Commenting on the opinion piece: Once glamorous, air travel has dive-bombed into a sea of stress

Excellent article Ali. In a few words you’ve summed up what many would like the airlines to know. I rarely fly these days.

But where are the ‘monitors’ in all this? The quality controllers? Why have they not done anything to date in spite of what has been openly obvious to everyone – a significant drop in quality and customer service, which we, interestingly, are being asked to pay more for! – Sophia Poppe

Like you, we received a cancellation text at 10pm the night prior to our departure. We couldn’t organise another flight to Coolangatta airport until the following day. This meant losing two days of quality time at Main Beach.

We lost one day’s accommodation and, as I hadn’t insured, are ineligible for compensation. In 72 years of flying (from childhood on TAA, Ansett and ANA) that was the first time that I had been bumped off a flight. I’ll insure next time and organise another accommodation option. – Pamela Gardini 

Commenting on the story: University of Adelaide drops out of top 100 on global index

The article said: “Deputy Premier Susan Close, who has ministerial responsibility for higher education, said the University of Adelaide’s drop in ranking “highlights the difficulty in maintaining a top 100 position as a medium sized university”.

Come on, Susan! A ‘False Cause’ logical fallacy occurs when someone incorrectly assumes that a causal relation exists between two things or events. This is an improper conclusion because either such a relationship does not exist or the evidence in support of it is insufficient.

Citizens learnt this logical fallacy in the first year of their university education. Politicians should never be condescending. We are not buying it. Look at what happened to Hillary Clinton. You are better than this, Susan. – Fiona Hui

Commenting on the story: Hospitality giants fight to keep SA kitchens from the chopping block

I would be thrilled if local cafes/restaurants saw investment in chefs as more important than interior design.

But reading this article made me think back to your story on the Topiary chef  Kane Pollard and his comments on the brutal and bullying atmosphere he experienced as a young person in the industry. If that is still typical, it’s no surprise that there’s a shortage of up and coming chefs. – Cathy Chua

Commenting on the story: March north for Adelaide soldiers confirmed

This story, first broken by Matt Abraham in InDaily very recently, has tested the Premier’s team to the limit in terms of spin, and timing for the spin.

You can just imagine what it would have been like if this story had broken while the federal Libs were still in power. Losing these people to an interstate move is a very bad-news story, but the plan is obviously for federal Labor and state Labor to sing from the same song sheet to discount the disaster and hint at something positive well into the future.

That’s the same tactic being played about affordable housing – lots of media pledges, but the results will take many years to materialise. I see that Malinauskas is also playing the old ‘no net loss’ card (he calls it ‘net better’.) That’s the same card he’s been dealing out since the March election relating to his government’s plundering of park lands sites for major infrastructure projects. That Adelaide’s journalists appear to have swallowed that spin, repeatedly, suggests that the spin masters have got them all well bluffed. Remember folks, these spinners are all experienced former journalists, capitalising on huge salary increases by taking up jobs with SA Labor. They know all about spin. – John Bridgland

Commenting on Your views and Cost $114m and rising for Thebarton police barracks move

The comment by  architect, Nicolette Di Lernia on the new WCH, like many others in the public domain is beset with errors.

The hospital planning wasn’t ‘fast tracked’; it was an important component of policy decisions of state governments extending back to 2015. The Thebarton Barracks site was chosen by the current government based on the medical imperative of the closest proximity to the RAH which could be achieved in the complex western precinct.

When required, an ambulance trip to the RAH will take five minutes. Other specialist clinical support from the RAH will be readily accessible. The western location of the hospital means that the Port Rd bridge will require no reconstruction.  The completion of the hospital and its surrounds will endow a net gain of three hectares of accessible areas to the park lands.

An attempt at garnering political capital was made by the state opposition last year in the suggestion that the new WCH would threaten the National Heritage status of the park lands. This spurious and unfounded claim was timed to coincide with the visit of Ted Baillieu, chair of the Australian Heritage Council, but an erstwhile Victorian Liberal Premier.  The hospital will not subsume any new component of the park lands, unlike other encroachments such as car racing and the new Botanic High School.

The new hospital will be located on the safest practical  site in the complex precinct. A more distant location defeats the whole medical purpose of the rebuild. – Warren Jones