I agree wholeheartedly with Dick Smith that the franking credit cash rebate should be means-tested and support his attempts to return the money to the ATO. I do, however, find it hard to believe that he "had no idea what franking credits were". I think I'd notice if $500,000 unexpectedly popped up in my bank account. - Bill Young, Greenwich It might have been more useful for Smith to have revealed the huge amount of money he received as franking dividends before the election so that people could have some understanding of the fraud that John Howard perpetrated when he gave wealthy people who did not pay tax very generous "tax refunds". Labor may have been inept at selling its policy but the real damage was caused by the Coalition, which misled and twisted the benefits that would have flowed from a more equitable distribution of the nation's wealth. - Nola Tucker, Kiama Good on you, Dick, for trying to hand back $500,000 of excess franking credits to the treasury. Just this sum would allow needy pensioners access to heat for their homes.

This is welfare for the rich and well-off middle class. More people should follow Smith's example. - Roger Parkes, Birchgrove Well may the very wealthy Dick Smith feel it necessary to mouth off about his excessive franking credits, but not all recipients of such credits have a bank account like him. If he's embarrassed about the amount of money he's getting from such credits it's easily fixed: donate it to charity. In the meantime, he should keep his counsel rather than risk hurting thousands of retirees who receive just a few thousand dollars in franking credits; after they have taken the risks associated with share investments. - John George, Terrigal Dick Smith, a dab hand at business, has been able to bank fully refundable franking credits for the past 20 years. Yet he tells us it wasn't until 2017 that he discovered what they were, and complained to the ATO. Would that the rest of us might not notice the odd $500,000 deposit in our accounts.

But why did Smith wait until now, after dividend imputation became a potent issue during the recent federal election, to make his concerns public? A second question arises: if the ATO allows Smith to return the credits he believes are unfair, will I be equally entitled to withhold that portion of my tax assessment the government is spending from the annual budget on activities with which I strongly disagree? - David Salter, Hunters Hill How gratifying it must be to have your complaint to the ATO dealt with personally by the Commissioner. - Adrian Connelly, Springwood Building crisis evidence of our brave new world Your editorial is so right ("Berejiklian must fix building crisis", July 17). So many of the factors that have created this crisis are the direct responsibility of her government.

The huge push to get apartment blocks built faster, out of control planning, the removal of controls from local councils, allowing self-regulation of the building industry, and the government's role in over-seeing sloppy building standards. And now the Premier wants to push the blame onto others like the federal government. It's about time she takes responsibility for a problem that has occurred while under her control and takes some positive action. - Geoff Wannan, Dawes Point The outcry over shoddy building standards and now increased insurance premiums misses the point ("Insurers reject Canberra's argument as dispute grows", July 17). We've had decades of slavish neo-liberal adoration of "free markets", privatisation, reduction of red tape and other efficiency drives. The resultant problems in finance, building and other sectors should have been expected, as the market now "settles" with decreased demand, lower prices, builders out of work, and only quality builders and developers remaining. This leads to a more "efficient" allocation of resources, away from speculative housing and shoddy builders, towards more productive economic activities and better builders.

People losing wealth or even a house are irrelevant. Welcome to our brave new world. - Richard Abram, Bexley I haven't yet seen any criticism of the architectural profession in the current furore about poor building construction. Plans, specifications and schedules of materials to be used are prepared by the designers of buildings, namely architects. - David Stibbard, Singleton If the banks or other lenders who have a mortgage on the affected properties were to have a financial responsibility for the necessary repairs, then we would see some action. The necessary repairs would be funded, responsible builders would find it a little difficult in future to obtain finance for their building work, and this might well weed out the shonks and lead to a general uplift in building standards.

After all, a home is the largest investment most of us will ever make, and it seems incongruous to me that if I buy a toaster on my credit card, it then proves faulty and the retailer goes bust, I can demand that the bank that issued my card reimburse me, yet in the case of my home, where the bank equally stands to profit from its lending activity, it has no such responsibility and I have no such protection. A simple change to consumer protection laws is all that is needed. - Ian Jackson, Freshwater Aged-care cuisine a mixed bag I couldn't agree more with Maggie Beer that nursing home food is unappealing and I have long hoped for someone with culinary clout to raise this issue ("Good food makes a home", July 17). I was lucky that the community nursing home my father ended up in for the last three years of his life was mostly a happy place but, oh dear, the food was just awful. I used to have lunch with Dad and his mates from time to time and it was all I could do to actually swallow the flavourless sludge that was served up. There are few highlights at this point in life and, like Maggie, I feel there must be affordable ways of ensuring meals are something that residents can really look forward to each day. Happier residents leads to less-stressed staff leads to better outcomes all round. - Angela Namoi, Crows Nest

My mother spent the last two years of her life living in an aged-care facility. There were no specified "visiting hours". The staff were wonderful and the food was appetising and in good supply. We always felt that we had been blessed to find such home – in the true sense of the word for my mum. So why can one nursing home be so exemplary when others are nightmares? It comes down to care, concern and compassion, which are clearly absent in retirement homes where profit rather than patients is the focus. - Genevieve Milton, Newtown High need for change If a young drug taker believes he can " push through" after taking 9 MDMA pills, then it is obvious that education is sorely and urgently needed ("Reveller told friend he could push through", July 17). Young people seem to be in denial that the "party drug" habit is potentially fatal. Perhaps the first step should be a change in name: instead of the misleading terms "party" and "recreational", we should call these pills for what they are: dangerous chemical poisons . - Stephanie Edwards, Roseville While it is lovely that your correspondent, a child of the depression, was able to resist temptation by following his mother's advice, it is not as simple for many others (Letters, July 17). There are numerous examples in our jails of people (including for murder) who have not been able to resist putting "their hand in the fire". Peer pressure is one aspect of illicit, and legal, drug use, and it is naive to refuse to consider a variety of potential solutions, including medical treatment. Like most complex problems, the answer is likely to end up consisting of numerous and bespoke strategies. - Chris Northam, Caringbah

Homeland hypocrisy Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." With recent tweets by President Donald Trump, it seems hypocritical to have this message for the world at the gateway of your most famous city ("Tweets serve Trump's tactics", July 17). Perhaps the US should return the gift to France or pass it on to a country that adopts these principles. - Peter Smith, Willoughby

The Canadian and the British Prime Ministers have rebuked Trump for his racist remarks directed at four congresswomen of colour. Could we hear from our Prime Minister, please? - Victoria Harrington, Thirroul As President, Trump swore an oath to defend the US Constitution yet by questioning the loyalty to the country of those who opposed his politics and policies, he seems to ignore the very First Amendment that guarantees every citizen's right of free speech and dissent. As he wraps himself in the flag, one is reminded of the words of English writer Samuel Johnson: "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels." Never been so true in the age of Donald Trump. - Han Yang, North Turramurra Grateful for relief In a world where, sadly, we have the kind of white supremacist vermin such as those associated with the Christchurch mosque attacks, it is inspiring to read of the gesture of the Australian Jewish community described by Vic Alhadeff ("In crisis, we must see shared humanity," July 17). This expresses the kind of love and concern for other human beings that the world needs. It is an attitude that will not only preserve the lives of a lot of innocent people, but emphasise the kind of understanding and harmony that represents a civilised society. - Derrick Mason, Boorowa

Tiebreaker solutions I am finding it hard to understand why England and NZ couldn't have just played another game to sort out the winning team (Letters, July 17). If that wasn't possible, then I agree with your correspondent Malnak Gupta that the ICC should have declared joint winners, which would have been a much fairer decision. - Maureen King, Lane Cove Perhaps the ICC should consider the Wimbledon approach to tiebreakers: just keep playing tie-break overs until one team wins or one team is all out, whichever comes first. Problem solved. - John Grinter, Katoomba I think there should just have been a rematch. - Don Davies, Trinity Park Qld One very small consolation. At least the Kiwis didn't lose to Australia. - Rose Panidis, Graceville Qld

Spaced out The photo accompanying your moon landing story highlights why there remains speculation about its veracity ("One small, dusty step for man aided by Sydney scientist", July 17). Why is the light concentrated only around the lunar module and fades away with distance when they had landed on the sunlit side of the moon? Why are the shadows not parallel? And why, in a story about the pervasiveness of moon dust, is there no dust on the foot of the module despite the enormous amount that would have been thrown up by the descent? And then, as in all the photos, there are no stars. Just saying … - Peter French, Balmain Buried intentions Obviously, people are dying to be in Campbelltown more than Penrith ("Cemetery approved as Penrith plan halted", July 17). - Michael Deeth, Como West

Don't stop me now Many years ago a very dear friend, who was in her 80s, was driving to Miranda from Port Macquarie when she encountered a barrier at an intersection that had not been there previously (Letters, July 17). "What did you do?" I asked. "I stopped the car, lifted the barrier out of the way and drove on". - Josephine Piper, Miranda Extended advertising ban Don't just stop the alcohol advertising ("De Berlin lawyer argues cutting alcohol ads is better than standing players down", July 17). Add betting, fast foods, mobile phones to the advertising ban. I'm sure they all contribute to poor NRL player behaviour. - Col Shephard, Yamba