Uproar follows Chaser skit, and maybe a hint of a real debate The Chaser is successful because it makes fun of things that niggle everyone - ridiculous rules, stupid things politicians say, children's names that aren't really names, annoying warehouse clearance ads. With the "Make a Realistic Wish" skit, The Chaser forgot that formula. Dying children don't niggle anyone. No one has a gripe with the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Most of us respect the work they do and feel sympathy for the children and their families. All The Chaser did was trigger those feelings, and make it worse. There's no fun for anyone in that. Cathy Chase Wollstonecraft As I know all too well from almost every working day in the transplant units at the Children's Hospital, Westmead, the Make-a-Wish and Starlight foundations contribute to the morale and sheer capacity to cope of families whose children have life-limiting illnesses.

The sketch by The Chaser, which sneered at this commitment, was not only an emotional denigration of all involved, but must also put at risk the donations on which those foundations depend. In the current tough financial times, those funds are diminishing. Any argument that The Chaser might help by drawing attention to them is distasteful. Even if that were its aim (which is not plausible), the ends hardly justify such means. Diana Carmody Roseville With all the outcry about The Chaser, the websites that ran the story with links to the skit and the broadcasters that showed at least part of it demonstrated extreme hypocrisy. If it was that bad, no footage should have been shown, particularly after the ABC cut it from repeats. Pip Denton Guildford

With regard to the suggestion that anyone who was offended send a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, perhaps the Chaser team should donate the money they were paid for that episode. Janita Rankin Killara The Chaser skit achieved what it set out to do, and that was to start debate about issues that are seen as taboo. Let us debate the role of charities such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation. As a doctor, I can tell you sick children want two things: to get better and to go home. If you are concerned about sick children, donate to medical research or make it an election priority. Research works, and that is why children now survive diseases that were once terminal, such as leukaemia. Such charities pander to parent guilt and have become self-serving. Dr Suresh Viswanathan Department of nuclear medicine, John Hunter Hospital, New Lambton

The Chaser's segment was tasteless, but it reminds me of a key credo of theatre: "Comedy is for thinking, drama is for feeling." Maybe, just maybe, The Chaser has stimulated some thinking. Rob Aalders Kanimbla I suppose The Chaser must be working on a skit about Chris O'Brien ("Tumour claims cancer specialist", June 5). Stephen Lacey Pearl Beach There's a red herring in the dead parrot case

Bob Carr starts with a fundamental error ("Rights charter like a dead parrot", June 5). As advocates for a human rights act we are not proposing judge-made law. We propose that Parliament, after considering the public's views and in response to our obligations under international rights instruments, make a law to protect vulnerable individuals from abuse by government and government agents. The mentally ill, old people in nursing homes, disabled children, the homeless, refugees and others can be, and often are, mistreated in the name of government policy. We want a law that provides checks and balances on such policy by the lawmakers themselves. We want Parliament to actively monitor the protection of the rights it sees fit to legislate. There are no constitutional obstacles to drafting such a law, as the recent statement from experts including Michael McHugh, Sir Anthony Mason and Catherine Branson established. We have put forward a model bill to show how such a law fits without problems into our legal and political system. The constitutionality of protecting rights is a red herring. Let's move onto the purpose of our proposal: the recognition and protection by Parliament, the executive and the courts of the rights and dignity of all. Susan Ryan Chairwoman, Human Rights Act for Australia Campaign

Bob Carr says more judge-made law is the last thing Australia needs. Maybe so, but politicians can give us worse, like the law Carr pushed through to introduce poker machines into hotels. This was a bill of rights for publicans to fleece a new generation of problem gamblers. Joe Payne Coogee I would have more confidence in the Human Rights Commission, with its record of exposing the suffering of the stolen generations and children in detention, protecting my rights than most elected politicians. In many cases these are the people we need protecting from. Rather than entrenching the obstacles to rights protection presented by the constitutional mess we live in, we could simply enact into our legislation the many fine-minded instruments we signed up to. How radical would it be, for example, to have an Immigration Act that no longer breached the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Dianne Hiles Cremorne

Hobbled first test If John O'Neill is to use tonight's Wallabies match as a litmus test for rugby at the Sydney Football Stadium (Ruck & Maul, June 5), he should talk to CityRail first. The stadium is ideally situated for public transport. But today there are no trains on the North Shore, Western, Northern, Epping-Chatswood, Central Coast or Hunter lines. At least make it a fair test. Peter Elwin St Ives Caught red-handed

My father used to say you could do what you liked - just don't get caught. Joel Fitzgibbon cannot honestly believe his downfall was a result of leaks by traitors in his office and department. All they did was release information about what he, the Minister for Defence, did. Come on big fella! Ross Butler Manila Joel Fitzgibbon blames staffers for dobbing him in. Does this mean it is all right to breach the ministerial code of conduct as long as you don't get caught? Gwen Goodman Dubbo It doesn't say much for a country's weaponry when a defence minister has to fall on his sword.

Morris Graham Georgetown Obama message of hope Barack Obama's Cairo address will go down as one of the greatest by a US president. His message delivers hope to many, but I fear will be unwelcome by those who, for whatever reason, do not want real peace. Greg Loder Springwood Barack Obama has called on the Palestinian people to abandon violence in their quest to gain statehood: "Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed."

I'm sure this would have been news to George Washington and the other American revolutionaries who heard Patrick Henry's call of "Give me liberty or give me death!" and took up arms against the British to obtain their own two-state solution. Nathan Cassidy Florey (ACT) Barack Obama needs to learn that rhetoric is no substitute for principles and consistency. How can he claim with a straight face that the US supports the "equal administration of justice" after spending the previous day showing his support for King Abdullah and his horrendously unjust Saudi regime? I trust the Islamic world will see through this hypocrisy and maintain its justified scepticism towards the true motives of the US. Chris Rice St Ives Sharing the blame

Henk Verhoeven (Letters, June 5) may be correct that US pro-life groups have condemned the shooting of George Tiller. However, their constant campaign of intimidation, harassment and hate certainly contributed to his death. John Paul Cenzato Leura Surgeon who inspired I was saddened to learn of the early demise of my hero, Chris O'Brien ("Tumour claims cancer specialist", June 5). I met him in 2007 when undergoing radiation for my tumour. I was relieved to know I was not alone in experiencing brain cancer, or finding the medical profession wasn't all that professional. Chris took the time to talk to me and reminded me I needed hope.

I did - I had hope in Chris. I hoped he had the voice to make things better for people like me. I believe he has gone a long way to doing so. More changes will happen long after he has gone, but many of us will never forget where it all started. Thanks. Sarah Kauter Umina Just accentuate the negative Jim Ayling (Letters, June 5) has an eye for the absurdity of economic speak, but we may not call our quarterly GDP outcome a "positive contraction". That would be mathematically incorrect, since a negative by a positive is always a negative. The situation demands a double negative. We experienced a negative contraction. Tim Armstrong Morningside (Qld)

One woman, one vote Fearful as I am to open my male trap on the subject, I must take issue with Sarah Johnson's view (Letters June 5) that women have been "playing catch-up" on voting rights. South Australia started the ball rolling in 1894, and women could vote federally from the 1903 election. I think 106 years is long enough to let that one go - although the North Sydney Bears have been waiting almost as long for a premiership, and still carry on about all the obstacles the other sides have put in their way. Chris McGinness Erskineville Tamsin Lloyd (Letters, June 5), no one "opposed" a greater profile for women's sport - they implied it had to be earned. This is a reflection of the problem. You can demand all you like, but unless you have something valuable to offer, your demands will fall on deaf ears. Sam Fields Seven Hills

It's all in a day's work Andrew Symonds finished work and went out for drinks ("Symonds sent home for booze breach", June 5). He also had a few beers watching the State of Origin. That is exactly what I did. Lots of adults do. And then we go back to work the next day. Is it no longer in the Australian character to occasionally (or regularly) bypass authority? Can all be forgiven if a chastened Andrew brings in a letter from his mum? Then, as a child, he can be scolded for not putting up his hand before asking to leave the room, using swear words or whatever. As a man, he can bat and bowl for Australia. Barry Dalton Hong Kong To save his trip being a complete waste of time, Andrew Symonds should have a stab at Boonie's record on the flight home.

Gary Andrew Bardon (Qld) Welcome back, Andrew Symonds. Rugby league needs you. Stephen Driscoll Carlingford POSTSCRIPT Is Australia racist? Was The Chaser sketch offensive? Does women's sport get a raw deal in the media?

Not really, yes and it depends which gender you ask, to judge by readers' responses this week, although there were quite a few reservations in each case. Perhaps worryingly for the Chaser team, the ringing condemnation of their skit was less of the "more in sorrow than anger" and more of the "this series isn't funny anyway" variety. It was on for young and old when it came to grim medical themes. As well as tackling terminally ill children, readers wrote about assisted euthanasia (generally in favour), infant circumcision (mostly opposed) and the murder of the US abortion doctor George Tiller. Nor were suffering animals exempt, thanks to the ban on Animal Liberation's "caged eggs" ads on CityRail trains. That debate drew inevitable comparisons with the treatment of commuters, after Monday's story on overcrowding. The trains coming from the Ku-ring-gai district will be even more full if the State Government has its way on increasing the density of suburbs along the North Shore line. If our inbox is any guide, there will be mobs of polite, well-dressed residents assembling in Macquarie Street with pitchforks and blazing torches before that process is complete. Mike Ticher Letters editor