After happily firing off multiple ill-informed media releases riddled with false accusations about Rebecca White in the past few days, Jane Howlett went conspicuously quiet when the focus turned on her.

Ms Howlett flat out refused to answer questions journalists put to her, including:

• What does she say to allegations she was in a close personal relationship with then JackJumpers chief executive Simon Brookhouse, leading to potential conflict of interest in her role at the time as sports minister?
• How much taxpayer-funded legal assistance has she received since 2022?
• And can she confirm she has attended the races at the Melbourne Cup this week, with flights and accommodation paid for by taxpayers?

Despite not answering these straightforward questions, on Friday Ms Howlett was happy to rejoin the public conversation, issuing a media release regarding improvements to water security.

This is just more hypocrisy from a minister who clearly wants to be in the news cycle, but refuses to answer questions from the media. She can’t have it both ways.

If Ms Howlett is as concerned about integrity as she claims to be, she should have no problems providing an answer to the questions above.

Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Minister for Health