Mercury letters, Monday, January 26

And yes I am disgusted that in some cases Australian law is touted as “taking precedence over all others”.

However at the time of the Bali Nine arrests, the average age of the perpetrators was the early twenties. 

Are you aware of exactly how a male brain of that age functions? Actions are testosterone-fuelled and impulsive without any planning or thought of the consequences of choices. The only skerrick of forethought was the final personal reward.

 I would say that any male in that age bracket is displaying very typical behaviour.

 If this behaviour is deemed criminal, the law should naturally come into play. The death penalty is excessive in this case. One size does not fit all.

Janet Pezzutto, Figtree

Judging by the outpouring of frustration by users of the Opal Card, I can only assume its “user friendly” standard falls very short of a similar system operating in the UK.

The British Oyster Card is absolutely “goof proof ”, convenient, time saving and apparently everything the Opal Card is not. Why was it necessary to copy a system as efficient as the Oyster Card and muck it up? Beats me!

Denise Meredith, Kanahooka

There are two beaches north of Bulli where dog owners can exercise their dogs off the leash, Little Austi and McCauleys. Five minutes walk from both these unpatrolled venues are beaches with lifesavers, flags, coffee shops, parking and pools which are free.

 Of course dog owners should be scrupulous about controlling and cleaning up after their dogs, and the great majority are. I see more broken beer bottles than dog poo at these beaches.

 You wouldn’t want to step on either but only one would take you to hospital.

Colette Ormonde, Thirroul

Hey Tony, a couple ideas from Barack  Obama’s State of the Union address.

1. A proposal for $320billion in tax increases over 10 years that would target the wealthy and raise capital gains tax while providing tax cuts for middle-income earners.

2. His call for more efforts to combat climate change, jabbing at Republicans (includes Australian conservatives) who doubt science and noting that 14 of the last 15 years have been the warmest on record.

 Tony is not listening to the people, perhaps it’s time to take notice of a few revolutionary ideas and set our country on the path of prosperity once again.

 John Macleod, Berry

The new bridge for Shone Avenue West Dapto ‘‘will be a flat smooth ride compared with the dip drivers faced when driving over the old bridge’’.

Historically, bridges were designed with a dip to allow for floodwater overflow should the under bridge become blocked. There are many examples showing removal of the dip  has led to massive floods upstream.

The mayor reports ‘‘the land is susceptible to inundation and flooding’’ and the work ‘‘aims to improve access to the area ... because of its flood history.’’ So where will the floodwaters flow now the emergency flood path has been eliminated?

Ian Young, East Corrimal