Great to see intelligent people such as John O'Gorman, Paul Wilson and Geoff Jones agree on what licensed shooters have known for decades. Criminals don't care about legislation, and illegal guns are readily available. There are 400,000 guns not accounted for. When will governments realise extra legislation only makes life more difficult for those currently licensed with registered firearms. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show these licensed people are involved in only a small proportion of crimes committed with firearms.

Hopefully only good can come from the media attention being given to the coronial inquest into the tragic death of mother-of-three Dianne Brimble on a cruise ship in 2002. If articles such as last week's "Missing On The High Seas" prevent women from becoming victims then some good will have been salvaged from Mrs Brimble's death. It may also shame companies into cleaning up their acts.

The Romans, during their imperial age more than 2000 years ago, could reticulate water vast distances across their empire by aqueducts that are in many instances, such as the one near Nimes in France, still standing. Why are parts of Australia short of water 200 years after white settlement? What did the engineers building for the Caesars know that we don't? We have severe flooding in northern Australia -- as there probably has been for centuries -- yet parts of southeast Queensland face water restrictions. It's ridiculous that bureaucrats keep saying it can't be done. Nobody apparently told Rome's emperors it couldn't be done and they didn't have the technology of our times that was used to build the Snowy River scheme.

Lap-band surgery is not cosmetic surgery. There is nothing cosmetic about wanting to live a longer, healthier life. Having surgery to help change your lifestyle so you can lose weight "the old fashioned way" is not cosmetic. I am sorry Ms Kenny has so much trouble, but her case is not typical.

The Beattie Government has lots of work to do. Denials just won't cut it. Get-tough tobacco laws are tipped: how many charges have been successful? Handgun buyback is bragged about but denials as to blackmarket guns are offered. Children's hospitals may or may not be closed. Another by-election is lost. How much more will the voters put up with between now and the next state election?

I was pleased to read of the ALP's defeat at the Gaven by-election. This result must be a clear message to the Government, Peter Beattie and Anna Bligh that voters on the Gold Coast do not want a cruise ship terminal on the Southport Spit that could terminate what little is left of the bird and fish life there, further pollute the water of the seaway and cause high rise development to interfere with the limited open space of the foreshore. Another Labor government was brought down when its members stopped listening to the people. Could this issue cause this Government to be terminated?

One can only wonder what "Pig Iron" Bob Menzies would have thought of an Australian Liberal Prime Minister doing uranium deals with the Chinese communist government. Nuclear power is a two-fold concern. First there is the potential catastrophe of another Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion, and second, after you have sold the uranium you have no control over it, meaning your customer could use your product to make weapons with which to attack you.

Andrew Bolt says: "We sell uranium to a country we fear." Who is the "we" Andrew? No one I know fears China, they are more scared of America. Does Andrew truly believe India has "full democracy"? If he does, perhaps he would like to define it for us.

Glenn Milne's arguments for gay marriage miss the point. Do gay marriage advocates believe that, all else being equal, two men or two women can raise children just as well as a man and a woman? If so, they devalue motherhood and fatherhood. If gay-marriage advocates believe both mothers and fathers are essential to the ideal child-rearing environment, how is it justifiable to give gay relationships equal status to traditional marriage?

I would happily follow Andrew Slack's advice on the joy of club rugby if I could navigate my way through the maze of information of club levels, starting times and venues. Nothing could be more pleasant than to watch a club game on a sunny winter afternoon, but my efforts to decode the necessary information on the times my local club would be playing and where, just got too hard last year, so I gave up. Make it simple, Queensland Rugby, and we will be there.

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