Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The auction date of Sussan Ley's apartment purchase or the date and time of the announcement about the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Brisbane that allowed her sufficient time to get to the Gold Coast auction? Julie Bishop's polo game at Portsea with her partner or the "official ministerial business" conveniently held at said polo match location with champagne and wine for all.
Will the new rules clarify this long-standing question? If they don't we will continue to see more rorts "conveniently scheduled". Paying for the trip between an official announcement and a private matter does not satisfy the sniff test. The new rules must indicate that MPs and staff cannot conveniently schedule official business to coincide with personal matters to save money or get the bulk of the trip paid for by taxpayers. And let's stop referring to politicians as "The Honourable". It's not only old fashioned but is now quite a joke.
Bernadette Earl, Thornbury
PM, listen to what you say
In the same speech in which he point blank refuses to disclose whether Sussan Ley broke any travel rules, Mr Turnbull goes on to assert that: "We owe the people of Australia the greatest transparency." Perhaps he should start listening to himself.
Stephen Williams, Wandin North
Resorts are always the destination
Repeated trips by MPs to electorates not their own (Ley to the Gold Coast; Mathias Cormann to Broome) seem to be to resorts. If MPs spent a lot of money visiting less attractive places that need government support there might be some basis to their claims of "all within the rules and all for appropriate business". But it looks very much like a case of "where would I like to go and what excuse can I find to get taxpayers to pay for it". Did Senator Cormann have as many expensive trips to struggling inland areas of WA? I am also confused about whether MPs are paid to work for their party (going to fundraisers, campaigning all over the country, lobbying the rich and famous, being seen at sporting events) or work for Australia. I hope the new rules make this distinction very clear.
Michael Langford, Ivanhoe
Surely a case of deceptive behaviour?
The steady stream of cases of MPs claiming expenses for what most of us would see as private activities will continue until the perpetrators experience the sort of penalties faced by members of the public who wrongly claim money from the Commonwealth. Sections of the criminal code that come to mind are "dishonestly obtain a financial advantage" and "obtain a financial advantage by deception", which can attract jail time. Surely attending a meeting near a tourist resort and then claiming airfares and accommodation for the whole family for several days is "deceptive" behaviour. If someone had the guts to take legal action against a few offenders perhaps the rest would consider their claims more closely.
Stuart Kelly, Kew
MPs can't even see potential conflict
"I'm sorry, but the reason I was invited isn't because I'm Steve Ciobo. I was invited because I'm the Trade Minister." And there-in lies the problem: politicians accept "favours" from stakeholder businesses. Politicians cannot even "see" the potential for conflict of interest and the promulgation of a potentially corrupt relationship. Not only will I accept the "gift" of a free ticket, trip, upgrade on travel and so on, but I will charge the public to attend as the only reason I am getting the freebie is because I am a politician and able to affect decisions in relation to my host. The quicker we get a federal independent anti corruption body the better.
David Radford, Northcote
THE FORUM
We don't approve
Steve Ciobo may be right in assuming that voters expect politicians to take handouts of such things as free finals tickets. I certainly assume our pollies believe in their own entitlement. However, assuming should not be taken as approving that their snouts will be in the trough at every possible opportunity.
Gregory Snider, Howes Creek
Cool under pressure
Mr Ciobo states not all MPs want to attend sporting events but feel like they have to. Such pressure. No doubt Barnaby Joyce will force himself to head off to the next State of Origin series.
Peter Taylor, Midway Point, Tas
If only he knew
Poor Peter Slipper. He could've gone to Margaret River instead of a local winery; he could have flown or gone by camel rather then sitting in the back of a car.
Les Field, Blackburn South
Rules for family
I cannot think of many reasons why family members of MPs who travel together should have any expenses paid by the taxpayer, let alone first-class air tickets. I'd allow them to share taxis and an upmarket hotel room, otherwise expenses, including food, should come out of the (fat) family purse.
Robert Scopes, Hurstbridge
Expenses small beer
Mr Turnbull finally capitulates and orchestrates Sussan Ley's resignation. Not because she breached the rules but because the expenditure failed the pub test. Sure the public hates the sense of entitlement that is the hallmark of such expense claims. But these are just small beer.
Politicians spend unwisely on many items: junkets disguised as having an educational benefit; their overly generous superannuation scheme; extravagant expenditure on diplomats (Washington comes to mind); the cost of communication staff and spin doctors ($8million for Mr Dutton's department alone); the obscene costs of our obscene refugee policy; defence spending (particularly on fighter planes and submarines); the inequity of negative gearing and so on. PM, run these expenditures through the pub test and act accordingly.
Peter Thomson, Brunswick
Bishop won't swap
Julie Bishop give up her glamorous celebrity life as the Foreign Minister to take on the difficult health portfolio? I hardly think so, Michael Gordon (Forum, 14/1). Besides, Mr Turnbull has managed to sneak Arthur Sinodinos back into the cabinet.
Cynthia Humphreys, Toorak
Tax discount is fair
Nearly all your correspondents oppose the capital gains tax discount. I would like to point out that the CGT discount was introduced when indexation of the cost base was scrapped. Without either this indexation or the CGT discount, investors could be taxed on a gain that is, in fact, a loss in real terms due to inflation. Now, that's really unfair.
William Coulter, Bendigo
Push back tidal wave
As a doctor and parent of three primary school-aged children I read with interest the article on technology in schools (Comment, 11/1). When my son brought an iPad home from school, home life became less peaceful.
After doing some research I was shocked to find a large body of literature outlining the harmful effects of screen time on children's bodies and minds. And no reliable research showing that technology improves academic outcomes. Quite the contrary.
I can justify any element of my medical practice using scientific literature. I am appalled that in schools there is wide application of technology despite any evidence that the benefits outweigh the risks. As a doctor I am not allowed to practise in this way.
As parents we have to raise our children to become functional adults who can read, write and count. We must stand up against the tide of technology threatening to suffocate them and hold schools to account for ill-informed use of devices in the classroom.
Anna Englin, Elsternwick
Pass the tofu...
When my meat-loving 16-year-old daughter went vegetarian (for animal rights and environmental reasons), I thought it a teenage fad that would last three weeks before she succumbed to the aroma of crispy fried bacon on a Sunday. Wrong. Four years later she is largely vegan, and it has changed the way I eat. Yes, I still love a char-grilled porterhouse, but less of it and less often – and I'm now more concerned about its origins than its price.
Unlike Hezbollah (Comment, 13/1), vegans are not a threat to anyone, so rather than feeling threatened, we non-vegans would do better to understand the underlying principles and make some small changes. More plants and less meat would be a good start.
Nick Carr, St Kilda
Meat not required
Duncan Fine points out the disconnect between our love for our fellow animals and our desire to eat them. In a recent book, psychologist Melanie Joy points out that if, at a dinner party, we were told we were eating golden retriever stew we might recoil, yet we happily dine on ribs, legs, and chests of numerous other animals. We know meat is not a necessary part of a healthy eating regime, yet our culture persists with the myth-making that it is acceptable – and good – to eat other animals.
The truth, which many of us choose to deny is, as Paul McCartney once said, if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.
Rosemary Clerehan, Armadale
Fire study findings
A study by the University of Melbourne (Attiwill et al, 2013) with scientists and specialists in fire management found no evidence from recent major bushfires in Victoria to suggest younger forest burns with greater severity than older forest (Comment, 13/1). Or that bushfires burnt more intensely in forests where timber harvesting took place than in national parks and reserves where there is no timber harvesting.
Aerial imagery taken after the 2009 bushfires shows that areas of young forest regrowing after timber harvesting were some of the only areas unburnt during the high-intensity stages.
As the population grows, so does the demand for timber and wood products. Without native timber harvesting we would add pressure on developing nations to supply our timber needs.
Nathan Trushell, acting CEO, VicForests
Steep spur a real test
The proposed Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing will traverse the Diamantina Spur. No matter which way you hike it, either up or down, it will be beyond the ability of most of the people expected to use the new facilities.
I have hiked this ridge a number of times, the first in 1976 and the last time in 2015. Each time it has been a real test. On the descent you arrive at the bottom with very shaky knees and then almost immediately you face a steep climb to the next hut. On the ascent, the continuous steep grade leaves you very tired by the time you reach the top of the spur. I doubt the average user of the more luxurious facilities would cope and could become stranded, necessitating a difficult rescue.
Andrew Webster, Clifton Hill
Victims pick up costs
Recently, my very old, decrepit car was stolen and I reported it to police. They soon found it a few suburbs away, trashed and unsalvageable. Had the police informed me at that stage, I would have arranged for the RACV to tow it straight to a wrecker – the inevitable outcome – for free.
Instead, the police ordered it to be towed to a private towing yard without my knowledge or consent, for the purpose of conducting a forensic examination. After that, the car went straight to the wrecker anyway. The police then left me with the $275 fee for the tow that I never consented to, and would never have done. I had no option but to pay the towing company.
I made a complaint and was told this is "normal procedure". Indeed, a quick online search reveals this is a regular occurrence. Is the funding situation for the police so bad that it is now outsourcing its costs to victims of crime? Having your car stolen is bad enough, without having police force you to pay for the "privilege".
Jen Morris, Parkville
Punters the only losers
When low-ranked tennis players throw matches, the only losers are punters and bookmakers silly enough to bet on such events. I have no sympathy for any of them and don't think officials and police should waste time and taxpayers' money investigating.
Barry Kearney, Ringwood North
Cost of cutting corners
Under health minister Sussan Ley, generic medicines manufactured in India (Letters, 10/1) were the cheapest available to those with a Commonwealth health-care card. Thus pharmacists mostly stocked them. However, the purity of the penicillin or the other constituents of the medicine cannot be guaranteed. A member of my family suffered an anaphylactic shock after taking such medication.
The emergency attendance of paramedics (brilliantly done) and the need to spend five hours under observation in hospital negated any financial benefit to the system by the use of "cheap" generic medication.
Loucille McGinley, Brighton East
AND ANOTHER THING...
Donald Trump
There are known knowns, known unknowns, unknown unknowns and then there is President Trump.
Andrew Powell, Caulfield
Trump's favoured shade of spray: Muscovite red?
Robert Forbes, Camberwell
By the time Trump has finished with the US it will be La La Land.
Scott Ramsay, Strathdale
The nation
Malcolm, it's time to drain your own swamp.
Ivan Woods, Sale
With one snout gone, there is now a vacancy in the trough.
Rosemary Lithgow, Carisbrook
"Failed the pub test" Sussan? And the "ethics" test. And the "decency" test. And the "public accountability" test. And the "commonsense" test.
Lawry Mahon, Port Fairy
At what point during the AFL grand final did Steve Ciobo engage with his hosts about business opportunities? The 20-minute half-time break?
Corrado Tavella, Rosslyn Park, SA
Weddings Parties Anything. Not a band, just what Liberal politicians are willing to claim travel expenses for.
Doug Steley, Heyfield
Now an agency is necessary to monitor MPs' financial morals. I am incensed. At least make the cost a charge against their salary.
Ian Cathcart, Ringwood East
Which pub will the new independent tribunal be headquartered in?
Paul Sands, Sunbury
Politicians should say grace before they eat: "I acknowledge the contributions of taxpayers in paying for my meal."
Brian Jones, Bentleigh East
Races, football, $4000 dinners, luxury hotels, helicopters, taxis. Gives a whole new meaning to "in the line of duty".
Myra Fisher, Brighton East
It's not even the pre-season and Turnbull is in turmoil.
Chris Davis, Pascoe Vale