It’s lucky Anika Wells has the high-profile communications ministry because she may have lost the support of some of Australia’s most senior sports officials.
It has been telling that in a ring-around of many of the heads of major sports organisations not a single one had anything to say in support of Wells or her achievements in the 3½ years that she’s held the sports portfolio.
The best I could get was this from one very senior official: “I like Anika a lot. But it’s hard to defend having limo drivers waiting for hours.”
And from another: “She’ll ride this out. But may lose sport.”
Adding later: “I hope she learns.”
Right now, sport can’t afford to have Wells fronting up knowing the media cameras will be snapping away, with news headlines waiting to be written, and their events becoming the butt of jokes.
If there is one constant criticism I have heard repeatedly from senior sports officials, it is that Wells has been notoriously difficult to pin down for meetings.
Maybe now we know why.
She was so busy accepting the free tickets to the party – which she is entitled to do – that there was little time left for the boring office bits.
Amid growing pressure over the minister’s growing list of taxpayer-funded flights, meals, drinks and cars – sometimes for her husband as well – she has referred herself to the government’s watchdog to be audited.
While the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority does its job, Wells now has a perfect out to not have to answer constant media questions about her seemingly casual approach to spending other people’s money, our money, and can focus her efforts elsewhere.
But where will that focus be? At the Boxing Day Test? At the Australian Open tennis? At cycling’s Santos Tour Down Under?
Will husband be reunited with busy wife at any of these events? Will he offer to pay for his own flights this time? Or are we feeling the Christmas cheer and offering to dig deep to shout him again?
The growing list of entitlements has come in the same week that Treasurer Jim Chalmers had to front the cameras and tell Australians he was taking back $300 from every household that would have gone to their ever-growing electricity bills.
It’s not a good look.
Source: AFR
