Letters to the Editor, December 22, 2017
TODAY readers have their say on the passing of Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen, whether celibacy and confession in the Catholic Church need reforming in light of the child sexual abuse scandals, and the leadership future of Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten.
I LOVED your pictorial tribute to Lady Flo Bjelke-Peterson (C-M, Dec 21).
She was quite a gal. Her warmth and deep love of people was genuine.
This icon will be remembered for her vision, strength of character and her devotion to her constituency.
Few politicians could walk in Flo’s shadow.
Her word was her bond and her persona was the real deal.
Helen Holdey, Brighton
WITH the death of Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen, many of an older generation will surely feel that a large chunk of our heritage is gone, for she typified the values of an era of which barely a trace remains.
Sadly, some will undoubtedly focus on what your front page chose to call “the corruption scandals that stained her husband”.
Nonsense. The trial of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen was one of the few occasions on which I was truly ashamed of being a Queenslander.
Farewell to a grand old lady. We will not see the like of Lady Flo or Sir Joh again.
Terry Birchley, Bundaberg
VALE Lady Bjelke-Petersen, a strong, humble and honest woman and a genuine Christian.
She was an inspirational role model for women (and men).
She was able to relate to all people – as a charming hostess, as the premier’s wife welcoming international guests to Queensland, as a senator, and as a beloved member of her community.
But most of all, she was a loving and devoted matriarch to her family.
Now she is reunited with her beloved husband.
The world is a sadder place without her.
Marie Phelan, Hoya
I AM not a political animal and have no axe to grind, but I have a memory of Lady Bjelke-Petersen that is infinitely precious.
Many years ago, I was adjudicating the Kingaroy Eisteddfod.
Lady Flo, a keen music lover, was on the eisteddfod committee and in that capacity, she chaired several of the sessions.
While she was a delight to work with, the final night of the eisteddfod was particularly noteworthy.
All the judging was over. Surrendering my adjudicator’s table for the last time, I was told to sit in the front row of the audience with the local dignitaries while the closing speeches were made.
To my embarrassment, I was placed next to Lady Flo.
It was a cold night. “Here dear,” she said, “you must have this.” Taking off her soft cashmere stole, she wrapped it around my shoulders. “Now, isn’t that better?”
Such courtesy and motherly care from a public figure took my breath away.
Vale Lady Flo. A lady in every sense of the word.
Juliet Hoey, Arana Hills
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CULTURE AT CORE OF CHILD ABUSE CASES
MARCUS Kuczynski, in his opinion piece (C-M, Dec 21), and Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher are correct – focusing on celibacy and confession makes us take our eyes off the goal.
The core problem of institutions with respect to child abuse is the organisation’s culture. Culture is manifested in myriad good and bad expressions of the organisation’s behaviours.
Changing a culture is difficult because, in part, those who are advantaged by the culture don’t want it
to change. The powerful enjoy many privileges which they won’t give up easily. One such privilege is the subtle ways in which those at the top exercise power over others.
A cultural axiom is that “the new is elsewhere”, meaning you won’t find the solutions in the current expression of the culture.
Are we all prepared to examine the real problem to produce beneficial change?
Garry J. Everett, Springfield Lakes
MARCUS Kuczynski asserts that the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse is guilty of naivety in recommending that the celibacy rule for priests be relaxed and the seal of confession be broken in cases of child sex abuse.
Surely Kuczynski is guilty of naivety himself if he expects us to believe there are “promising signs the Catholic Church has finally got the message”.
May I suggest that the Catholic Church is more concerned about having been caught up in these scandals, as opposed to being genuinely remorseful in regard to the victims.
And as an atheist and a taxpayer, I suppose I too am being naive in suggesting that the Vatican dip into its own huge piggy bank in order to compensate the victims of abuse, as opposed to Australian taxpayers somehow being obliged to do so.
Crispin Walters, Chapel Hill
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BENNELONG SPIN CAN’T HIDE LEADERS’ WOES
SHAUN Carney was absolutely correct in his opinion piece (C-M, Dec 19).
The “absurdist spin” that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten put on their respective parties’ Bennelong by-election results was nauseating.
It capped off a mediocre year for two arguably substandard leaders.
As Carney rightly stated, “Saturday night’s carry-on was so underwhelming” and “it’s to be expected that political leaders will talk up events to their advantage”. But, as always seems to be the case, opinion polls correctly predicted the outcome.
In essence, Turnbull can look at the predicted minor swing against the Coalition in the by-election as a much more positive outcome than Shorten’s failure to get his “prized” but baggage-laden candidate Kristina Keneally into federal politics.
But, in what will undoubtedly be the worst kept secret in Canberra, I think Keneally will almost certainly be parachuted next year into the Senate spot vacated by disgraced senator Sam Dastyari, who handballed Turnbull and his government a “get-out-of-jail-free” card at the end of the parliamentary year.
Both Turnbull and Shorten had their party leadership marred by several “own-goals” this year.
Neither leader can say with certainty that they will be in the same role in another
12 months, as either one or both may be consigned to political history.
Paul Henderson, Wynnum
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