Politicians are gaming the estimates committee process

That was made clear by the report of an estimates hearing which looked into the fact a group of highly paid public service officials spent more than $1800 for dinner (and alcohol) at a Canberra restaurant in February 2023.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie grilled Airservices Australia chief executive Jason Harfield over $1889 dinner for 11 officials who were farewelling a colleague. Mr Harfield had attended the dinner.

But what about Senator McKenzie's involvement in the appalling "sports rorts" pork barrelling which cost tax payers millions of dollars?

All too often those sitting on Senate estimates committees seem to be more interested in grabbing a headline and in the news cycle than anything else. The Greens also recently grilled a senior public servant in a less-than-pleasant manner.

Senate estimates committees have a useful purpose but let's have less of the hypocrisy and performance art and more substance. Some senators need to look in the mirror before they ask questions they know the answer to.

Having just returned from the USA one could not help but notice that many great public institutions relied heavily on bequests, gifts and donations from the very wealthy.

The MET in New York purchased very few of the paintings it displays including an extraordinary collection of impressionist masterpieces.

All were donated by the philanthropic few to benefit the many. One could not then help but then reflect on Australia where the very wealthy seem mostly interested in accumulating wealth.

But to what end? You only live one lifetime. Why not leave a lasting legacy?

When Dr Raison says that burning can help mitigate fires (Letters May 30), that's only true for the first few years after the burn. What happens after those first few years?

I looked at 36 million fire interactions across all the mapped history over the Alps to find out. In dry forests for example, a prescribed burn helps to contain a bushfire for three years. For the next 16 years though, it makes bushfires harder to contain because it causes regrowth.

That "disturbance stimulated flammability" can last over a century in some forests, and it far outweighs the very short period of benefit that we get from burning. When Dr Bartlett (Letters, May 25) talked about "long unburnt" forests, he's talking about forests in that dense period of regrowth, not the original old forests. Short-term gain, long-term pain.

Every study of those old forests in the ACT and surrounding similar country says they become open, burn less often and when they do burn, it's less severe and easier to control. What we hear though is the opposite: high "fuel loads" and high "intensity" fire in old forests. Both terms deal with extremely simplistic models from mid last century.

Fuel load (weight) is not the issue, otherwise a phone book would be more flammable than a single crumpled page from it. A slow fire that torches a tree can still be classified as low intensity.

The solutions are not simple, but we need to value evidence over discredited theories.

Errol Good (Letters, May 30) the killing of Palestinians, their dispossession and the destruction of their culture, land and environment by Zionists and the Israeli government is well documented.

Just because those who protest about Israeli injustice are not saying much about Ukraine is no reason to criticise pro-Palestinian supporters.

I, for one, am appalled about the senseless killing and invasions being carried out by both Israel and Russia. Meanwhile we head to a climate catastrophe.

Well deserved tributes have been paid to the late Bill Wood AM. They are best summed up by Senator Katy Gallagher's quote from former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope: "that he (Billl Wood) seriously and genuinely risked giving politicians a good name".

Having been appointed by Bill to a board to research and recommend the development of the Canberra Museum and Gallery in 1990s, I fully concur.

Bill had the vision for our own CMAG and gently but forcefully set some guidelines for siting. But he duly accepted the Board's preference for a central precinct rather than a Kingston location.

There was no bluster or "my way or the highway", just genuine and respectful dialogue with him.

Bill then became an enthusiastic supporter of CMAG.

Vale a truly gentleman politician, dedicated to community service and a very good bloke.

It's no surprise that reducing poker machine numbers is increasing the massive revenue extracted from club patrons.

Many social and sporting clubs cashed in their social license for poker machine licenses during the late 1980s to prey on their members. The excuse was that these people were taking their money to NSW clubs and putting the viability of local clubs at risk.

Years later these clubs had built hospitality and gaming enterprises that rely on the pokies for over half their revenue. A fraction of their revenue goes to the original purpose of being a sporting or social club.

A tiny percentage also goes to charities and gambling support services. Most of the revenue subsidises the more commercial purpose of being a hospitality and gambling venue.

And, of course, there are the donations to political parties. Political parties and the government might need to be weaned off gambling revenue before effective harm minimisation can occur.

As these clubs got larger so have their operating costs. There is also the competition from online gambling and other commercial venues.

Once again they are bleating about threats to future viability. What is the next money-making excuse for these not-for-profit volunteer organisations?

The new business plan for social and sporting clubs is property development. Rezone community, sport and recreation land and sell it off.

Peter Waterhouse (Letters, May 29) thinks city-based ABC journalists should reject "groupthink and confirmation bias and actually engage in critical thinking".

He would do well to share this advice with the right-leaning journalists of the Murdoch press and Sky News (who I guess also mainly inhabit the inner suburbs).

Laura Tingle is entitled to express her considered views, formed over many years of observing Australia and talking to its leaders, and thinking critically about what she hears.

Sue Wareham (Letters, May 27) correctly references the counterproductive use of language.

Notwithstanding having sympathy for the frustration of the police officer who described some attending the last Summernats as "subspecies", history has shown that those labelled with such language are apt to embrace it as a badge of honour.

The "Old Contemptibles" of World War I, the "Rats of Tobruk" in World War II, and on a more recent battlefield, Hilary Clinton's "Deplorables" are notable examples.

Like it or not, I expect that "subspecies"-branded t-shirts and "merch" will be best sellers at the next Summernats.

If anyone is qualified to offer professionally based conclusions on the actions of politicians, governments and oppositions, it is the ABC's Laura Tingle (Letters, May 29).

Those who have closely followed Laura's reporting over the decades can attest that her standards have always been fairly based on clear, simple criteria: what is the public interest in the story and how it might turn out to either the detriment or the benefit of the community.

She has reported consistently and professionally on the actions of all parties, and has, in my view, earned the right to inform her audience of her experience-based judgments.

What critics ignore is that they, unlike, top journalists like Laura Tingle, seem unable to put their own political prejudices to one side when judging others.

They also seem to prefer that we should sometimes remain in ignorance of the ramifications of the actions of politicians.

Punishing certain racist behaviours is often problematic. But once a criterion is chosen it should be applied impartially. Why does the federal opposition want to cancel the visas of student protesters supporting anti-Semitism but not those supporting Islamophobia? How is this consistent?

Sometimes Crispin Hull (May 28) it is best to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all possible doubt.

Sean Sadimoen, Labor candidate for Ginninderra, is not doing himself any favours by revealing he is a part-time stand up comedian. We currently have an ample supply of comedians and clowns in the Assembly. We don't need more.

Thank you Mr Dutton for saving me from a grievous mistake. I was about to buy an electric car but now realise that if the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing I wouldn't be able to go to the shops.

Why do supermarkets, cafes and clubs need to play very loud music all the time? Background music should be just that. In the background. Soft classical music bothers no-one, loud, thumping (so-called) music does.

Reuters have reported late-May frosts have cut Russian crop forecasts in three major grain-growing areas by 14 per cent or more. This could explain why the Russia burns large quantities of fossil fuels. They could be hoping to warm their part of the planet.

It is shocking to see children killed daily in what are meant to be the "safe zones" in Gaza. As a proud Australian Muslim, I humbly request our government to please call out these attacks and not be silent.

R Webb (Letters, May 30) is the one who "displays his prejudices", offers "dodgy analysis" and "omits to mention" plain facts when he attacks Crispin Hull. The comparative costings for renewables in the CSIRO/AEMO GenCost report already included "the cost of backup when the sun does not shine or the wind blow".

Why the pile-on on Laura Tingle? She was just stating the obvious. A country that deliberately implemented a white Australia policy saw racism permeate throughout its systems, laws, policies and key institutions. Thankfully, it's slowly changing but many argue it's still an inherently racist structure.

In response to Keith Hill and Ian Jannaway (Letters, May 28 and May 29) my understanding of "woke" or "wokeism" is the over-the-top behaviour and attitudes of individuals who are overly sensitive to their perceptions of social and political injustice.