Tests for all

WITH Federal Parliament set to drug test the unemployed in Canterbury-Bankstown, it surely is time to drug test all parliamentarians each day before entering the chamber. Tony Abbott’s recent admission to being drunk in Parliament and sleeping through critical voting times is a prime example of the need to do this ASAP.

Alien to our culture

ANTHONY Albanese has said banning things — including the burqa — doesn’t work. Wasn’t stopping the boats a ban that worked? It all comes down to political will. Equality, for example, shouldn’t mean equal opportunity for all, however highminded that sounds. We don’t allow paedophiles the same opportunities as others, for example. Nor do we encourage Nazis to come to our shores. We draw a line that separates what we will tolerate from what we won’t. The burqa is a cultural as well as a religious garment. Religions don’t exist outside their cultures. They are not imposed on them. So why do we insist on imposing a culture, and its religion, on this country, when the fit is about as foreign and ill-fitting to most Australians as the burqa itself? And why do Islamists insist on keeping the culture and religion of a homeland they have A new way to have your say themercury.com.au readers have a new way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website.

Greed is bad

THE greed has set in again. Federal politicians take pension money away from the poor, sick, disabled and elderly after Malcolm Turnbull said he wouldn’t do any of that, and reduced penalty rates for workers that have to give up family time to work inconvenient hours. Then they hound welfare recipients into the ground about overpayment debts that they assume people owe government, only to find out in a lot of cases, after making someone’s life a misery, they are wrong. Now after numerous submissions to the Remuneration Tribunal, obviously from politicians, they receive a rise in livingaway-from-home allowance. All this wouldn’t be so bad if half of them earned it and didn’t rort the system. Will all these politicians that have turned out to be a citizen from another country have to pay all their money back or is there one rule for the rich and powerful and another to give the poor a hard time? People don’t have short memories when it comes to election time, and where are all the unions that just sit back and let politicians help themselves to taxpayers’ money at will?

Where’s the fairness?

MATHIAS Cormann can’t have it both ways. He claims that whenever anyone complains about inequality it is the politics of envy. This doesn’t sit well with the Aussie value of giving everyone a fair go. He’s another stale pale male who is unable to recognise his privilege in the lottery of life.

Modern classic

DELETE 500-plus properties from the Heritage Register and replace with Wrest Point casino — sheer genius!

Administrators rule OK

COUNCILS seem to be able to deliver without elected members. Can any one else see a cost saving?