Wells ruckus is a beat-up prompted by gender bias

Minister Anika Wells’ travel expenses fall under her role as a federal minister and within her family reunion entitlements (“Minister’s flight entitlements pass test, just”, December 8). Public interest should be only in how well ministers represent Australia. If there is dissatisfaction with family reunion entitlements for federal members of parliament, the entitlements should be questioned, not Wells’ valid use of them. It should be noted that the expenses criticised in the media relate to the past four to five years of Wells’ role as a minister of three government departments. As sports minister, Wells’ many expenses involved related duties – for the Olympic Games, Paralympics, Rugby World Cup and cricket Tests. I think it is wonderful that women can lead and represent Australia in a wide range of portfolios, including sport. The beat-up over her travel expenses can only be construed as gender bias, not cost-of-living concerns. Otherwise, the public should equally scrutinise the travel expenses of all MPs and the wording of their entitlements. Catheryn Sale, Wollongong

Minister for Sport Anika Wells at the 2024 AFL grand final.Credit: Instagram

Anika Wells is the latest in a conga-line of politicians over the years to fall foul of public perceptions of “snouts in the trough”. It was within the rules, apparently, but is always a bad look and is always exposed, leaving the minister’s career exposed as well. The latest revelations about Wells involving her husband and family in Australian recreational events are relatively cheap and certainly affordable for someone on her salary. As for overseas travel – does it have to be first class for all staff? Alan Carruthers, Artarmon

It is immaterial if the guidelines allow parliamentarians to take family to events at taxpayers’ expense. The public has had to tighten the belt to manage the cost of living, and so it is appropriate for all parliamentarians to do the same. The prime minister realised this and had a modest wedding and paid for it himself. In light of this, I think ministers should be paying for their families if they want them to accompany them. After all, their jobs are secure and well paid. Carole Hayes, Newtown

Its noticeable that Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is not involved in the political attack by the Liberals and the Murdoch press on Anika Wells. The rules that Ms Wells has followed fully and correctly were put in place by the Turnbull Coalition government after Ley’s inappropriate use of a government car led to her resignation as a minister in 2017. It is also a bit rich to criticise Wells for attending sporting functions on behalf of the government, given she is minister for sport. David Boyd, Bondi Beach

Dark knight

Correspondent Derek Elmes hypothesises that if Tony Abbott had lasted longer as PM, he would have awarded Donald Trump an Order of Australia (Letters, December 8). No doubt it would have been a knighthood, the highest level in Abbott’s solo monarchistic rejigging of our national honours system, whereby he bypassed his Cabinet and the Council for the Order of Australia to promulgate it. This honour, along with FIFA’s sycophantic Peace Prize, would have made Trump Sir President Donald Trump FIFAPP, and no doubt would have greatly appealed to Trump’s huge ego. John Payne, Kelso

Credit: Cathy Wilcox

Tony Abbott again waxes lyrical to a questionable audience, espousing his worldly views on a topic of his choosing (Letters, December 8). Having achieved nothing of substance in politics and having led the Liberals on a path of self-destruction by impersonating Dr No, surely it’s right to question why the media continue to give him air time and why we taxpayers continue to fork out many thousands of dollars a week for office space to conduct his activities. Surely this extravagance is worthy of review. Bob Cameron, Coffs Harbour

At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, I find it hard to believe the phrase “Will no one rid us of this turbulent priest?” – said to have prompted the murder of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury – is deemed acceptable and applicable to an ex-prime minister (Letters, December 8). Disagree with Tony Abbott all you like, but any argument is lost when violence is alluded to. Grant Heaton, Port Macquarie

I couldn’t help noticing that John Bailey, in quoting Henry II’s exhortation “Will no one rid us (sic) of this turbulent priest” in relation to our very own Abbott, comes from Canterbury. Robert Hosking, Paddington

Jump to the right

Like many people who care about good government and leadership, I was most relieved when the disastrous Tony Abbott was toppled by Malcolm Turnbull (“Liberals ignore, despise and knife their leaders – and drive their party over a cliff”, December 8). However, it didn’t take long for disappointment to set in as Turnbull proved to be, in Paul Keating’s words, a “fizzer”. His mistake, besides appearing arrogant, was to bend to the right of his party rather than trust his instincts. That proved to be his undoing, unlike John Howard, who skilfully maneuvered the Liberals to embrace the “average Aussie battler” and subsequently became revered as the most successful Liberal leader since Menzies, despite his policies creating many of the problems we now face. In his article, George Brandis laments that past moderate Liberal leaders are not celebrated by modern Liberals like their Labor counterparts, perhaps because the likes of Fraser and Turnbull ultimately embraced sensible, centrist policies in retirement, much to the chagrin of the right wing, who yearn for the days of “climate change is crap”, trickle-down economics and associated policy disasters perpetrated by Liberal “heroes”. Max Redmayne, Drummoyne

George Brandis correctly observes how little reverence the Liberal Party pays to many of its former leaders, but his churlish comments on Labor leaders, particularly Gough Whitlam, cannot go unanswered. Brandis brushes off Whitlam as one whose administration ended in failure and who tried to blame Sir John Kerr for his own downfall. Brandis fails to acknowledge the symbolism and charisma attached to memorable leaders. Winston Churchill made plenty of blunders, but the speeches he made to galvanise Britain during the Blitz will live forever. JFK, president for only 34 months, also made his fair share of mistakes but will be remembered for his inspirational “ask not what your country can do for you” speech and his promise to land men on the moon. The charisma of Whitlam, PM for just 35 months, not only inspired many young people to join Labor but also symbolised a changing Australia when he sat down with Mao Tse Tung and poured dirt into the hands of Indigenous leader Vincent Lingiari. Greatness is not bestowed on the politicians who serve the longest; it is won by those who change the course of history while in power. Mike Reddy, Vincentia

Although not of the same political persuasion as George Brandis, I always find his column insightful and entertaining. He had me reaching for my dictionary with “myrmidons” and “empyrean”. Ron Russell, Leura

Gas leak

I nearly had to break out the tissues after reading about the largely foreign gas-export group GLNG complaining about the probable introduction of a long-overdue domestic gas reservation policy (“‘Crippling prices’: Manufacturers demand gas reservation”, December 8). It is an absurd situation that Australia finds itself in. We export largely untaxed gas to foreign markets and then have to buy it back to meet domestic demand. A reservation policy would largely solve this and would be welcomed by Australian consumers as it would lower the price of gas. GLNG finds itself in a situation of having to buy gas from the domestic market to meet its export contracts. In other words, it has committed to supply gas overseas that it doesn’t actually have. That is a problem entirely of its own making and Australians should not be shedding any tears over this own goal. GLNG should be compelled, like other producers, to reserve gas for the domestic market and then buy gas overseas to meet its contract demands. It’s GLNG’s problem, not ours. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha

Australian consumers are fed up with rising gas prices.Credit: Rob Homer

Samantha McCulloch, the chief executive of Australian Energy Producers, states the obvious in her opinion piece (“Energy producers want to reserve gas, but from new supplies”, December 12). Australia exports most of its gas, often to foreign-owned companies. Japan on-sells the surplus gas it gets from Australia. Meanwhile, domestic costs rise and rise. What’s obvious is that Australians are being exploited by energy producers that care more about their profits from foreign markets than meeting Australians’ energy needs. New supplies are not needed, we just need to stop the exploitation of existing Australian resources by foreign players. Amy Blain, Ainslie (ACT)

Miraculous education

As I read the opinions of your correspondents extolling the value (or not) of their single-sex private schooling, I am left shaking my head in disbelief (Letters, December 8). How did my daughters become the competent, professional and independent women they are when they were subjected to the horror of being educated not only with boys in the class, but at their local comprehensive high school? It must have been a miracle. Carolyn Lucas, Grose Wold

The row facts

My son William features in the online photograph accompanying Megan Gorrey’s story in Monday’s Herald (“This Sydney council wants to build a new swimming spot. Rowers are up in arms”, December 8). He is not an “elitist private school kid”, as certain people think rowers are. He attends SSC Blackwattle, which has no boat shed. The only way he can train is by being a member of Leichhardt Rowing Club and rowing on Iron Cove. Governments have spent many billions on football stadiums and now the Inner West Council and NSW government want to spend nearly $4 million on a tidal pool, which will destroy the rowing course. Rowing is a low-emission and inclusive sport and the club has had its DA to build a shed on Iron Cove approved by council. Local swimmers already have the Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre, the Drummoyne Swimming Centre and Dawn Fraser Baths, and will soon have Cockatoo Island and Mort Bay, plus beaches only a short drive away. Governments should be supporting local students to achieve their sporting dreams, not destroying them. Carina Hall, Rozelle

Rowing groups are resisting the Inner West Council’s plan to build a swimming spot on Iron Cove Bay.Credit: Steven Siewert

Log out and tune in

As with alcohol regulations, the social media ban will likely result in varied compliance: some parents will permit supervised adolescent access while others may ignore the rule entirely (“Less than a third of parents will enforce social media ban, new poll finds”, December 8). However, irrespective of perfect enforcement, our government has taken a global leadership role in regulating platforms that pose a clear threat to children’s mental well-being and safety. This initiative may lead to a positive shift, encouraging more children to engage in healthy, active play, like kicking a ball or playing cricket, rather than being glued to their mobile phones. John Kempler, Rose Bay

Ugly development

I live in a beautiful coastal town. Because it has a train station (with a very unreliable train service, I should add), the NSW government has identified it as a priority growth area and hence forced it to add many hundreds of additional homes. Worse still, it’s being forced to allow medium- and high-density housing within 400 metres of the town centre. And, of course, greedy developers are rushing in to exploit the town, whose infrastructure and services are already under pressure. One large Sydney property developer, after receiving approval from the local council to build four four- and six-storey apartment buildings in the town centre, has now taken its development plans to the NSW government, seeking approval for 14-storey buildings under the State Significant Development scheme, meaning all control is taken out of our council’s hands. Basically, this means it will be approved. Can you imagine if the Italian government permitted 14-storey apartment blocks in its beautiful coastal villages on the Amalfi and Liguria coasts, or in Tuscany? What if France allowed high-rise towers in Provence? Yet we in Australia are happy to destroy our beautiful places forever. Kel Dummett, Kiama

One more tax reform

The Deloitte “five tax reforms that would transform the budget” omit one reform that would be both effective and equitable (“Budget ‘in red forever without change’”, December 8). As well as “broadening the GST”, increasing the rate to 15 per cent, with no exceptions, would eventually catch all the cash payments (black economy). Welfare recipients should be compensated with increased payments and the proposed income tax amendments adjusted to cover the additional cost to wage earners. As well as increasing revenue, the cost of compliance is simplified with every payment subject to GST, representing significant savings (and the associated productivity increase) to businesses, and tax office GST compliance personnel could be redirected to other compliance activities. Alan Slade, Dover Heights

Saved by red tape

It was great to read that intelligent building design led to a house being spared during the Koolewong bushfire (“The standard that meant that this house survived as those around it burnt”, December 8). In these libertarian times, my headline would have been “Red tape saves house”. Jim Fleming, Cammeray

A house built to BAL 29 (Bushfire Attack Level 29) remains standing, while other homes around it were destroyed.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Joyce’s priorities

Barnaby Joyce once called Pauline Hanson “bat-poo crazy” – but he won’t let that stand between him and a Senate seat (“Joyce makes switch to One Nation”, December 8). Greg Bugden, Armidale

Horseplay

England cricket coach Brendon McCullum claims he’s a “horse-racing man”. Maybe he’s heard the expression “flogging a dead horse”. That’s what the Australians just did to his team (“England were humbled, and it’s about to get worse”, December 8). Alan Popely, North Dandalup (WA)

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