YOUR SAY: Border Mail letters to the editor

The panel was established to advise the government on the pandemic's economic and social impacts. Seven members of the 15-person panel, including the chair, have strong links to the fossil fuel industry.

All were appointed by the prime minister without any transparency.

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No information was given as to the selection process. COVID commission? Make that the COVERT commission.

Once again we have vested interests capturing our politics, with no prizes for guessing where the billions will flow - the dirty fossil fuel industry.

Helen Haines' integrity commission won't come soon enough to address this almighty corruption, but in the meantime the senate select committee established to scrutinise the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic must stop the rot.

It needs to diversify the commission's membership, ensure transparency of its operations and guarantee that economic stimulus spending is used to build a better future for everyone.

The electorate of Indi and its communities have suffered the perfect storm. Bushfires, bushfire area declarations followed by the tourist exodus, followed by a 48-hour power outage (Mansfield), causing huge financial losses, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact on all our community and business houses cannot be overstated.

Business houses have been consumed by compliance requirements to determine if and what state or federal government assistance might be available.

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Their management responsibility continues in addition to: renegotiating mortgages, loans, creditors, staff management, cash flow, JobKeeper and the ongoing viability of their operation.

It does prompt the question of where our federal member has been through this perfect storm.

Your political loyalties are of no consequence during this disaster. It is reasonable to expect at this time that all levels of government support business, large and small.

My information is that Dr Helen Haines has not been in contact with the Mansfield business community since the perfect storm began in late December.

The federal member has found time to send a survey to business houses to establish if they had been financially impacted.

Really? I would think business operators across the electorate would have more to do that complete a nebulous questionnaire to confirm the obvious.

"There are weeks and months to run before we reach the other side, I'll continue to fight for all the people of Indi to make it through this difficult time" Dr Haines says.

Perhaps rather than inane motherhood statements and press releases, she could spell out exactly what she has done.

I very much doubt her predecessor would have been as inactive.

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