Most people will be disappointed, but probably not surprised, at the CommSec report. However, what would the result be if such reports measured wellbeing rather than simple economic growth? There is a strong case to be made for governments and research bodies to gather and publish combined data, which reflects many of the aspects of living that really measure our quality of life as individuals and as communities. Economic growth is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Perhaps NSW would still score poorly if health, housing, community safety, recreation, volunteering and personal happiness data were all considered. But measuring wellbeing, while difficult, is ultimately a much better gauge of how well or poorly we live, while the successes and failures of government actions over time can be seen for what they are. Gary Moore Balmain CommSec's latest report on state and territories economic rankings: WA No.1, the only Coalition government in Australia; NSW, stone motherless last after 14 years of hard Labor. Must be a message there somewhere.

John Shailer East Lindfield Putin hagiography coloured by numbers Ross Cameron's article extolling the virtues of Putin's 10-year dominance of Russia was extraordinarily callous and disingenuous (''Putin marks 10 years of extraordinary achievement'', January 11). His review of recent Russian history, guided as it is by an unflinching and myopic adherence to free market fundamentalism, is reminiscent of Cold War rationalisations that tied the West to the likes of Pinochet. The irony of Cameron's article is that Russia's form of semi-autocratic nationalist governance has little in common with the Western model that Putin himself - in word and deed - holds with utter contempt.

The invasion of Georgia, the use of gas supplies as a means of political harassment, an utterly negative regional influence and the sparking of nationalist fires, including a recent glorification of the Stalin era, make Russia an emergent threat, not a model of progress. Most worrying is that a target of the rising nationalism has been the West, which many Russians still view with suspicion; something Putin has inflamed rather than quelled. For Cameron it seems the only means to measure national success is to lift quotes and figures directly from the websites of economic bodies. What a terrible way to write and what a completely bankrupt view of Russia and the world more generally. Peter Waring Cammeray Ross Cameron, in his sycophantic defence of Putin, conveniently skims over a number of issues in his rush to praise the Russian Prime Minister's economic record. Putin's 2007 rehabilitation of Stalin's reputation by means of a ''revised'' history syllabus to be taught in schools, for example, fails to rate a mention, along with Putin's refusal to co-operate with the British investigation into the murder of the former spy and Putin-critic Alexander Litvinenko.

Similarly, Cameron's characterisation of the Georgian conflict, in which Russian forces moved beyond contested areas into Georgia's sovereign territory, as ''a complex story'' is naive at best, while Putin's concerning suspension of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty in 2007 does not even rate a mention. Putin's economic credentials are indisputable, but if Mr Cameron feels this is all that deserves a mention, I'm relieved he never got as far as Putin did in politics. Tim Clark Gordon Wise crackers It is not correct for Keith Parsons to say that ''Australians never celebrated Guy Fawkes night'' (Letters, January 11). Certainly, when I was growing up in South Australia, Guy Fawkes night was ''religiously'' celebrated by children on November 5. We even made an effigy of poor old Guy Fawkes and hawked it around the street, crying out ''Guy, Guy, Guy; penny for the Guy'' to collect money for fireworks.

On the night, the guy was placed on the top of the bonfire and burnt. We knew that Guy Fawkes had tried to blow up the British Parliament but we had no idea of the religious significance of the gunpowder plot. Laurie Malone Bilgola Keith Parsons has effectively excluded the majority of this country's citizens who were alive prior to the introduction of the prohibition of over-the-counter sales of fireworks. I grew up in Brisbane and the competition among the kids in my neighbourhood to save their pocket money to buy the latest bungers, throwdowns, Roman candles and Catherine wheels was intense. While happy to forget Halloween, where kids are encouraged to beg for treats, my memories of Guy Fawkes night will last a lifetime. Rodney Eve Cherrybrook

As kids in Brisbane in the 1940s and '50s, we always let off our fireworks on Guy Fawkes night. One year they all went off together when someone threw a bunger onto the stockpile in the laundry trolley. They were freely available to kids in the shops. When the date was changed to avoid the bushfire season, everyone lost interest. Allan Miles Stanmore Would you like tax with that? A tax on junk food is a start, but it is simply too late for the many thousands of young and overweight children and young adults whose start in life is at a significant disadvantage (''Paying the cost of fighting obesity'', smh.com.au, January 11). The problem is going to be deciding which foods qualify as junk food. There can be no doubt the process in deciding these finer points will be slow as manufacturers challenge the proposed taxes, which will invariably lead to further delays in action, resulting in a lost generation who are heading for a lifetime of chronic disease.

The true culprit, which sadly has been missing from the debate, is sugar, which is not only added to sweeten desserts and drinks but now also to bread and most processed savoury foods. Sugar will not only increase your weight, if increasingly consumed it also rots your teeth. Why not increase the tax on sugar as raw ingredient? Siobhan Cox North Narrabeen In an age when market products are elevated to ''goods'' and food pyramids are falsely constructed by marketing imperialists, I'm glad that ''junk food'' has not successfully been rebadged, and accurately describes its subject. Marshall Wilkinson Blackheath One law fits all

A secular system of civil law that applies equally to everyone is one of the great glories of Western civilisation and is not to be compromised merely in the name of security. If, as Paul Sheehan says, Islamic terrorism aims to destroy our values and way of life, then surely the way to combat it is not to subvert, undermine and bastardise our own legal system; that would be doing half the terrorists' work for them (''Those waging war on society shouldn't have access to its law'', January 11). Rather than applying the protections of civil law differentially or creating new laws that subvert our established rights and freedoms, it would be far better to apply our laws scrupulously and fairly as a sign of our confidence and determination to protect our legal system and what it represents. Nicholas Olson Peakhurst Kevvie goes ga-ga I have recently wondered whether our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is expecting the Australian public to morph back into childhood with his constant use of baby-like titles to people and places.

Wayne Swan is Swannie and there is Kevvie from Brissie. How many other words is he going to add the "ie" or "ey" to? Now he has written a children's book about a "pussy" and a "puppy" at Kirribilli. Maybe it is about time our childlike PM made decisions about the more important things in adult life, like "money". Rod Fountain Erina Horrible figures An Indian student in Australia is 2.5 times as likely as a non-Indian student to be assaulted here (''Horror Indian summer'', January 9-10). It's high time we stopped our denials and addressed the problem. And, Adam Barnett (Letters, January 11), it doesn't matter whether we're less racist than ''many Indians''; we have a problem we need to solve. Bruce Hanna Heathcote

Two legs bad, four hoofs not so bad There's no sinking feeling that equals reading a letter condoning cruelty. Much less written by a woman. For Liz MacPhee to describe as ''heroic'' the practice of culling brumbies by shooting them from helicopters is just nauseating (Letters, January 11). The evidence of these horses dying a slow death from inaccurate shots is everywhere. As Australia has no carnivorous megafauna, there are no species to put wounded animals out of their misery, so hundreds (perhaps thousands) of horses die in agony. Contrary to MacPhee's assertion, brumbies do minimal, if any, damage to the landscape. As the most destructive species ever to walk the earth, it's blinding hypocrisy for a human to point an accusing finger at a species introduced by humans.

Who in their right mind would suggest that a few hoof-prints came close to the level of soil compaction caused by the vehicles travelling on dirt roads? If culling horses is shown to be necessary, chemical sterilisation is by far the most humane solution. Taking pot shots from an aircraft is even worse than whaling. Peter Maresch Lane Cove Liz MacPhee rather shoots herself in her own hoof credibility-wise when she claims that horses have cloven hooves. Anybody who has had involvement with horses knows they have single non-cloven hooves. Taxonomically speaking, they belong to the order of ''odd-toed ungulates'' whereas cloven hooved animals, such as cattle and sheep, belong to the ''even-toed ungulates''. Ron Davis Lyons (ACT)

Labor's love lost Just remind me again why I voted for Kevin07. Nurses getting pay cuts, Japanese whaling worse, asylum seekers still ''processed'' offshore, action on climate change stalled. Sounds all a bit too liberal for my liking. Russell Mills Redfern Tennis service Even though I can appreciate your viewpoint, Alexander Bayes (Letters January 11), I am very thankful that the ABC does adhere to its printed program. For it to do anything else would be total anarchy and sheer lunacy.

I, for one, am not remotely interested in watching tennis, and to tune into Aunty at the normal and regularly designated news timeslot to find the previous program still running (whatever it was) would make me very, very browned-off. You have an odd perception of television programming when you say that "viewers have to take second place to its [Aunty's] program timings". Well, of course, we do - I was under the impression that was why we have programs in the first place: to maintain fair, regular and consistent viewing for all, not just tennis fans. Anthea M. Doe Russell Lea There is no doubt that Alexander Bayes hit the nail on the head about the ABC's inconsiderate programming around the tennis. On Saturday night the start of The Bill was delayed by half an hour so some match or other could go to air. It's an inconvenient racket really. Stewart Smith St Ives

Andrew Smith (Letters, January 11) raises an interesting question regarding the improved eyesight of tennis linesmen by placing their hands on their knees. It must work, as cricket slips fieldsmen do likewise. The real question is, where the hell is Birmingham Gardens? David Brogan West Ryde Time for nurses to tend to their own woes Cuts to nurses' pay is but one more example of Labor's betrayal of working families (''Nurses face pay cuts in new award system'', January 9-10). An industrial relations policy that's slightly less bad than John Howard's Work Choices. Well, now you know. For those nurses and others affected by this crazy decision it is time to get yourselves organised. Join the bloody union. Get your union off its backside and get yourselves an enterprise agreement that restores your penalty rates and a little extra above award wages as well.

For the respective unions, start organising and recruiting. Don't wait for someone to call asking for an organiser to visit. Pick up the Yellow Pages, make a list of employers and turn up at the door. If you're short of organisers then put the call out for volunteer organisers to start the ball rolling. I'll volunteer. Don't mourn. Organise. Paul Palmer Campbelltown Don't twist Tosca, write another opera

It is indeed not very clever to modify a masterpiece to the point that it destroys the vision of its original composer; this seems to be the case with the present production of Puccini's Tosca (''Loud boos but the singing was superb'', January 11). Christopher Alden should himself compose an opera and leave the magnificent work of Puccini alone.

Franca Bopf Curl Curl Tortured analogy It's one of the great generalisations that artistic genius and personal dysfunction go hand in hand (''Creators of beauty are capable of ugliness'', January 11). As a creative artist myself, I find the tortured genius archetype thoroughly tiresome. The world is full of quiet, respectable people making great, provocative art that helps us to better understand ourselves. Unfortunately Hollywood can't do much with such storylines. Lloyd Swanton Wentworth Falls

Human error I was gladdened to see someone reprimand DA for making a mistake (Letters, January 11), but even happier to learn a real person concocts those clues. I always thought it was a very clever computer program. Ben Newhouse Strathfield Tinsel etiquette Traditionally all decorations should be removed by midnight on the 12th night after Christmas (Letters, January 11). If they are left up beyond this time they should then be left up all year to avoid bad luck. It goes back to the belief that greenery brought into the house at Christmas contained tree spirits who would cause mischief in the house.

Ruth Witcombe Belmore The day after the Epiphany, which occurs on January 6, is the traditional time to take down Christmas decorations. The Epiphany is the biblical date assigned to the visit to the baby Jesus by the Magi and as such is the last day of the Christmas celebrations. Elizabeth Maher Bangor The last day to take down the lights is when you see Easter eggs in the shop. Now wait a minute… Greg Szudrich Balgowlah

Lost the plot Con Vaitsas is a true iconoclast but some icons may be better left unshattered (Letters, January 11). I have some sympathy though and often have trouble locating my loved ones as it is, in the huge Woronora resting place where they all seem to congregate. Perhaps we should try burying people in alphabetical order? John Little Cronulla Games of yore

Am I alone among sport lovers in finding the Commonwealth Games about as anachronistic as the playing of God Save the Queen in cinemas? I think the words ''British subject'' were removed from Australian passports about the same time as we cancelled the ''Australian Housewife of the Year Quest''. Some things do need to change. Peter Copleston Westleigh Well travelled card It may not be Australia Post's fault, but a perfectly addressed Christmas card from Potts Point arrived for me with a rubber stamped notation on the envelope advising it had been sent via Malaysia. Another of life's mysteries to add to the enjoyment of the silly season. Jennifer Dewar Double Bay

Vanishing bananas The tasty, small bananas for which many reminisce (Letters, January 9-10) do still exist. They are grown in and around Coffs Harbour, yet are becoming harder for even locals to find, given that even the big supermarkets here buy in those tasteless, large bananas from North Queensland. If you get a chance to buy and try the small ones, do so, before our local banana growers are completely put out of business. Tracey Schmidt Sandy Beach