Gladys belittled by ICAC and deserves more respect

On Monday I watched ICAC proceedings for the first time and I was appalled (“Premier’s secret lover in corruption scandal”, 13/10). Gladys Berejiklian is our Premier and has done a wonderful job for NSW and the country in dealing with COVID-19. Yet before ICAC she was shown no respect at all.

Instead, she was belittled and constantly reminded that hers was a position of inferiority beneath her inquisitors. She had to sit there defenceless enduring insider jokes, snide remarks and even an earnest discussion about the timing of the lunch break. Mental torture is not acceptable in a civilised society. Anyone who appears before ICAC should expect to be treated with common decency. The public humiliation of people has its consequences. Only last week we had the disappearance and death of a judge, Guy Andrew. ICAC needs a lot less power and a lot more responsibility.

Paddy Grattan-Smith, Matraville, NSW

I have lived in NSW for 60 years and during that time have seen many premiers come and go. Gladys Berejiklian has undoubtedly been the star performer, initially as minister of transport, where she was successful in clearing up the chaos left by the Labor state government.

She has been by far the most competent NSW Premier of our time and it behoves us to recognise and treasure her dedication to her job, which I trust she will hold for many years to come. As Albert Einstein once said “He who has never made a mistake has never made anything.”

Peter Hurdwell, Mount Colah, NSW

Unless there is definitive evidence that Gladys Berejiklian did something unlawful or wrong, then the fact she stuffed up in her personal life only categorises her with the rest of us. The judgment you use when you’re in love is notoriously stupid. It isn’t the same judgment you use in the rest of your life or in your job. Can anyone say she hasn’t done a great job? Even Bill Shorten thinks highly of her.

First Nick Greiner, who was innocent, then Barry O’Farrell, who was never going to sell out his state for a bottle of wine, even if it was a Grange, and now Gladys. We don’t have that many good politicians that we can afford to lose good ones so cheaply. If you want something important to worry about, consider the ever-present danger that Port could win the Grand Final.

Gary N. Lines, Adelaide, SA

More than one Australian woman has made a bad boyfriend choice. Our Gladys Berejiklian, the Premier of Australia’s most populated and prosperous state, has during this once-in-a-lifetime coronavirus event successfully led NSW with dignified and carefully managed programs.

To listen to some TV newsreader’s drivel about our Premier’s private life or shadow spokesperson from the ALP who couldn’t run a chook raffle demanding she step down or resign is unforgettable and unbelievable in its hypocrisy.

Brian Binskin, Eastwood, NSW

Former NSW Liberal premier Barry O’Farrell set the benchmark for politicians and their stories — he called it the pub test. Gladys Berejiklian tells us that for the whole five years of her relationship with an MP, Daryl Maguire, now up to his neck in scandal, she was totally ignorant of what he was doing. He could hand out her private email address, and the two of them could agree on what she didn’t actually need to know, but they never discussed anything. Apparently there was a Berlin Wall down the middle of the bed.

No, that won’t wash. She’ll have to try something more believable. How about: “I criticised the Queensland border closure so much because I was trying to divert attention from my own problems.” The whole world could understand that and accept it. But as it is — out you go, Gladys.

G.T.W. Agnew, Coopers Plains, Qld

All the surmising in the world that Premier Gladys Berejiklian was not guilty of any wrongdoing completely misses the mark (“The Gladys we thought we knew unravels in a matter of hours”, 13/10). The fact that she maintained a close personal relationship with a fellow MP guilty of committing known impropriety, which she herself had previously publicly acknowledged, casts a very disturbing judgment upon her. She has disgraced the office she holds and must consider resigning as a matter of principle in the public interest.

Vincent Zankin, Rivett, ACT