor on Sydney's Monorail. I have been a regular user during the past three months and have found the service reliable. But simple faults seem to go on forever. At least once a week the magnetic card readers on the turnstiles do not work. There's an exit turnstile at City Centre which has not worked for more than two months. At least three flashing yellow indicators to warn when a carriage is approaching have stopped working, and the public address system is rarely used to announce the next station.

Lal Fernando Concord

Take my mother's advice to shop more cheaply

Grocery prices have risen , but mostly for prepared and convenience items. I am more than 50 so my buying and cooking habits perhaps are not typical. But unless I buy vegetables out of season, I can get a huge trolleyful for $50. Few items are more than $5.99 kilo and most are around $3 a kilo. I buy from the greengrocer because the produce is fresh and less expensive, and follow my mother's advice - spend as much as you can at the greengrocer, as much as you need at the butcher and as little as you can at the grocer.

Fran Kirby Castle Hill

PetrolWatch, GroceryWatch - with all the non-productive fiddling and hand-wringing going on behind the scenes, it may just be time for a WristWatch.

Jack Redfern St Ives

I started to shop at Coles when they offered an ice-cream counter and sold a cone for a penny. They, and their nefarious trading lookalike, worked their way into our consciousness until they were able to offer us the shopping nirvana - all items under the one roof - and packed. It is difficult to break a lifetime habit but if all the vocal supporters of the "corner shop" actually shopped there, we would not have this hullabaloo.

Rosemary O'Brien Georges Hall

End of the line for students

The students Professor Geoff Masters is worrying about are the end of the line ("The futile 13 years: lid lifted on HSC", August 7). We need to fix the problem while they are in primary school.

Jeff Thornton Broken Hill

Please keep the printed page

Yes, Michael Dawes-Smith (Letters, August 7). I, too, can flip through the phone book faster than switching on the computer and waiting, with bated breath, for it to warm up. Ditto the thesaurus and dictionary when word processing. The computer may be OK for those glued to a screen all day, but for those of us with other things to do, please keep the printed page.

Pat Lindsay Umina Beach

Give me the Sex Pistols

Praise Neil McCormick ("I do, I do, I do, I do, I do not like Abba", August 6). At least one other person who hates Abba. As evidence of why they were so bad, I present the worst lyric in the history of pop music: "Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine." This was around the time the Sex Pistols emerged. I know who I feel more nostalgic about.

Tim Colwell Woolooware

Rather than the repetition of the first two letters of the alphabet, Mustafa Erem (Letters, August 7), it was the initials of their first names which formed the word Abba. When SOS was recorded the Guinness Book of Records included it as the first palindromic song and artist.

Peter Lloyd Asquith

Buble ain't jazz

Ah, Vale Sloane (Letters, August 7), it is fantastic that a 16-year-old loves jazz but why do you also listen to Michael Buble?

Chris McGinness Erskineville

A gamble or inevitable?

Is there any particular significance in the fact that in yesterday's Herald the stock exchange trading lists were between the death notices and the horse racing?

Peter Golding Mosman