Media Watch II

Just how manipulative, dishonest, sensationalist, gutless, unfair and unbalanced is the media in this country? If, like me, you believe they need to be held accountable for the gross display of injustice they push down the throats of the Australian public then this is the thread in which to voice your opinion.

I intend to keep this thread open indefinitely. If anyone sees an example of their lies in action then we’d like to learn about it. We will document everything we can and spread the message as far as we can.

The truth will win in the end.

255 comments on “Media Watch II”

  2. I wish I had the wherewithal in time and link managers to be able to compile a case against the blatant right wing hypocrisy that is currently going on over Riley’s interview with Abbott.

    I would love to see a breakdown of media attempted gotchas, exaggerations, misdirections and outright mistruths against the Labor Rudd/Gillard governments as compared to Howard’s and the current opposition.

    I remember during the 2007 election getting upset and posting about a hatchet job Riley was doing on Rudd but where was the flood of outrage against Riley being strewn across the old and new media then. Nowhere to be seen, heard or read and a couple of lonely smothered Labor supporter calls for Riley to be reigned in.

    Look at the difference. Howard was a sacred cow but Abbott must be protected even more because he is a bumbling sacred cow who upsets the fruit stalls. We can but try to keep putting the word and facts out there to counter the media propaganda and interference, but seeing how the rabid right mobilised en bloc to protect Abbott the work surely is cut out for us.

  4. The oo continues its rabid attack of the NBN with its highly cherry-picked reading of an assessment of the NBN Co’s corporate plan by Greenhill Caliburn

    ‘WIRELESS internet technologies present a major threat to Labor’s $35.9 billion national broadband network, a government-appointed consultant has warned. ‘

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/telecommunications/wireless-a-threat-to-nbn-governments-own-consultant-warns/story-fn4iyzsr-1226005795467

    Of course, it completely misses the conclusion of the report (again) as stated in its summary

    Based on our preliminary review, as more fully described in our Report, and subject to the assumptions contained in the Corporate Plan itself, Greenhill Caliburn believes that, taken as a whole, the Corporate Plan for the development of the NBN is reasonable. In general, key assumptions underlying revenue and cost projections appear to be in line with a range of available domestic and international benchmarks, and are consistent with the stated policy objectives of the Government with respect to the NBN. Accordingly, we believe that the Corporate Plan provides the Government with a reasonable basis upon which to make commercial decisions with respect to NBN Co.

    Facts. Who needs em when you have a journalists Code Of Ethics to hide behind.

  6. Glad you’ve highlighted this, Pip. Aside from the Liberals and Tony Abbott I think the greatest threat to our democracy is this f…… ‘foreigner’ and I hope I live long enough to see him get his come-uppance. I am a bit younger than him, so even if he lasts as long as his dear old mum, I could still be around to spit on his grave. But let’s hope I enjoy watching him go under in the metaphorical sense much sooner than that. Somone has to get him somehow.

    I am astounded that no one seems to have picked up on John Pilger’s comment this week on Q&A that Julian Assange has leaked files he’s holding on News Ltd. as ‘insurance.’ Against what, I wonder?

    Apart from the blackmailing aspect of this behaviour by Assange and his support team, what does it say about the purity of his intentions? Presumably his ‘leaker,’ or informant wanted the truth out about Murdoch’s media empire, dominant, throughout the world, not used to save Assange’s neck in a tight spot.

  7. Hi Patricia,
    I half wish I had watched Q+A but coudn’t bring myself to, only to later discover people saying it was the best ever.
    Silly me.
    What was the blackmail reference about?
    Perhaps Assange leaked details about ltdnews ahead of any smear campaign which might be coming his way. Tit for tat maybe. Or maybe it was released in case wikileaks is shut down at some point.
    There is already a fair bit of nasty stuff out there; astro-turfing perhaps.
    Whatever the truth or otherwise of the Swedish accusations there are some very powerful entities ranging against him and we’ve seen what can happen even to an Australian government when the f….. foreigner will have his way. Bearing in mind also that w’leaks already released portray the foreigners’ Bush friends in a very bad light.
    Hope this makes a little sense, as I pop in and out here without time for a coffee!

  8. Q&A is on line anyway, Pip. Well worth watching, or ff to the last ten minutes or so which is when the Assange issue was discussed.

  9. Ta Patricia, I’ll do that. I tried to have a look at john pilger.com and it wouldn’t load but I’ll try that again later as well/

  12. Thanks for the link Nas, it all gets curiouser and curiouser doesn’t it.
    Hope your leg improves more each day.

  13. Rod Tucker (Director Uni Melb. Institute for a Broadband Society) wrote a rticle in ‘The Drum’

    http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/44212.html

    In the comment section,he wrote ‘A few people have suggested that I should submit this article to the Australian. As it happens, I did submit it to the Australian earlier this week but they declined to publish it.’

  14. Cheers Pip.

    Thnx for the link Eddie.

    “I did submit it to the Australian earlier this week but they declined to publish it.’…”

    The truth is out there.

    These days someone will print it. Readers just need to SEARCH wider.
    ———————————-
    “ACT scores $77m win over News tax scheme.”

    Pip @February 16, 2011 at 11:31 am,
    great news. Finally News Ltd. & News Corp are under scrutiny…and bein’ forced to cough up.

    Apart from that link I’ve heard stuff all about this important result.

    N’

  15. Loved that article Eddie, and particularly liked the bit where he fessed up about offering it to the oo. They don’t even make a pretence out of balance any more, its just negative, made up stories.

    Well, this morning they have decided that Labor have managed to single handedly KILL OUR BOOKS. The weekend paper is full of it. Unfortunately, not one offers up the real reason, which is given by a paper in NZ. Instead, its just attack, attack, attack, and facts be damned, lets stick with rhetoric.

    ‘Shorten closes book on imports ‘

    ‘THE Gillard government has ruled out re-opening the debate about parallel importing of books, lashing the management of the country’s largest bookstore chain, Angus & Robertson, which blamed the import regime and online purchasing for the company’s collapse. ‘

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/shorten-closes-book-on-imports/story-fn59niix-1226008401430

    ‘THE demise of Angus & Robertson and Borders book chains should be a wake-up call for the Gillard government to scrap trade import barriers forcing book retailers to be uncompetitive. ‘

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/booksellers-spell-it-out/story-e6frg6zo-1226008374875

    There are a raft of them in the oo today, and none of them actually look into the ACTUAL events surrounding this demise, so we need to look to somebody from overseas to peel away the political attacks and get to the story.

    Private equity company PEP (REDGroup’s owners) bought Australian and New Zealand bookselling businesses including Angus & Robertson and Whitcoulls for $136 million in 2004.

    In 2007 they were reported to have paid another $137 million for the Australian and New Zealand businesses of Borders Group.

    RedGroup New Zealand’s latest accounts (published this time last year – a fresh set must have been about due) showed debts of $131 million.

    Having paid about $270 million for the entire Australasian group, at the peak of the boom, it is highly likely the current value of New Zealand operations is well below its debt level.

    So even if management was running things pretty well, in this kind of market there was little hope of making enough money to placate the creditors.

    There is only so long any banker will tolerate a fiscal position like that which RedGroup was in.

    Eventually the banks have to cut their losses.

    Basically put, they paid way too much for an underperforming business.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10707269

    I mean, even the driveller of the second oo article uses NZ as an example of why the government is ‘allegedly’ to blame, yet, lo and behold, NZ is actually looking into the REASON why their book stores failed, not simply trying to set the government up as a scapegoat

  18. Eddie, for a moment there, I thought perhaps EIIR had got her gloves off! Somehow the idea that Murdoch mininions had the stupidity to hack into royal phones made it not so unlikely Her Maj might get off her dignity and get stuck into him. Then perhaps he’d get his come-uppance in the U.K.

    Still, the other Windsor’s opinion is just as powerful here these days. Is it possible that tweeters and internet users could give the might media Emperor the finger and organise a campaign against his darling Tones and his anti NBN party?

  21. Thnx Eddie.

    I hope everyone reads the Crikey story. It’s typical of the kind of sneaky dobby stuff that the News Ltd./News Corp people do at the bequest of their masters in order to dump on the reputation of their competition.

    Bill O’Reilly did same re: CNN’s reporting off Wisconsin battle the other day.

    They remind you of those petty dobbers ya got at school…always fingerpointing and running to the principal…trying to project their crap on you…and get to the top of the ladder.

    Nasty dobby stuff.

    I’m glad people are finally giving them some of their own medicine back.

    N’

  23. Good stuff Eddie,

    from The Guardian article:

    A new website promises to shine a spotlight on “churnalism” by exposing the extent to which news articles have been directly copied from press releases.

    The website, churnalism.com, created by charity the Media Standards Trust, allows readers to paste press releases into a “churn engine”. It then compares the text with a constantly updated database of more than 3m articles. The results, which give articles a “churn rating”, show the percentage of any given article that has been reproduced from publicity material.

    The Guardian was given exclusive access to churnalism.com prior to launch. It revealed how all media organisations are at times simply republishing, verbatim, material sent to them by marketing companies and campaign groups…

    The creation of churnalism.com is likely to unnerve overworked journalists and the press officers who feed them. “People don’t realise how much churn they’re being fed every day,” said Martin Moore, director of the trust, which seeks to improve standards in news. “Hopefully this will be an eye-opener.”

    Moore said he accepted journalists often have a valid reason for using press releases, and will often need to copy and paste significant chunks, such as official statements and quotes. But he said that on many occasions reporters appear to be lifting press release text verbatim and adding little or no additional material.

    In a typical example, the Express, Mirror and Sun all lifted of chunks of text from a press release last month on behalf of the Benenden Healthcare Society, which quoted a poll showing “British women spend more money on their looks than their health”. The Daily Mail copied 98% of the text directly from the press release. Similarly, the Mirror, Mail and Express all reproduced chunks from a press release by campaign group Migration Watch, criticising immigration rates under the previous Labour government. However, the Times made the greatest use of it, running an article that was 53% cut-and-pasted press release.

    ———-

    Yet another way to scrutinise the mainstream media and force them to hire more staff & be more accountable.

    Do these media moguls and their families really need all this dosh?

    Pay for more workers!!!…you cheapskates.

    N’

  30. I’ve written a piece today on The Failed Estate called Easy Meat.

    It describes the growth of the PR industry, the increasing incidence of “churnalism” and how spin is perverting democracy by allowing powerful interests to manage the news.

  32. This is the best email of the day for me, from Avaaz.org

    STOP RUPERT MURDOCH

    It begins,

    “In 48 hours nearly half the British media could be bought by one of the worst media moguls.
    Rupert Murdoch has exloited his vast media empire to push war in Iraq, elect George W. Bush, spread resentment of Muslims and immigrants, block global action on climate change, and undermine democracy by viciously smearing politicians who disobey his orders.

    A lock on British media will massively boost Murdoch’s power to undermine global efforts on peace, human rights and the environment. The UK is up in arms over the Murdoch bid and even the Murdoch allied government is split down the middle as it makes a decision this week. Global solidarity bolstered Egypt’s pro-democracy protesters. It can help Britain’s.
    Let’s build an urgent global outcry to stop Rupert Murdoch.
    Sign the petition to UK leaders.

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_rupert_murdoch_3/?vl

    There is much more at

    http://www.avaaz.org/en

    But” look over there….”

    Just in the last few days Liberal MP and former Qld cop, Peter Dutton likened Trade Minister Craig Emerson to Moamar Gaddafi and Saddam’s “Comical Ali”, and the Oz and Sky News are having fun with it.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/01/3152098.htm?section=justin

    Today there is a quote from the kind gentle modest and unassuming Sophie Mirabella,
    “She [the Prime Minister] is as deluded as Colonel [my people love me] Gaddafi”.

    http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/gillard-as-deluded-as-gaddafi-mirabella-20110302-1bdp2.html

    and in amongst these hateful attacks, Tony Windsor reveals that he has been the target of death threats because of his involvement in the carbon price debate.

    http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/threat-to-windsor-over-carbon-debate-20110301-1bcfi.html

    and Windsor calls for calm after death threats as he points to shock jocks saying they are orchestrating a campaign to bring the government down. Too true as various coalition members mention the E word.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/02/3152798.htm?section=justin

    We all know what will be highlighted and what will be ignored or bent out of shape by the media, it happens every day.

  40. Here is a piece by Tim Dunlop written in his usual clear and insightful style.

    http://tjd.posterous.com/like-hitler-crabb-misses-the-point

    Tim uses Annabel Crabb as the example of trivial, lack of depth journalism.

    As Mr Denmore said on Twitter, the piece is a classic case of the ‘view from nowhere’, the sort of journalism that positions itself between extremes and then labels itself as impartial. It conflates the serious with the trivial and offers generalisation rather than analysis.

  41. Min, he is spot on about crabbs, and many other so-called journalist, attempt to brush over the atrocious behaviour we see not only in the general public, but leaking into parliamentary debate itself.

    Compare this with the faux outrage over the ‘alleged’ lie by Gillard (which in fact is not a lie at all), and the airtime given to that. I commented on another of her articles how she had attempted to paint that one comment by Gillard (which was in fact, I have since learnt, preceded by the term s ‘ETS’ and ‘carbon price’ in the very sentence she was asked the gotcha)

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/04/3155218.htm?site=thedrum

    Irrelevant because she wants to keep re-writing history. She tries to make it out that all she spoke of was ‘no tax’, although she only said this once (that I have heard) under direct pressure from a journo looking for a soundbite, whereas they had consistently said prior to the election that they would be pursuing a price on carbon.

    She really is beginning to appear as if she is chasing a job with the murdoch stables.

    That the media appear to not only condone this behaviour, but, through their defense, are actually encouraging it, it reprehensible.

    The unhinging continues unabated, in fact, I would argue the unhinging is expanding out from ltdnews into theirABC and shock jock radio (where I guess it always was, I just never took note of it).

    Thank god that sanity like that portrayed by the likes of Tim Dunlop and Mr Denmore can continue to be accessed to highlight these failings. And of course blogs like this one (for the most) 😉

  42. Eddie, have been reading your links all week (OK, last week), and have appreciated them immensely. Yes, please keep em coming.

  43. Tom, journalism is most definitely missing a good deal of talent and balanced opinion – Tim of course writes reasonably regularly but is not a headliner read by Mr/Ms General Public, the late great Matty Price and George Megalogenis took a 6 months break in September.

    Balanced journalism was always thin on the ground but we are currently missing several of the best and the MSM seems to be in no hurry to replace them.

  44. Tom R. @11.56am about Crabbs,
    “she really is beginning to appear as if she is chasing a job with the Murdoch stables”.

    Yes she is and she’s not alone there. This story goes back a long way and it’s completely under the radar.
    As part of the ABC, Australia Network broadcasts into Asia, the Pacific and sub-continent India and receives funding from the Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    http://australianetworknews.com/

    It is not Radio Australia, but a separate channel with a very broad reach and looks like a very attractive proposition to the Murdoch empire and other media moguls. It has, so far been part of the ABC, but operates on a five year lease.
    As I understand it, the five year lease for Australia Network expires some time this year and will be up for grabs.
    The last time the lease was up for grabs….
    6th June, 2005.
    Sky’s push for Asian subsidy.
    http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1378484.htm
    “Sky TV has been lobbying to take over the ABC’s Asia Pacific television service – will they get what they want.”

    Well, they didn’t get what they want that time but the big question is, will they get what they want this year?

    Considering the criticisms of the ABC to be an ongoing campaign which stretches back many years, [Richard Alston anybody], connecting the dots is not so hard if you step back and see the bigger picture. The BBC is also under attack,
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/james-murdoch-launches-attack-on-the-bbc-1778797.html

    Mr. James Murdoch says that “state-sponsored news on the market makes it incredibly difficult for journalism to flourish on the internet”.
    Personally, I think it’s incredibly difficult for genuine journalism to flourish anywhere.

  45. Well, I was monumentally let down again yesterday on insiders, as the 4 sat around their inner sanctum and decided to rewrite the record again. It came about as they discussed Wayne Swan declaring (again) that the new Carbon Price is not a tax, and tried to explain it (again) to the poor befuddled meejay (although he didn’t do it quite as well as Gillard had already done in QT (see Grog)

    http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com/2011/03/on-qt-attacks-tax-and-semantics.html

    However, it appears that none of those who call themselves ‘Insiders’ bother to read Grogs columns, or follow the same reality that he does. They complained, repeatedly, about why it has taken 9 days for a Labor minister to articulate this pricing mechanism (er, people, read Grog), and why all of a sudden they are calling it a price, and not a tax (er, people, read Grog)

    crabb did the same thing in her previous few articles, and it appears to be a common theme throughout the meejay.Follow yabots lead and just call it a tax, even though it obviously isn’t. Even in an article in the news this morning, where Swan articulates that IT IS NOT A TAX, is preceded by this intro

    ‘The Federal Government says it will not be rushed into announcing the finer details of its carbon tax plan as it tries to counter the Opposition’s attacks.’

    (bold mine)

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/07/3156519.htm

    No they didn’t. They specifically said carbon price, not tax. The fact that the media either deliberately or incompetently overlook this detail speaks volumes about our current media landscape. It is not about what the government says or does, it is about what the media PORTRAY the government as doing or saying.

    And then, to turn around as the circle did on sinsiders yesterday and blame the government for the confusion.

    Printable words fail me.

  46. Tom, it seems that the MSM are once again using the tactic of say it often enough (preferably using an authorative looking commentator) and result, an untruth and distortion becomes ‘a fact’. I think that we can safely add the words “carbon tax” to the words rort and debacle.

  47. ‘I think that we can safely add the words “carbon tax” to the words rort and debacle.’

    I waqs just thinking that myself this morning Min. Although, in this, Gillard is partly to blame. She gave them permission to use the term ‘tax’ in attempt to try and keep on message of the actual scheme rather than pedantic semantics, but it has turned around to bite her. The meejay were going to play games no matter what, allowing them to vindicates them. And she hasn’t got anywhere anyway, in fact, the meejay are turning themselves inside out to try and get away from ‘price’ at all costs.

    I just expected more from the ABC, but am becoming increasingly let down by them. They are really just a ltdnews wannabe/whipping boy now, as Tim Lambert highlights in his latest installment of his ‘The Australian’s War on Science’ series.

    Anyway, after a bit of back and forth, the comment Hendrickx gets his way and the comment he doesn’t like gets removed and that it is the end of it. Ha ha! Just kidding. He wasted taxpayers money by making an official complaint to the ABC because they hadn’t apologized to McIntyre as well as removing the comment. And then The Australian printed his opinion piece about how the ABC was wasting taxpayers money with its blogs.

    http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2011/03/the_australians_war_on_science_62.php

    (he’s up to 60 now)

  49. There is no doubt that the MSM don’t want to tell the truth, rather they sit in their echo chamber feeling very important!
    Speaking of rorts…

    From Lateral Economics [ can’t find the date for this]
    Tax from more jobs lowers debt by $16 billion

    http://www.lateraleconomics.com.au/waste.html

    A Lateral Economics study released today shows that shows that over a quarter of the debt from the fiscal stimulus will be repaid from the taxes of those who would otherwise been unemployed.
    “As our economy turned down in late 2008, australians’ spending kept other Australians in work and those kept in work repaid the favour by continuing to pay their taxes”, said Nicholas Gruen CEO of Lateral Economics.
    So for every dollar the government spent, tax revenue to Australia’s governments rose by around 22.5 cents, leaving just 77.5 cents to be repaid. The total windfall to the budget – and to the community – of the additional tax revenue from the cash transfers is around $6.7 billion. This money and the production of all these people and all that capital kept in employment are the riches of good economic management – the only kind of free lunch we know of.
    ……the last paragraph:-
    “Counting the effects of both the cash transfers and the infrastructure spending to the the financial year just ending, tax revenue increased by $16.2 billion from additional employment. These economic benefits are in addition to any social benefits including physical and psychological health from lower unemployment”, Dr. Gruen said.
    There is no doubt remaining that the MSM aren’t interested in facts, just the agenda of their bosses.

  50. How very true Eddie that “Up close, politics is an adversarial game with much at stake, but that doesn’t entitle the nation’s opinion leaders to treat them like dirt in their own race to become more notorious than the next bloke.”

    Hence the race to the bottom as the shock jocks try to outshock the other..use up the unintelligent and the ill-informed to confirm their own twisted opinions and show respect for no one.

  51. Eddie, thanks for the link, Phil Coorey is one of the more decent journos and Sth Australian of course!!
    I’m not saying the rest from SA are in his league though.

  53. Eddie, thanks for the link, I can’t see what Shanahan and the rest are fussing about as long as marriage isn’t compulsory, but all this trouble started with the reds under the beds didn’t it.
    Heathens and commies would never vote Liberal would they.

  54. Eddie, I just caught up on this one from Mungo. Mungo used to be a neighbor and I can assure one and sundry that one of his biggest loathings is the OO.

  55. Can’t resist it, I just have to add this quote from Mungo..

    When marriage celebrants can don gorilla suits or give Elvis impersonations, it is hard to see a wedding as a ritual hallowed and unbreakable, a mystery that transcends normal democratic practice.

    Very quotable for our gay and lesbian friends 🙂

  56. Well, the new look 7.30 Report has allowed ulman to show his true colors. In his interview with Gillard last night, a Labor politician finally voiced the fact that Australia is not going this alone, as opposed to the claims consistently made unchecked by the opposition, and that many other countries already have shcemes that place a price on carbon. How did Ulman handle this, simple, by highlighting one state that is moving away from it, and misleading viewers about another.

    JULIA GILLARD: Well, I think you will make assumptions about the future of the world and other countries in our world which aren’t warranted. Already 32 countries have emissions trading schemes. 10 American states do as well. They haven’t waited for action at the national level, they are acting themselves. And when we talk about American states we can be talking about very sizeable economies.

    CHRIS UHLMANN: But Prime Minister, those states you’re talking about, in fact there’s a retreat by states in the United States. States like New Hampshire and New Mexico are pulling out of those systems that you’re talking about, so in fact rather than there being an advance in the United States, there is a retreat in the United States. And John Boehner, who you met today, the head of the Republicans in the US House of Representatives, he actually wants to cut the budget of the EPA by $3 billion so it can’t regulate carbon prices. So, I ask again: without the United States being in on this, why should Australia put a price on carbon?

    http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3158636.htm

    Well, I don’t know where chris gets his info, but I find it hard to believe that New Mexico is pulling out of a cap and trade considering they don’t have one yet

    New Mexico’s plan to cut its GHG emissions will add $2 billion to its economy, a new report found.
    Critics have claimed that the southwestern state’s plan to cut its GHG emissions 3 per cent per year from 2010 levels would harm its businesses, but an economic analysis by Synapse Energy Economics found just the opposite to be true.

    http://newenergyeconomy.org/2011/02/14/point-carbon-new-mexico-ets-to-boost-economy-study/

    Also, it is not one of the 10 states Gillard is speaking of (as seen in the link below which lists these states)

    As for New Hampshire, one of the 10 States who actually are included in Gillards list, their removal appears to be more a politacl one than an economic one.

    Unfortunately, the New Hampshire House of Representatives recently voted to withdraw the state from RGGI. This despite the fact that New Hampshire used $3.1 million of their carbon allocation funds to reduce their state deficit, and invested another $24.4 million in energy efficency programs. The state had used those funds to help businesses and schools become more energy efficient, weatherize low-income homes, provide energy efficiency job training for more than 170 workers, and so on. New Hampshire Speaker William O’Brien justified the state’s RGGI withdrawal:

    http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=616&p=2

    But given all of that, why is he so duplicitous in his statement? And why does he revert back to the old ‘without the United States being in on this’ line. Did he forget to include China in his mantra. Oh, thats right, they are also moving to put a price on carbon. His talk of a d’retreat’ is a false argument, as the base of countries and states implementing a cap and trade is growing, not shrinking. But that is not the impression he has left.

    So, I ask again, why the need to be so duplicitous when speaking with the PM of our country who has (finally) raised a very important point?

  57. It looks like 7.30 is going to make Uhlmann the story, rather than a reporter or co-anchor. What’s with Leigh Sales “interviewing” Uhlmann after his talk with Julia?

    As some grumpy old bugger says, “GMAFB” 🙂

  58. ‘What’s with Leigh Sales “interviewing” Uhlmann

    Yes Bacchus, its like a little group hug after the event. Very pathetic to watch. Wonder why she didn’t question him on his misuse of what New Mexico is doing with regards to cap and trade, or is it only guests who are asked the hard questions, not ‘journos’?

  62. Tom R at 8.40
    Uhlmann got my goat the night before, on the 7th.
    I hope this isn’t going to be the 7.30 norm- what amounted to free feelgood airtime exposure for a Liberal defence spokesman followed by a needlessly confrontative interview with Stephen Smith. But at least Uhlmann didn’t quite cut Gillard off last night.

  63. Yes BSA Bob, that struck me too. Why get all antsy and attacking with Smith when he is basically agreeing with you and answering all of your questions.

    He really looked like a try hard. Which makes you wonder, just how will he handle himself

    a) with an opposition member

    b) when the government really do have a case to answer to

  65. Harper’s attempts to make lying legal on Canadian television is a stark admission that right wing political ideology can only dominate national debate through dishonest propaganda. Since corporate profit-taking is not an attractive vessel for populism, a political party or broadcast network that makes itself the tool of corporate and financial elites must lie to make its agenda popular with the public. In the Unites States, Fox News and talk radio, the sock puppets of billionaires and corporate robber barons have become the masters of propaganda and distortion on the public airwaves.

    bold mine

    Where have I heard that saying before?

  67. ME, Australia does indeed have it’s own gaggle of sock puppets unfortunately, and the whole system has been lifted straight from the US thanks to Rupert.
    Thanks to John Howard the ABC has also been contaminated with the same system and any criticism is batted away by said puppets and their “comments brigade”.

  71. I am still surprise that the Media is struck with a name. At the end of the day what does it matter whether it is called a tax or a price on carbon, the aim is the same. The PM said if you need to call it a tax, that is OK, it is still market based price on carbon.

    After all a rose is still a rose and smells like a rose, no matter what you call it.

  72. I have no love for Ms. Pauline Hansen but I do not like what Today on NBN did this morning. They were talking about Ms. Hansen’s saying that she was convicted of electoral fraud and jailed. Nothing about the conviction being overturned, leading to he being released.

  73. CU,
    The Chairman is Maurice Newman, a friend of John Howard.
    He was appointed for a five year term commencing 1stJanuary, 2007. Mr. Newman has been quoted as being a climate change sceptic.
    http://www.abc.net.au/corp/board/newman.htm

    Directors.
    Mr. Steven Skala AO, appointed for a five year term 6th October, 2005, re-appointed in November 2010 for five year term. Howard appointee. Re-appointed by Senator Conroy.
    http://www.abc.net.au/corp/board/skala.htm

    Mr. Peter Hurley, is a business man in the hotels industry.
    appointed for five year term from14th June, 2006.
    Howard appointee.

    Mr. Keith Windschuttle, appointed 14th June, 2006.
    Historian, author, editor and publisher. Howard appointee.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Windschuttlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_wars#Windschuttle.27s_The_Fabrication_of_Aboriginal_History

    Mr. Mark Scott, Managing Director, appointed 5th July, 2006, and recently re-appointed for a further five years by Senator Conroy. Howard appointee.
    http://www.abc.net.au/corp/board/scott.htm

    Dr. Julianne Schultz AM, appointed for five year term commencing 27th March, 2009. Rudd appointee.
    http://www.abc.net.au/corp/board/schultz.htm

    Mr. Michael Lynch,appointed for five year term from 27th March, 2009. Has has a long career in arts administration in Australia. Rudd appointee.
    http://www.abc.net.au/corp/board/lynch.htm

    Ms Cheryl Bart, appointed for five year term commencing 3rd June, 2010. Lawyer and company director.
    http://www.abc.net.au/corp/board/bart.htm

    So, three new directors.
    Chairman Newman appointment expires in January 2012.
    You should have a look at google for more information on Mr. Newman…….

  75. The Opposition Says

    Just how true this article is and it was demonstrated in spades yesterday when just about every political story was prefaced by “The Opposition Says”.

    In on reporter interviewing reporter on ABC News one reporter said “I spoke to a Liberal Party strategist…” and then went on to detail what the government was doing wrong on what that strategist had told her. There you have it, a Liberal Party hack is a reliable source of information for the ABC on what the government is doing wrong.

  77. Eddie, excellent as always from Tim. I thought to pop below some quotes for those who are busy at work.

    What’s more, journalists – you know, that body of professional communicators – would present the discussion in a way that was both intelligible and engaging for what we might call the average reader. People like you and me.

    But we don’t live in a sane world. We live in a world where Tony Abbott and his contradictory rantings on the topic are taken seriously. We live in a world where leading newspapers and journalists insist on characterising the issue as some sort of legitimate choice between equally valid alternatives and where leading ‘commentators’ like to insist that climate change is a malign leftwing conspiracy.

  79. “The Opposition says” comment 4, “the ABC has gone to the shitter in the last few days.
    Remember the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation quote

    “Merry Christmas, shitter’s full”.

    That’s it in a nutshell.

    The current Chairman Maurice Newman is mentioned a lot on Google search:-

    Maurice Newman’s address to ABC staff
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/maurice-newman-speech/story-e6frg996-1225839427099

    There’s a chair in there:-
    http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/theres-a-chair-in-there/2006/12/13/1165685754452.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

    ABC Chairman warms to the climate sceptic
    http://www.theage.com.au/national/abc-chairman-warms-to-the-climate-sceptics-20100310-pz9u.html

    ABC Chairman gives editorial independence a kick in the groin
    http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/03/11/abc-chairman-gives-editorial-independence-a-kick-in-the-groin/

    Maurice Newman’s pudding tastes a little off
    http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/03/11/maurice-newmans-pudding-tastes-a-little-off/

    Obviously, climate change is not the only item that Mr. Newman has had to interfere with.

  80. I wonder when Maurice Newman’s tendure finishes? I just found out, appointed January 1 2007 for 5 years, so this means only another 9 months of Mr Newman.

  81. ME, Eddie and Tom R, thanks for the excellent links.
    It’s a pleasant change to see Dunlop’s article on the Drum.
    The PM’s speech to Congress was excellent, and as I was reading it I was trying to picture Abbott making the same speech. He couldn’t ever have delivered that speech.
    Min, mine at 12.31am gives the ABC Board appointments, let’s hope that Newman is not re-appointed.
    Also above, articles on Newman give a rather dark impression of the reasons for “the Opposition says”.
    Planet Janet is gone and I don’t think Windschuttle was re-apppointed, hope not anyway.
    Tim Dunlop’s piece is very welcome in a sea of half-witted ideologues.

  85. Eddie, honestly who on earth is going to pay to read the OO. As friend Mungo said to me one time, I only read it when I want to know what the enemy is thinking.

  86. ‘I have the misfortune to know somebody who argues exactly this way’

    You know denis shanana? 🙂

  88. Pip, it looks like some pressure will have to be put on Mr. Conroy not to re-appoint Howard’s board members.

  91. Eddie, The Australian is worse than just crappy; it’s a mouth-piece for the Coalition and quite possibly shares speech writing duties with Rabbott and co.

  92. Eddie, forgot what I was doing, hadn’t finished having a little rant. The comments after that article were well represented by the usual supporters of the right wing persuasion. Some of them comment on every article to the point where we could wonder whether they might be Liberal Party activists…..in this article they didn’t seem to mind what had been done to Clive Hamilton at all.

  93. Eddie it seems that the OO will stoop as low as it pleases even attempting to damage the reputations of people who don’t agree with its political stance. And Uncle Rupert expects people to pay to view their rubbish – obviously the OO has an over-inflated view of it’s own importance.

  94. Was watching a bit of Bolt on ‘Insiders’,turned it off.Does Cassidy have trouble finding good journo’s?

  95. Rather you than me Eddie. The moment I saw Bolt was on I turned to Sunrise. At least watching Samantha bursting out of clothing that is two sizes too small is far more pleasant than a second of listening to Andrew Bolt.

  96. Insider indulged in some Rudd bashing this morning and now ABC News via Melissa Clarke, that doyen of government bashing, is now putting the boot into Rudd as well.

    They hate Rudd to the point they overlook the important news of the moment and that what Rudd is stating are good things just so they can bash Rudd and manufacture a conflict between him Gillard.

    From Jeremy at An Anonymous Lefty

    And while we’re on the subject – it was a surreal experience watching Insiders this morning. The panel did debate the issue of a no-fly zone in Libya – if by “debate” you mean “they talked about what it meant in terms of the supposed conflict between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard”. Rudd’s supposedly been pushing for a no-fly zone, and the only reason the panel could come up with for why that might be is that he’s trying to get himself a seat in the UN or something. Self-interest. Not, you know, because we all recognise Gaddafi is a murderous thug and stopping him slaughtering his own people might be, you know, the right thing to do.

    Clarke on ABC News24 did a similar thing.

  99. WTF.

    ABC giving Abbott a lot of air time to give his condolences to Japan on behalf of the Coalition. He personally contacted the Japanese ambassador, we wouldn’t to leave Abbott out of what’s going on now would we otherwise Gillard might get all the limelight.

    Telling that Abbott during the press conference was reading from notes in his response to the Japanese disaster, so it was a carefully prepared response to make sure he didn’t stuff up.

    I can imagine the Liberals frantically calling the ABC honchos and telling them to get Abbott on immediately to counter Gillard giving her press conference on the latest in Japan.

  100. Five minutes of fame Mobius, most people couldn’t give a flying you-know-what about Abbott’s condolence motion…just a politician doing ‘the usual’. One thing noteable though is that he was clearly slow in coming forth with his condolences this time around.

  101. We have to endure for weeks. The MSM, with the Opposition lowering debate and news in this country to one about the government’s questionable lying and Mr. Mr. Rudd’s supposed plans to get revenge. Every word muttered by the PM Gillard and FM Rudd are examined and twisted to fit in what the MSM and the Opposition is putting forwarded as fact. Every success that PM Gillard achieved is ridicule and dismissed as being of little consequence.

    What I consider to be important to Australian’s on humane grounds and the danger to our present and future well-being is getting little debate in the MSM or parliament. The public debate has become a beat up of what either the PM or FM said or did not say. There has been no debate on what we should be doing in the Middle East from the MSM or especially the Opposition.

    Today we have woke up to a disastrous situation in Japan, tens of thousands missing or dead. There are reports of one nuclear power station exploding and others in danger of melt down. What is the story of the day, whether FM Rudd should have used the word “demand”. Very little of what is happening in Japan and what we can do to help. No mention of any of the positives actions take by the PM, FM and government.

    The MSM and the Opposition do have a duty to examine and assessed what the government is doing, and no one on this earth is perfect, there will be much to criticise. At the same time it is rare for anyone not to do things that are positive as well. I believe the MSM has a duty also to report on the positives. They also have a duty to examine and assessed what Opposition actions.

    I do not need to know what journalists and others personal feelings are. It is not the role of the MSM to bring down a government.

    We have Mr. Hunt demanding that PM Gillard rein in those who are calling members on his side of being Goebbel. No one in Labor has accused any Opposition Leader of being a Nazi. What they have done is accused the Opposition of using Goebbel tactics, that is if you repeat something often enough, it will become truth or fact. Mr. Hunt had the hide to do this, in spite of many on his side, likening PM Gillard to Colonel Gaddafi or worst. It reminds me of the kettle calling the pot black.

    “Utterly cynical, he seems to have believed only in the self-justification of power. “
    http://www.psywarrior.com/Goebbels.html

    “has hit ABC News where AGW skeptic Goebbelism by a decade or more by convincing the public through a disinformation campaign that there was an ongoing debate among scientists about global warming”

    84-Year-Old Accused of Future Deaths, Extinctions and Economic Damage

  102. Am I getting a little thinned skin when I come across slogans and posters describing our PM in language that I would not as a woman, tolerate being said about myself. Yesterday’s effort was a beauty in bad taste and close on sexual abuse. I feel I would react the way I have even if the comments were aimed at Ms. Mirabella among others.

    The last one that got my damper up :”Axe the tax” OK but I do not agree with the sentiments. On the same poster “dump the Frump”, this I find unnecessary and over the top. I find it insulting to all woman.

    Synonyms on my spell checker on OpenOffice.org Writer:- Dog, Unpleasant woman and Disagreeable woman. Maybe not as bad as “slag” and “harpy” but it tells us a lot about what these people think about women in general.

  103. Mark Day sums it up well. Maybe all journalists should be force to watch what they produce.

    “IT is said when we mere mortals approach the Pearly Gates, we see our lives flash before our eyes. That’s a bit like the way it has been for me in the past week.
    There’s no need for alarm. I’m not kicking the bucket just yet, but I have been laid up in hospital after a leg injury sustained more than a month ago turned septic. My time in hospital has afforded me an opportunity not often granted to those of us who lead busy lives. I have been able to watch – and critique – endless hours of TV news, current affairs, panel discussions and debates. Talk about gnawing on bones: when the commentariat gets its collective teeth into a subject it can put piranhas to shame….”
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/its-not-easy-sorting-the-news-from-the-mindless-sludge/story-e6frg996-1226020746097?from=public_rss

  104. CU,
    thanks for that link, and wouldn’t it be a blessing if a few more journalists were laid up and forced to watch their own sludge for a month or so!
    Ir gets worse with each passing day, with several articles a day about the “toxic rivalry” between the PM and the Foreign Minister. It seems to me that they’re all itching for another election, but they should calm down if this is anything to go by:-

    http://bob-brown.greensmps.org.au/content/media-release/transcript-australian-agenda-peter-van-onselen-and-paul-kelly-13-march-2011

    Bob Brown:- “But coming back to the Prime Minister, I think she’s up to it. She’s getting a lot of criticism, but I don’t agree with everything she’s saying in the public arena, nor does she agree with me. But on a one to one basis, I find that she is direct, that she is trustworthy, and that we have a businesslike relationship which is what the people of Australia would want”.

    Paul Kelly and Peter Van Onselen would, I am sure have loved a gotcha moment but it just didn’t happen for them…

  105. revised. Can someone remove my previous comment.

    I have never had much love for the media, I was brought up with a very cynical but smart mother. She was born 1907 but I believe she led her life the way she wanted to, thanks I think to a very close relationship with her father. I can remember her lack of respect for the local business men who sat in the front row of the church. She said the closer to the altar, the less you trust them. (Catholic). I think I caught my lack of trust off her.

    I have never seen the media as poor as it is now. Nothing is taken at face value, especially for Labor. Everything is reported through the eyes of what the journalist believe is happening. If the behaviour or actions of Mr. Rudd of PM Gillard do not fit into what they believe should be happening, they then manipulate what is said or done to put their own slant on it.

    I have come to the belief that journalist are so caught up in their own little world, they do not realise what they are doing. Look at Insiders today. It was cuckoo land stuff, with no relativity to what is going on in the country. I am not to sure who is being conned, the journalist or the public.

  107. CU, I keep getting the feeling that it’s ‘the powers that be’ who give instructions as to the Theme which is mostly to put the PM and the government in the worst possible light.

    Therefore all events and statements are assessed as to whether and how this goal can be achieved – those which provide few opportunities are treated with minimal attention but those which are negative or which can be twisted around so as to appear negative are constantly harped upon.

  108. “I do not need to know what journalists and others personal feelings are. It is not the role of the MSM to bring down a government.”

    Catching Up has put his finger on exactly what it was that so infuriated me yesterday about Barry Cassidy and his News Ltd crew of Insiders. I was trying to give vent to that feeling late last night at the Political Sword. I had been particularly struck by the program’s almost copybook replica of the attack by Cassidy and Bolt on June 20th last year just before Rudd’s demise. My ‘pome’ in response yesterday could have been this

    An ‘Inside-Out’ View Of Things

    I am told by the Insiders,
    On the national news provider,
    That Labor’s brand’s been trashed.
    Their electoral hopes are dashed.
    That’s what they say the papers say.
    I wonder if it really is that way?
    They didn’t say the economy has ailed
    To show how government has failed.
    Nor asked why we are overjoyed
    So few of us are unemployed.

    Of course this is the Land Downunder
    But, really, is it any wonder,
    I feel as if the world’s turned upside down,
    When a Prime Minister now renowned
    For strong, effective decisive action
    Is dragged down by the damaging distraction
    Of media commentators turning truth about.
    Isn’t there some way to turn ‘Insiders’ out?

    Except that I have already posted that pome as a comment with Larvatus Prodeo on June 20th last year when I was similarly outraged by Cassidy and the Insiders. It was just a few days before Rudd’s spectacular fall from power. I had simply excised the middle verse relating specifically to PM Rudd and his problems with his team, the mining tax and poll ratings etc. It would have been easy yesterday to replace it with a few lines about the Rudd/Gillard rift, the Carbon ‘tax’ and the polls. Except this time the whole scenario painted by Cassidy and Co seemed manufactured, rigged. There had been no disastrous PR debacle like the 7.30 Report interview between Rudd and Red Kerry. Julia Gillard had had a triumphal visit to the US and unless the ongoing reports of the rift with Rudd are true there is no evidence of real disunity within the government. So little, in fact, Cassidy had to look to Richo for a comment which demonstrated at least some dissent on the Left outside Parliament.

    I know we all know it but somehow this edition of Insiders again confirmed for me that Labor’s real opposition is from the media, and well organised from corporate level down through management to on the ground journos. How else could a fanatically ignorant dingbat like Bolt be given air space on the national broadcaster in what should be a serious news program like the Insiders? His on-line claim later that the other panelists were furious with him simply wasn’t true. They and Cassidy were all in on a determined assault on the PM’s credibility.

    I had a sort of deja vu feeling when Cassidy got stuck straight into the PM with his opening remarks. From then on she was put down, ridiculed and her achievements belittled. Much was made of the so-called on-going rift with Rudd. Even I, a little old lady in my West Australian sitting room knew the comparative numbers of people in Melbourne demonstrating for the carbon tax compared with the pitiful showing of the revolting people. There was something very staged about the failure of Cassidy and the other two to challenge Bolt about his fuzzy figures. Bolt’s frenzied ‘ha-ha-has’ on-line later were phoney and his claim that the other three ‘Insiders’ were furious and disagreed with him was not true.

    None of our friends at the Political Sword has so far responded to my question – Have I become a conspiracy freak?

    I think those well organised powers controlling our media know that Julia Gillard is a force to be reckoned with. If she manages to hang in for the long haul she will be a formidable PM. She and this government have to go, no matter how pathetic the current Opposition. Who persuaded Malcolm Turnbull to return and wait in the wings for his chance to give a new Coalition government a patina of respectability?

  109. Patricia, as an observer of people and their motives I have long been convinced that there is a deliberate strategy behind the way that the media report anything pertaining to a Labor government. They do it by ‘painting a picture’ with words in order to imbed their own image of that person and in this case of the government in its entirety.

    The best examples came from how the media warped people’s images of Kevin Rudd. You take a good family man = Scores, You take a learned person with assets valuable to Australia ie ability to speak Chinese = wordy nerd who is boring and who no one understands.

    And they are playing the same game with Julia Gillard, ignoring the government and Gillard’s considerable accomplishments such as being successful negotiators and concentrating all their efforts on trivialising Gillard the person.

  110. It has been obvious for some time that the Federal Liberal opposition media campaign is well organised and stays on message. They learned from the “Your Rights at Work” campaign which helped to topple Howard.
    However they morphed a campaign to change government policy into an attack against the party leadership.
    It took years of slur and negative messages to bring down Rudd, remember the hairdryer and air hostess nonsense.
    Fast forward to Gillard’s earlobes, unmarried childless status and of all things, lack of a handbag!
    Right wing shock jock radio commentators and a small team of bloggers can broadcast and publish the most outrageous lies and not only get away with it, but it gets picked up in the MSM as factual.
    As one of my favourite authors says “a lie can run around the world twice before the truth has got it’s boots on”

  111. Right-o Tone..

    Mr Abbott acknowledged that voters were turned off by nasty politics but said he had always tried to focus his attacks on policy and not personality.

    “There’s a world of difference between pointing out the dishonesty in the Government’s approach and slagging off individuals,” he said.

    “You might be able to drag up quotes that run counter to this, but I have always tried to play the ball and not the man, and I think you’d be hard put to find me on the record attacking the Government in bad faith.”

    Maybe if Abbott didn’t start every 2nd sentence with the words “she……..” this and “she……..” that, then this statement would be at least be leaning in the direction of believability.

    http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/tony-abbott-brushes-off-malcolm-turnbulls-popularity/story-e6freuyi-1226021080281

  112. Took me several minutes to pick myself off the floor and stop laughing after reading that.

    He even admits he attacks the person by saying you might be able to find quotes of him doing it, but apparently in his weird bizarro world of thinking that doesn’t matter as he “always tries to play the ball and not the man.”

    I guess as noone can tell the difference between when he’s trying to play the ball and when he’s playing the man from now on after every personal insult and personal attack he should state; “My apologies, I tried to play the ball but failed and kicked the man instead”.

  113. Mobius, so then it seems that Abbott CAN be believed even when it’s in writing it’s when he slags off at people.

  114. I actually get the impression that he is only interested in his own performance, which he believes to be infallible. He is unperceptive to what is going on around him.

  115. Maybe the Opposition’s plan is focus and on message.

    Maybe they are finding out what looks good on paper does not necessary transfer to reality. Last weekends people rebellion was a trifle underwhelming.

    Mr. Abbott, the Opposition Leader also has nor faired well in the latest Neilsen poll. At least this time 1400 were polls with a 2.6 error rate. When are we going to have a proper poll with more realist numbers involved.

    I imagine this beatup will have the same result as the many have in the last few months, nothing.

    Mr. Abbott, the Opposition has made many predictions, that he will stop legalisation passing parliament since the last election. His success rate has been nil, not even managing to have success with amendments.

  117. ‘I know we all know it but somehow this edition of Insiders again confirmed for me that Labor’s real opposition is from the media,’

    That is really how things look to be playing out. I just don’t know who sends the meme’s out to the various players, the liberal party or the ltdnews party. They are both completely in tune with each other, and, remarkably, are proven as wrong in their veiled slurs each time, so they must be working from the same playbook.

    Insiders was an abomination, (although I did like Farr equating bolts blog with urinating in a bay). The fact that nobody there appears to notice that they allow those like bolt on not to debate current policy, but simply to push an agenda speaks volumes for the sort of people they have running the show. It really is vaudeville, not a deep analytic look at what our politicians are doing. And with bolt running back to his little base and gloating about it, jesus, can you imagine somebody like David marr doing that and ever getting invited back?

    ‘Have I become a conspiracy freak?’

    If you have, then join the massively growing group of us out here patriciawa 😉

  118. Interesting article. I believe this is the reason that Mr. Abbott, the Opposition Leader is desperate to destroy Labor as he knows that the longer the debate goes on, the weaker his position is.

    “ Either the Labor Party is captive to a monumentally stupid federal cabinet, or there is a longer-term strategy at work behind the apparent debacle of its February 25 carbon-tax announcement.

    Take your pick, but the growing view that the carbon tax is ‘Julia Gillard’s RSPT’ is ill-founded.

    Superficially, the idea that ‘Labor has botched it again’ is appealing. Labor’s primary vote has slumped to a historic low (30 per cent according to Newspoll, and 33 per cent by today’s Nielsen poll) and some media commentators are working hard to push the Coalition’s ‘cost of living’ argument – acknowledging neither the costs that will be incurred if a sensible carbon pricing regime is not legislated (some of which are explained here), nor that fact that the Coalition’s direct action policy is a $3.2 billion per year tax impost to fund a plan of dubious efficacy.
    And so for those with a goldfish-length attention span, a simple logic emerges – Labor lost its head (Kevin Rudd) over the RSPT, and look, it’s doing exactly the same thing with the carbon tax!

    That may be what Labor wishes the Coalition to believe at this time, but it does not gel with the timing and nature of the carbon tax announcement.

    Labor’s strategy is focused on convincing voters of its carbon tax case some time before a 2013 poll – hence the rush to release the rough details of its carbon tax/ETS policy as early as possible.

    Hence too the lack of policy flesh on the bone – without a carbon price or details of who will be compensated under the scheme, Labor hopes the Coalition will punch itself into a state of exhaustion before the real, substantive debate begins.

    Climate Change Minister Greg Combet knows more than most about drawn-out strategic battles, having led both the 1998 waterfront dispute and 2006/07 anti-WorkChoices campaigns. And he also knows the significance polls have this far out from an election – not much.

    Under John Howard’s leadership, the Coalition’s Newspoll primary vote fell to 34 per cent in June 1998, and to 35 per cent in both March and May 2001 – and yet Howard won the general elections of October 1998 and November 2001.

    In each case, the Coalition turned bad polling around in less than six months, to win government with 39 per cent of the primary vote (49 per cent two-party-preferred) in 1998 and 43 per cent of the primary vote (51 per cent on a two-party preferred basis) in 2001. Labor has two-and-a-half years to pull off a similar feat. ……………….
    http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/carbon-tax-Julia-Gillard-Tony-Abbott-RSPT-pd20110314-EWRLU?OpenDocument&src=kgb”

  119. CU @2.45am, I remember the days of the Missionary orders visiting parishes for a two week session of inspiration. They were nice old guys [probably not as old as I thought at the time!].
    There was a particular family with eight or nine kids; the Dad was much more “well off” than most of the parishioners and just a tad self-important….as I was looking at the back of his head from a few rows back, the priest said,
    ” Mr. Business went to Mass, never missed a Sunday, but Mr. Business went to hell for what he did on Monday”.

    Decades later that little poem is still my favourite recollection of childhood church-going and I think of it whenever I see the overtly religious, dare I say, self-important among “stop the boats” types lying their way through the media cycle day after day.,

  120. CU @ 4.55pm. One thing that I’ve been reading (Possum from memory but mentioned elsewhere) is how phone polls are becoming increasingly unrepresentative as fewer and fewer young people have land lines.

  121. Pip, just gives an indication what cretin Blot is, that he feels and he can lie about Grog and not stand up to any scrutiny whatsoever.

  126. Thanks for the link Mr. D. “older media suffering udience decline”. Have they got any idea how many readers just aren’t interested in the cheap replacements they present in place of genuine news and critiques? It doesn’t seem like it.

  127. I posted a piece some time ago about Gina Hancock of Hancock of Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd. and her lobby group ANDEV.
    Ms Hancock has “recently purchased shares in Fairfax and Ten Media; there has been speculation that she seeks to ensure her views on australian and economics receive a wide audience”.

    http://newmatilda.com/2011/03/15/welcome-commentariat-gina

    “As present debate demonstrates, the marketplace of ideas is not truly free. Some positions are heavily subsidised”.

  128. How the hell does this headline reflect in any way the actual contents of the story, let alone the actual truth behind the oppositions remarks.

    Julia Gillard’s ‘dirty’ remark backfires

    A NEW row has erupted over the extent of the rest of the world’s action to combat climate change after Julia Gillard cited China’s closure of “dirty” coal-fired power stations to back her argument that Australia must act to price carbon.

    So, the only ‘row’ in the story is whine pine saying ‘does not’. Every expert they get hold of confirms the PM’s statement. So why has this statement apparently ‘backfired’?

    The simple fact is, China is doing exactly what we in Australia appear incapable of doing, moving to a cleaner power generating future.

    Yes, they are putting in more coal fired power plants, however, these are vastly cleaner type than those being put up in other industrialised countries, while at the same time, removing dirtier ones (apparently at a rate of one a day, as Gillard said)

    China Outpaces U.S. in Cleaner Coal-Fired Plants

    Not only that, even with increased emmissions, China still falls well behind in cumulative emmissions, and, considering the action they are taking now, will probably never get to where America sits

    Cumulative vs. per capita emissions

    Due to the way CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere (once present in the atmosphere, it remains for centuries), global warming is determined by cumulative CO2 emissions rather than annual CO2 emissions. In this context, it is important to determine China’s cumulative emissions when examining its role in contributing to climate change. Between 1750-2006, China emitted 8.2 percent of the cumulative emissions from fossil fuel use, compared to the US which emitted 27.5 percent, more than three times the emissions of any other country.

    As such, U.S. cumulative emissions have made a much larger contribution to current warming as well as future warming locked-in by past emissions.

    http://www.efchina.org/FNewsroom.do?act=detail&newsTypeId=1&id=107

    But I guess that everytime the opposition come out and says ‘does not’, it really means that the Government has been pwn’d again, ignore the fact that what the opposition says is obviously rot, and that what the Governemnt says and does is supported by the experts in the field.

  129. Tom after reading the article in the OO it seemed to me that all that Hunt was doing was to argue around and around in circles.

  130. That is all their arguments amount to these days Min. And the media let them get away with it unchallenged. As I listened to in the PP pod cast the other day, when whiney came out and complained about governemnt advertising, no-one asked him if the libs would hold themselves to the same standard if they get back in, so there is nothing to hold them to in case they do.

  131. “Tony Abbott does not accept the concept of human-induced climate change, even though he says he does and has presented a policy to combat it……An informed rejection of climate change theory is not a matter of shame. Political opportunism might not be as blameless.
    While the Opposition is pinging Prime Minister Julia Gillard for misrepresenting herself to voters at the last election, the Opposition Leader is misrepresenting himself in the current carbon pricing debate.
    Abbott wants to concentrate on Gillard’s broken election promise about a carbon tax, and to ram home the harm to household budgets a carbon price might cause.
    He doesn’t want to be caught up in a long, overwhelming discussion of whether carbon dioxide is civilisation’s best friend or a gas which could bring about its demise………”
    Who cares about climate change, when you have friends like this, you can do anything. I wonder if Mr. Abbott, the Opposition Leader believes we should have laws like Singapore, as Ms. Rinehart does.
    Why are many of our mining magnates overweight​?

    Does anyone think that Mr. Abbott, the Opposition Leaders comments in WA were not planned. This man makes many mistakes, but not while on his obsessive campaign to gain power.
    I believe that Mr. Abbott will move to the position of being a denier. I believe that Mr. Abbott, the Opposition Leader has not bothered to formulated a stand or is not interested in climate change. He is using climate change in an opportunist way to assist his own agenda. He is not strictly a denier, he has no opinion either way.
    Interesting photo in article.
    http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbott-blows-hot-and-cold-on-climate-change/

  132. And that is Tony Abbott’s real position, he still believes that climate change is ‘crap’.

    From Malcolm Farr’s article provided by CU..

    “But this idea that we can lay waste to a modern economy in a vain attempt to improve the environment is crackers, it’s just crackers and unfortunately far too many people who should know better have gone along with this.’‘

    And this is precisely what the government needs to concentrate on and something that they did start on and hopefully will proceed with..the fact that there are economic benefits to Australia to be leaders. Gillard’s statement about being ‘left behind’ will continue to hit the right note with the public.

    So Abbott believes that the economy always rules over the environment, try telling that to those effected directly by environmental degradation with pollutants effecting land and waterways.

  133. Jane has raised the issue of newspaper and online polls previously. This is what the Liberals are doing:

    Online reader polls may be a thing of the past for The Australian after the Holt Street 2.0 heavies conceded it was likely the results of two recent polls run on its website were hacked.

    Eyebrows were raised when a poll on The Oz website suggested on Wednesday there had been 70,000 votes (more than 97% of respondents) against the use of taxpayer funds to fly relatives to Sydney for an asylum seeker funeral. By Thursday morning, the poll had been updated to record more than 100,000 votes against the decision.

    And they pointed to another poll run on the website which recorded more than 263,000 people (99.17% in the affirmative) voting on Julie Bishop’s position as deputy leader of the Coalition.

    Just as the Liberal Party zombies are astroturfing about every political blog out there they are also flooding the various phone, TV, newspaper and online polls often using sophisticated methods such as hacking but usually be utilising sheer numbers and getting around repeat polling restrictions built into these polls.

    It shows how bad the Liberals really are that they need a predominately right wing media, which includes the ABC, and an army of zombie astroturfers to spread lies and misinformation so they can just manage to be contenders for government. If they had to do it honestly and on credible political merit they would polling so badly as to make One Nation look like a viable opposition party.

  134. Mobius, clearly the media is going to have to regain control of this situation as it impacts upon their integrity. And of course the OO and the ABC are already under heavy scrutiny.

  135. About an hour ago I heard the PM giving an update on what the gvernment is doing in relation to the enormous problems in Japan, and can’t actually remember a word of it right now.
    The last question was from”Sam”, presumably Samantha Maiden who has been obsessing in a snide way for months about the PM wearing a white jacket. Twitter actually has a hash tag #awj which certain bitchy journalists use frequently.
    “Sam” asked a gotcha and our PM gave a very succinct answer about how the media can tweak and twist their stories to suit themselves. I might be mistaken but I think the PM has been wanting to give her a serve for quite some time, and she did it with a very determined expression on her face. I got the impression that she might just be getting warmed up to that subject !!
    As the tennis players say after a successful shot, C’MON!!!

  136. Pip, I think that Gillard has learnt from experience that the only way that the government’s agenda is going to receive the media attention it needs is by doing something that grabs their attention. And then hopefully the media won’t twist it around to suit their own personal agendas..one lives in hope..

  140. When PM Gillard first became PM, I commented on the fact she unlike Mr. Rudd can lob the insults back I have been a little disappointed that it is only the last couple of weeks, she has been doing this. The first was her venture onto Alan Jones and Q & A. I think from now on there will be no steps back.

    The beauty is that she does the return serve with grace.

  142. Indeed Mobius..some indepth discussion of Tony Abbott’s chest hair. Horrible visualisation for yours truly 😦

  143. …whilst allowing Abbott to get away with utter bullshit that would have been very easy to refute.

  144. Min, @ 4.54pm I suspect that Fairfax will only get worse with Gina on the Board.
    ME, “the rug” got a bit of a run on Twitter as well. Revolting. Abbott is getting such an easy run.

  145. Patricia @10.55am on the 14th asked “have I become a conspricacy freak?”

    Nope, defintely not. Those we complain about really cannot be trusted to be truthful in Australia or in the UK, it seems.

    http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/03/16/rundle-news-of-the-world-scandal-looms-as-companys-watergate/

    “Yet it still wouldn’t express the baroque complexity of the ever-developing News Of The World phone-hacking scandal”.

    and this

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/11/jonathan-rees-private-investigator-tabloid

    “Jonathon Rees: private investigator who ran empire of tabloid corruption”
    “News Of The World paid £150,000 a year to a man who obtained information from corrupt police and illegal sources”

    Why should we expect integrity here from this mob?

  146. It is a shame that to get this story, the writer had to twist what FM Rudd said. Another myth in the making. I notice that Mr. Rudd has taken to reading out answers, he suspects can be mis-reported.

    “Mr Rudd had been led into the football comparison by his interviewer.

    “So what would you like me to do?” he said before referring to the Broncos.

    “
    Interview with Neil Mitchell, Radio 3AW
    Transcript, E&OE, proof only
    Subjects: Japan earthquake, Wikileaks, domestic politics
    15 March 2011
    KEVIN RUDD: Good morning, Neil.
    NEIL MITCHELL: What’s your advice? How serious is this nuclear problem?
    KEVIN RUDD: Well, we’ve been briefed by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. They have responsibility within the Australian government to provide us with technical advice on these matters. They’re in close connection with the International Atomic Energy Agency and both of them are analysing the data as it comes out of Japan.
    Here’s the best summary of where it’s up to as of five o’clock this morning, based on ARPANSA, that’s the acronym for that very long-sounding Australian name that I referred to before.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Yeah.
    KEVIN RUDD: One, they’re concerned that all three units at Fukushima Site 1 — it’s called Daiichi, the name of this reactor – are at risk of continued what’s called hydrogen generation, potentially resulting in further explosions of the type which your listeners would have seen on their television screens.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Yeah.
    KEVIN RUDD: Furthermore, current information suggests that the containment is still intact at Fukushima Site Number 1 which contains within it units 1, 2 and 3.
    Yesterday, there was an explosion, as your listeners would be aware, at Fukushima Site 1 at Unit 3 which injured six persons. In addition Unit 2 lost its cooling capabilities which replicates the similar phase we’ve seen in units 1 and 3.
    Furthermore, the area within 20 kilometres of the Fukushima nuclear facility which is about 270km north-east of Tokyo has been evacuated as a precautionary measure. Australians are urged to follow exactly the same advice themselves and also, as a precaution, Japanese authorities are distributing stable iodine to those near the plant, which mitigates any health risk.
    We asked specifically of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency yesterday whether any further adjustment to our own travel advisory concerning that 20 kilometre radius should be made. They advised that, based on information to hand, such an adjustment was not necessary at this time.
    So that’s what we’re working our way through, Neil.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Okay. I have seen reports of the potential of what amounts to nuclear — to radiation fallout being dispersed around the world on the wind, if the worst happens. Is that a danger?
    KEVIN RUDD: Well there’s a whole lot of scenarios which various scientific experts can paint. What we can only do, Neil, is respond, as non-experts ourselves, as politicians, to the expert advice given to us by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. That’s what we pay them for and that’s why they’re engaged by the hour with the International Atomic Energy Agency experts in Japan.
    I think it’s very important to listen carefully to the technical advice which is coming through from them.
    NEIL MITCHELL: I guess I’m getting at — it’s obviously a problem within that area of Japan. Is it a problem, potentially for Australia?
    KEVIN RUDD: What we’re most concerned about, Neil, is any Australians within that 20km radius which is why we have reinforced our own travel advisory, that Australians there should exit that exclusion zone.
    More broadly, if there’s any change in the situation beyond that 20km exclusion zone, within Japan or more broadly, then let me tell you, you’d be the first to know in terms of our advice to the Australian public.
    NEIL MITCHELL: What is the — what is the official view on how long this — this problem continues?
    KEVIN RUDD: You mean with the nuclear facilities?
    NEIL MITCHELL: Yes, yes.
    KEVIN RUDD: There is no advice in terms of the — let’s call it the stabilisation period, either for what’s called the Fukushima reactor, which has a total of six units within it, or for other reactors, let’s call it, within the wider earthquake/tsunami affected zones.
    There is another reactor to the north of Sendai which, as you know, is the centre of the earthquake and tsunami activity and there’s a further reactor to the south of the one at Fukushima as well.
    We are actively monitoring all of these facilities.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Okay. So we don’t really know how long the emergency continues?
    KEVIN RUDD: No, I wouldn’t want to mislead your listeners. I just don’t think that’s wise. As I said, as soon as we have any further technical information at hand, which is relevant to the safety advisories we put to the Australian public, let me tell you, we’ll be putting that out straight away.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Doesn’t do much to help the cause of nuclear power in this country, does it, when you have something like this?
    KEVIN RUDD: Well, that’s probably a debate for another day. I think you know the longstanding position of the Australian Government on these matters but I think all of our focus now is on how do we deal with this real problem on the ground in Japan which the entire international community is focused on.
    It’s one of the reasons I raised these matters with the Japanese Foreign Minister a couple of nights ago, to make sure that we, and the rest of the international community, through the IAEA were getting the full flow of data necessary.
    NEIL MITCHELL: And that is now happening, is it?
    KEVIN RUDD: Based on our advice from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, yes.  Also I note there’s been a briefing overnight by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna which, based on the summary I’ve obtained from our embassy in Vienna, indicates that their liaison with Japan is effective.
    So we will, as I said, continue to monitor these developments at a technical level through the technical experts and then provide any further information to the Australian public as it comes to hand which is relevant to the question of public safety.
    NEIL MITCHELL: How many Australians are still unaccounted for?
    KEVIN RUDD: Let me just go to that. We’ve — as of five o’clock this morning, Neil — we’d received 7600-plus telephone calls into the consular crisis centre here in my department in Canberra. So far we’ve confirmed the safety of 2610 of those.
    People shouldn’t be alarmed by the size of the gap. You will know from your own previous experience, Neil, it always takes a long time to finally track down every single person and it’s normal for there to be a gap like that in the early stages of a disaster, until we are able to locate people, given the problems with phones and everything else.
    In the disaster-affected areas we’ve currently got registered in those areas some 306 Australians and we’ve so far been able to confirm the safety of 128.
    We’re also moving our own consular teams into the disaster-affected areas. It’s been virtually impossible in recent days to get there but our consular teams are now in Sendai which, as you know, is the major centre.
    We’ve also had a team travel north to a city called Ishinomaki which is north of Sendai.   I’ll spell that in case your listeners have any friends or family there: Ishinomaki.  There we’ve had success in confirming the safety of a further eight Australians. We’ve also had a team active in Iwate Prefecture. Again I spell it: Iwate. We’ve been able to confirm the safety of four Australians participating there in a Japanese exchange and teaching program.
    NEIL MITCHELL: So we don’t actually have any Australians confirmed as dead yet?
    KEVIN RUDD: That’s correct, Neil, based on the information to hand, but we are always concerned until we’ve actually traced down every last person. Understand, this is also a very painstaking and methodical process, of finding the person and then ensuring that we’ve cross-referenced it with the registration details we’ve obtained from family and friends in Australia and that’s what we’re doing.
    Also our teams are going from hospital to hospital, from emergency shelter to emergency shelter, on the front foot, given that a lot of the prefectural administration is — has ground to a halt because of the impact of the disaster.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Is it too early to assess the economic fallout here? I mean, the markets were bumpy overnight. Japan is a major trading partner for this country. Do we know what’s going to — the impact’s going to be?
    KEVIN RUDD: Japan is our number two trading partner, Neil, and — and as you know, globally, it’s the number three global economy after the United States and China and therefore what happens in Japan affects us all.
    It is too early to make robust assessments of what happens in terms of global economy but obviously we’ve got our analysts at work on that as well. As you’d appreciate our immediate concern is doing whatever we can to help the Japanese government dealing with the crisis. That’s why we’ve got a search and rescue team up there and that’s why we’ve got C-17 aircraft now at the disposal of the Japanese authorities, to transport their own troops, personnel and equipment around Japan. It’s a very big aircraft and it’s very capable.
    And that’s why we’ve made other offers of assistance as well but we’ll work our way through the economic implications in due course.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Mr Rudd, just on something else, the Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, last night told the Prime Minister he had information Australia had been exchanging information with foreign powers about Wikileaks staff. Now, as Foreign Minister, you’d know if it was happening, I imagine. Is it?
    KEVIN RUDD: Our general principle is not to comment on intelligence information, as you know, Neil, and I’ve been completely preoccupied with Japan and recent developments in Libya and the Middle East overnight.
    On this particular one though, I checked just before coming on air this morning and I personally am unaware of any such exchange.
    Secondly, I checked with the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, he’s unaware of any such exchange. I also had my office check with the Office of the Attorney-General. He’s unaware of any such exchange. That’s my best response to this particular — question which was put last night.
    NEIL MITCHELL: And are you continuing to offer help to Julian Assange if wanted?
    KEVIN RUDD: Absolutely. We treat Mr Assange like any other Australians who has a consular difficulty abroad and it makes — and that goes to ensuring that there are regular consular visits if the person is incarcerated, making sure they’ve got adequate legal representation and responding practically to any other forms of assistance which are requested and that’s our posture in relation to Mr Assange and any other of the one million Australians we have round the world at any given time, travelling or living abroad,  who run into problems with the local legal authorities.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Still on something else, the polls on the carbon tax are pretty bad. Do you think this could cost you government?
    KEVIN RUDD: I have been out of the country for the last couple of weeks so I haven’t really focused on the detail of the carbon debate here in Australia.
    I think the key thing to do on climate change, Neil, and I speak completely consistently with other Ministers of the Government who have direct responsibility for this, is to ensure that we have a price on carbon because the problem of climate change doesn’t go away and sometimes these decisions are very difficult in terms of them not being particularly popular but I think in the full spectrum of history it’s important that we proceed in this direction and put a price on carbon.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Given you’ve been away, maybe you haven’t caught up with the fact your popularity’s going up, the Prime Minister’s is going down.
    KEVIN RUDD: How long have you been interviewing me, Neil?
    NEIL MITCHELL: [Laughs]
    KEVIN RUDD: One, two, three, four, five, six years. How many polls have we seen in that period of time, mate? [Laughs]
    They go up, they go down, they go up, they go down and they come and they go. It’s been a great honour to have served as Australian Prime Minister, it’s a great honour to serve as Foreign Minister, and as far as being Foreign Minister’s concerned, Neil, let me tell you, as our interview demonstrates today, there’re a few things going on around the world which tend to take your time.
    NEIL MITCHELL: True, but the question’s being asked, do you support Julia Gillard’s leadership?
    KEVIN RUDD: Absolutely.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Would you like another tilt at Prime Minister?
    KEVIN RUDD: You know something, Neil, I’m not of the view that lightning strikes twice. I think, as far as my own job is concerned, the work as Foreign Minister is right up my alley, I’m doing it to the best of my ability, there’s a lot going on around the world and I am absolutely satisfied with the work that I’m currently doing. I believe it’s in support of the nation’s interest, given that what happens around the world affects, as we see today, what happens in main street Australia, so that’s – that’s the job I’ve got and that’s what I intend to keep doing.
    NEIL MITCHELL: So lightning doesn’t strike twice? You wouldn’t go back?
    KEVIN RUDD: [Laughs] Well, I haven’t studied the history of lightning too much, mate, but I think it’s a pretty rare occurrence. There you go.
    NEIL MITCHELL: Is it as rare as Julia Gillard playing full forward for the sixth grade football club?
    KEVIN RUDD: So what would you like me to do? It’s more likely for me to be captain of the Broncos? I’m from a rugby league-playing state, mate, so these analogies mean nothing to us.
    NEIL MITCHELL: So we can go with that. It’s more likely you’d be captain of the Broncos than return as Prime Minister.
    KEVIN RUDD: Well, we could use any analogy you like, mate, I don’t foresee any such circumstances in the future………………………

    http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/transcripts/2011/kr_tr_110315_3aw.html

    ………………………………………………………….

    “It’s more likely for me to be captain of the Broncos?

    “I’m from a rugby league-playing state, mate, so these (AFL) analogies mean nothing to us.

    “Well, we could use any analogy you like, mate, I don’t foresee any such circumstances in the future.”

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/im-more-likely-to-captain-the-broncos-than-be-pm-again-says-kevin-rudd/story-e6frfkw9-1226021753509#ixzz1GkrjvhUg

  149. Thanks for the links CU, many of the journalists don’t possess the required powers of concentration to absorb a third of what the FM said, and so, they make things up, belittle our leaders, and at the end of the day, think they’ve done a good days work. Not even the terrible things happening in Japan and the Middle East can sway them from their course. Those on the ground in Japan and the Middle East excluded.

  150. Eddie thanks for the link, a must read at TPS, and the other link about the bloody governor of Michigan is the perfect template for the Rabbott. Taxing the most vulnerable and giving to the big corporations who are much more deserving. Scary.

  151. The day the Canberra Press Gallery believed it was governing the country

    Yes very good stuff indeed so I’ve given a direct link.

    I’ve commented in that article as I was once fobbed off by George Megalogenis, who I an enormous amount of respect for, over this very thing of the press gallery and opinion writers thinking they run the country and things should be done their way.

    By the way I was fobbed off because scaper sidetracked my comment into an personal attack on me based on lies that led to George stating I was conspiratorial. Because of that the very legitimate question I asked of George, which equally applied to all the political commentators, was not answered.

  152. Courtesy of Jeremy Sear over at Crikey…

    Yesterday the Prime Minister gave a press conference about the situation in Japan, and the press gallery asked her again and again – no matter how many times she explained what a “multi-party climate change committee” meant – who FORCED her to change her mind on a carbon tax. No, really Prime Minister, who forced you? But who forced you? Seriously, yes, who forced you?

    http://blogs.crikey.com.au/purepoison/2011/03/17/washpo-two-types-of-people-in-the-world/

  153. ME, did you notice the comments, about tackiling anti–govt., bias at the ABC. Much talk of a petition.
    One from “Bring Back Maxine”, no it’s not Max., Kew, @ 7.43pm, 16th March.
    http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/03/16/The-day-the-Canberra-Press-Gallery-believed-it-was-governing-the-country.aspx#comment
    plus this one:-
    http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2011/03/14/The-Day-News-Limited-Took-Over-Our-ABC.aspx

    How to present a petition to the Senate

    http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/work/petitions/index.htm

    and three signatures are needed if a recent example still applies.
    Imagine if many little groups of three or even a thousand, the more the merrier, flooded the Senate with Petitions requesting an enquiry as to the reason for such a blatant display of anti-Labor bias, not to mention the increasingly rude manner of interviewing/ interrupting labor MPs.

  156. Min, I seem to remember the PM voicing the opinion that a carbon tax might have to be in the mix in the early days of this government about the same time it was obvious it would be a minority government. It was not a person who changed her mind, it was the numbers that the electorate delivered.

    Mr. Abbott changed his mind around the time he deposed Mr. Turnbull. I assume he was offered the Opposition Leaders job if he come on board with the climate change deniers. I will add, that Mr. Hockey was cleverly used by Mr. Abbott and Mr. Howard to split the Liberals vote. Mr. Hockey fell into the trap. I would advise Mr. Hockey, if he decided to challenge again, he does not take advice from either man.

  157. CU, I have to admit it but Labor ran a god-damn awful election campaign with Julia clearly being advised to put forward some things which were very bad ideas such as setting up yet another committee. A “citizens’ assembly” on climate change. Good grief!! One thing that our girl is not and this is wishy-washy.

    And here is Julia stating exactly that, “that a carbon tax might have to be in the mix in the early days of this government about the same time it was obvious it would be a minority government.”

    JULIA Gillard says the promises she made in the run-up to the Federal Election no longer necessarily apply because of the “new environment” created by a hung parliament.

    “It’s not business as usual for measures that require substantial legislation,” the Prime Minister said in an interview with Fairfax Newspapers published today.

    This included “big picture reforms – and anything associated with climate change is obviously one where we’re in a new environment”, she said.

    http://www.news.com.au/national/julia-gillard-gives-warning-that-election-promises-will-be-broken/story-e6frfkvr-1225925676108

    It’s just business as usual. When Abbott performs a backflip with pike to the media it’s either ignored or labelled as ‘clever politics’ but when it’s the government it’s hysterics about Ju-LIAR.

    From the way that I see it Abbott only became leader of the opposition by accident. It was Turnbull and Hockey who mucked it up by splitting the moderate vote when they should have combined forces to ensure that Abbott didn’t get over the line. And so now they’re both paying the price by having to cowtow to a man who they both dislike intensely.

    By way of example..

    DUMPED Liberal Leader Malcolm Turnbull has lashed his successor’s “costless” plan to fight climate change just hours after vowing not to undermine him.

    I very much doubt that either Turnbull or Hockey will make the same mistake twice. But unfortunately Abbott’s job is safe for the moment as his numbers on the polls are too good even if his personal ratings remain stagnant.

  160. Min, I recall that Mr. Howard was advising both Mr. Abbott and Mr. Hockey, when Mr. Turnbull was deposed.

  161. CU, one of the comments via your link is spot-on. “Abbott’s tactics are about to backfire, and he’ll have no-one but himself to blame.”

  162. CU, you could be right there. However Turnbull was also Howard’s man as Howard used Turnbull to point the rude finger at Peter Costello. But that would be Howard for you, did whatever he saw benefitted himself first and foremost.

  163. Could anyone tell me roughly what time any politicial interviews will be on Commercial TV stations on Sunday morn.After listening to Bolt on ‘insiders’ last Sunday,even the adverts on 7 & 9 would be better to put up with than Bolts ‘crap’.I already watch ‘Meet the Press’ on 10.

  164. Courtesy of http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/tony-abbott—three-strikes-in-three-minutes/

    HOST: So, where is your own mind as far as the climate change science is concerned and what we need to do about it?
    ABBOTT: Well, what I said about 18 months or so back was that the so-called settled science of climate change isn’t always quite what it’s claimed to be.
    Nevertheless, as I’ve said repeatedly, it’s important to tack prudent precautions against credible threats. Climate change is real. Mankind does make a contribution. TONY ABBOTT – ABC ILLAWARRA – 16 MARCH 2011

    While Tony Abbott called himself a ‘weathervane’ when it comes to climate change, this must be some sort of record – 2 positions on climate change in 3 sentences.

  168. lunalava, even in her apology, she can’t help setting herself up for a future fall

    it might now be time to admit the possibility that it was the Foreign Minister who was right all along, and the Prime Minister who lost a little focus.

    She doesn’t highlight exactly how she comes to the conclusion the PM ‘lost her focus’, just that she did.

    Sorry, but the only ones who lost focus were the media. At least she recognises that, and explains (perhaps) why they did. (‘We in the media love a blue.’) The test will be, will it change habits?

    Going on the section I highlighted, I very much doubt that.

  170. Very interesting Eddie and surprises me not one bit that journalists concoct stories taking snippets from genuine reports and then inaccurately reporting them to make ‘a story’.

  172. I can’t find anything in the media on line, and I guess it’s too much to hope it will ever appear in print but I hear that the Port Macquarie revolting people protest had a turn out of some eight people! Which inspired me to add another verse for my pome on that. But I don’t seem able to add it appropiately at my polliepomes site. I guess I’ll really get it soon. Meanwhile here it is in toto in keeping with my decision to place pomes at other appropriate places and times and use my own site to store.

    Revolting People

    Abbott’s people are revolting,
    He claimed, as he outlined some facts
    On their courage in assaulting
    The Greens’ and Labor’s Carbon Tax.

    The Peoples’ Revolt would not fail!
    They would rise up, protest and fight
    Against Julia Gillard’s betrayal
    Of all that’s valued by the Right.

    They’d fight this tax every second
    Of every minute of every day!
    They’d never give up, he reckoned,
    Cos that’s the Coalition way.

    Last Saturday hundreds turned out l
    With banners, giving angry voice
    ‘Gainst thousands who came out to shout
    Opposing them with bands and noise.

    Last night’s demo in Adelaide
    Saw some fifteen brave souls appear
    Standing silent but unafraid
    Of two hundred gays who came to jeer .

    There are reports that Andrew Bolt
    Heads the next march. Yes, he’ll express
    The spirit of this great revolt
    Fired by the power of Murdoch press

    19/03/2010 LATE PRESS.

    Bolt didn’t go to Port Macquarie
    P’rhaps that explains why only eight
    ‘Brave souls’ showed up. But don’t worry!
    Tony’ll come next time. Watch for the date!

  173. patriciawa

    Maybe we are wrong about the great uprising, maybe we just cannot see because the revolt is being held in secret.

  175. Patricia, love your pomes.
    It took a while but I found my post of the 17th about the big anti-carbon rally, and, like you , I can’t find a word about it now. The source of the story hasn’t updated yet.
    CU, it must have been held in secret.
    I’ll have a search for a local Port Macquarie paper and see what I can find.

  176. Catching Up – that is a bit of a problem isn’t it – but if there’s to be a protest every second of every minute of every day that would mean the protesters would be pretty thin on the ground. Hard too for them to give notice of every demo, so of course there’d be a lot of protesting going on we wouldn’t know about! Perhaps that’s why it’s all in secret. But they’d know, wouldn’t they? And that’s what matters. Poor darlings. I’d hate it if my hero were to tell the world that I was revolting.

    Bacchus, so if they can report that protest of the meat workers about water why not for something as important as Tony’s revolting people. Surely they matter. Surely they’re newsworthy? Catching Up is right. They must be doing it in secret.

  177. I really thought we would see Mr. Bolt on his way to Japan to replace those cry babies reporters that are getting out because they falsely believe it is too dangerous to stay in the area. Falsely as Mr. Bolt believes it is a beat-up and there is no danger.

    His site and announcements are becoming more outlandish as the days goes on. It is starting to read like a work of fiction or fantasy that has little to do with the real world.

    As for Mr. Abbott’s rebellion, it is a pity that to bring one about takes more than a few words, no matter how angry you make them sound to have happened. Any protester from the past will tell you that protesting is hard work and that you need endurance to get anywhere. People do not continue to get out to march or support a cause unless they have deep belief in the cause.

    The one thing that Mr. Abbott is not capable of is hard work, and he has shown not evidence that he is able to stay focus for more that a few days. He cannot even keep his beliefs, if he has taken the time and effort to develop any, for longer than a month or two.

  178. Pip, maybe it is an underground movement.

    There must have been a real protest against Mr. Alan Jones to make, admittedly a weak apology to PM Gillard.

    At the same time he voiced astonishment that he was not to be given her private email address. What was wrong with him using the one we all have access to on the Labor site to make his apology.

    The arrogance of the man.

  179. Patriciawa, this isn’t the same article but might be worth a look at this paper from time to time.

    http://www.portnews.com.au/news/national/national/general/poll-finds-rising-opposition-to-carbon-pricing/2103007.aspx?storypage=0

    especially the last few sentences,

    “Respondents were then asked for their view if the money paid by the “big polluting industries” under a carbon priced scheme was used to compensate low and middle income earners and small businesses.”

    “In response, 54 per cent of voters said they would support a carbon price and 30 per cent were opposed”.

    The article begins with :-
    “Voter hostility to tackling climate change with a carbon price has jumped sharply…..

    then after several paragraphs we find that if respondents are asked the right question the answer is quite different!

    Who would have thought?

  181. CU, probably overtaken by the carbon tax for the time being.

    patriciawa,
    I haven’t found whatever it was that was looking for ….if that makes any sense !!
    but I did find this from Port Macquarie News, portnews.com.au, which mentions the anti and pro carbon rallies
    http://www.portnews.com.au/news/local/news/general/high-noon-for-tax-plan/2106794.aspx

    “The Federal government’s proposed carbon tax is making Hastings residents hot under the collar.
    Tomorrow people both for and against will raise their voices on Port Macquarie’s town Green.”

    Judging by the ‘comments’ the message has to be louder from the government and supporters.

    I’ve been doing this in between other things tonight so I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look as if the rallies got much or any coverage. Why would that be, I wonder.

  182. Rally Against the Carbon Tax – Gillard in Adelaide!

    Gary Bennell
    What happened.? I have not seen anything in the press.
    15 hours ago ·LikeUnlike ·

    Press Enter to post your comment.Press Shift+Enter to start a new line.

    Tomas Cannavo
    can’t make it I’m afraid. Hope it goes well.
    March 16 at 3:09pm ·LikeUnlike ·

    Press Enter to post your comment.Press Shift+Enter to start a new line.

    More Info
    Silent protest against the carbon tax during Gillard’s visit to Adelaide Uni.

    Sensible anti-carbon tax posters welcome, but no sticks or poles may be affixed as they will be confiscated by security

    https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210999435581735&ref=notif&notif_t=event_invite

  183. Nope not a scrap about the invisible rally anywhere that I can find. Now isn’t Tony Abbott going to look a right turkey the next time he uses the phrase ‘a people’s revolution’. In fact I believe that Abbott’s entire tactics of tackling this as a popular uprising have now been thrown into disarray, that is unless he can come up with a successful rally and soon.

    One thing to me that is certain about the Australian character and this is although we can rouse ourselves into taking action when the occasion warrants, that we generally hate being told what to do, and especially by a politician.

  185. CU, agreed just the mention of a tax cut is likely to be enough to make potential anti-carbon protesters down tools…Harry! You can put the paint can back in the shed, just heard on the news that we’re gonna get a tax cut.

  186. I wonder if anyone else had the misfortune to receive this from a [cough, cough] friend… Dog License Tax?? Sounds to be a straight copy from some US-style chain mail letter.

    Send it Around Australia – 100% Aussie

    ————————————————————————–

    “BIG~RED” has dropped a cog in the brain department !

    ————————————————————————–

    At first I thought this was funny……

    Then I realized the awful truth of it.

    Be sure to read all the way to the end !

    Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table at which he’s fed.

    Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts Anyway!

    Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat.

    Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he tries to think..

    Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways to tax his ass.

    Tax all he has Then let him know That you won’t be done till he has no dough.

    When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He’s good and sore.

    Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in which he’s laid.

    When he’s gone, Do not relax, It’s time to apply the inheritance tax.

    Accounts Receivable Tax

    Airline surcharge tax

    Airline Fuel Tax
    Airport Maintenance Tax
    Building Permit Tax
    Cigarette Tax
    Corporate Income Tax
    Goods and Services Tax (GST)
    Death Tax
    Dog License Tax
    Driving Permit Tax
    Environmental Tax (Fee)
    Excise Taxes
    Federal Income Tax
    Fishing License Tax
    Petrol Tax (too much per litre)
    Health Tax
    Hunting License Tax
    Interest Tax
    Liquor Tax
    Luxury Taxes
    Marriage License Tax
    Medicare Tax
    Mortgage Tax
    Personal Income Tax
    Property Tax
    Poverty Tax
    Prescription Drug Tax
    Real Estate Tax
    Vehicle Tax
    Retail Sales Tax
    Service Charge Tax
    School Tax
    Vehicle License Registration Tax
    Vehicle Sales Tax
    Water Tax
    Watercraft Registration Tax
    Well Permit Tax

    Workers Compensation Tax

    And Now the evil Julia “BIG~RED” Gillard Wants a Carbon Tax !

    STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY ?

    Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was one of the
    most prosperous in the world.. We had absolutely no national debt, had a
    large middle class, and Mum stayed home to raise the kids.

    What in the “Hell” happened ? Can you spell ‘politicians ?’

    I hope this goes around Australia at least 100 times !!!!! YOU can help it
    get there !!!!

    GO AHEAD – – – be an Australian and forward this email

  187. Ireland and Greece have very low levels of taxation and of their economies are going down the toilet.
    If you don’t like paying tax there are plenty of places in the world in which to live – good luck with that.

  188. Ok they have Bolt and Ackerman on Insiders for balance, even though that’s as lame a reason as can be conjured up. But then to allow them to completely dominate the discussions with mostly right wing nonsense and hyperbole as Bolt did last week and Ackerman is doing this week is not balance at all, in fact it’s very unbalanced and brings down the credibility of the whole show and demeans the contributions of the other panelists.

  189. ‘brings down the credibility’

    that has been down for so damn long ME, it just looks like up to them (borrowed from The Doors)

    In reality, I don’t think we have anybody far enough to the Left in this country to provide this so-called ‘balance’ to that lot.

  190. Adrian “Ok they have Bolt and Ackerman on Insiders for balance..” Coffee duly splattered on keyboard!

  192. ME, I listened to Insiders on News Radio instead of watching…bonus….and it seems even worse because all I could hear 90 per cent of the time was Akerman. Cassidy rarely if ever calls him or Bolt on their “horse shit”.
    If Akerman can say that about the PM on the ABC and get away with it the show should be scrapped.

  194. Pip, thank you for that..hearing isn’t exactly my ‘best’ and so I miss a lot of what is on the spoken media. I therefore very much appreciate fellow Caféterians relating what is happening out there.

  195. Journalists talking to one another is not what I consider the role of the ABC.

    I believe the only time the ABC should have representatives of the MSM on is to interview and question them, not give them a platform where they are not challenged. These outside journalists are allowed to say what they like without being questioned about their views.

    The present practice has little about balance views. That is done by bringing expert people in the field on what is being discussed onto the programmes.

    Journalist should not be the news or seen as making the news. Their role is to dispense the news, nothing more, nothing less.

    If I want to hear what the journalists from the MSM have to say, I will visit MSM sites.

    How many ABC journalist do we see on MSM panels?

    Sorry, I seem to have made a muddle of what I am trying to say.

  196. Excellent point CU, since when has a journalist been an expert in any particular field. They are observers and interpret events according to their own personal prejudices. They should never be trotted out as any sort of “authority” as they are commentators and nothing more.

  197. I love it when Mr. Akerman talking about spin that comes out of Sussex Street and what Labor tell him. I find it hard to believe that any Labor man who had any self respect would be talking to the likes of Akerman.

    As for spin, are we to believe that the Coalition do not spin. If not, why not, is not this what politics is about and always has been. I take spin as being putting the best face on what you are doing.

    Anyone who takes at face value what any politician says without looking at their agenda is a fool, or maybe an idiot.

    By the way Mr. Akerman and Mr. Bolt should be pulled up when they persist with lies and propaganda.

  198. CU, that was perfectly clear to me, “how many ABC journalists do we see on MSM panels?” The answer is very telling.

    lunalava,
    what a good idea, let’s go to Ireland; I’m sure there are plenty of spare beds given that there is an exodus of Irish leaving to find work elsewhere :]

    TomR,
    “brings down the credibility”. Could we ask, “what credibility?”
    Akerman made sure to repeat the lie that the PM never mentioned a carbon price, or a preference for an ETS in the documented speeches she has made on the carbon issue…..
    Phil Coorey pointed out that the comments go all the way back to September, and Cassidy said nothing on the subject as far as I can remember, but maybe that needs to be checked.

    Min,
    what happened, I didn’t get my email; it does appear to be straight from the US doesn’t it. Whoever sent it didn’t bother to compare our taxes with the US, or, they figure that it looks more impressive, being such a long list an’ all.
    As I understand the state of play, it could well have a connection to Cory Bernardi with his, or not his, little group of Young Liberals or whoever they are. He set up “CANdo” to perform astro-turfing and other campaign duties by the look of it.
    I just had a peep at the website and discovered that the conservative Action Network, CANdo Carbon Coalition has 320 members…..drinks anyone? http://network.conservative.org.au/
    Whether it’s worth giving the site a click is debatable, but it did remind me of Bernardi’s links to a” REAL scientist” at Berkley.
    The Coalition under Tony Abbott has gone some way down the US Tea Party path with their very own Tea Party tactics,
    {different dogs, same leg action} sorry, had to say that….

    This article is by Sophie Trevitt, who is currrently the
    Director the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. which you mentioned last week I think.

    http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11747

    Round one – a price on carbon

    and Bernardi is mentioned toward the end.

    Here is the Insiders for you, Min. You can pick and choose which bits are of interest very easily.

    http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

    http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

  199. “They are observers and interpret events according to their own personal prejudice”

    Min, the same people who are presenting themselves as experts, are denying Mr. Garnaut, who has spent years researching and testing climate change data has no right to talk on the subject because he is not a climate change expert.

    I think, we the insulted listeners need to set up some type of petition on this subject somehow on these sites.

    Each week is getting worse.

  202. Pip @ 2.00pm. “Min, what happened, I didn’t get my email;” I can forward your very own copy if you would like one 😉 Any tax experts on board? I would suspect that if they exist in Australia that many are state taxes anyway or maybe the ‘author’ of this sterling piece is suggesting that we do away with income tax..now that’s an idea…

    “….drinks anyone?” Here ya go courtesy of the Café. I thought that we’d better stick with a CAN non alcoholic for the CANdo crowd..they could be fearsome when roused.

  203. CU, I think that one thing that the media chooses to overlook is that Climate Change policy will be all about practical application and who better to do this than a Professor of Economics. An overview of exactly who Ross Garnaut is, is at http://www.rossgarnaut.com.au/

  206. Well it lools like Mr. Oakeshott can get the people out to protest,

    “SEVERAL hundred people have gathered in central Sydney to protest against the mining of coal seam gas in NSW. ”

    “Among those present at the demonstration on Sunday, held during heavy rain and strong winds at Martin Place, was campaigner Linda Benson from Gloucester on the NSW north coast.”

    “Dozens of those present had arrived in Sydney on buses and coaches from the Hunter Valley and the NSW mid-north coast.

    Independent federal MP Rob Oakeshott called for the next NSW government to review a planning decision to allow 110 CSG wells to be drilled in his electorate of Lyne, on the north coast.”

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/hundreds-protest-against-gas-mine/story-e6frfku0-1226024907960#ixzz1H7jTb2qC

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/hundreds-protest-against-gas-mine/story-e6frfku0-1226024907960#ixzz1H7j6kui1

    ”

    Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/hundreds-protest-against-gas-mine/story-e6frfku0-1226024907960#ixzz1H7hnhnLF

  207. Pip, I’m not sure if you’ve been answered, but the Daily Telegraph is a Murdoch rag.

    The dead give away is that it’s full of shit.

  209. Miglo, @ 10.34pm, thanks for that. I haven’t found the original “conversation” but I think it was the UK Telegraph.
    On reflection, if it was manipulative and offensive it was a Murdoch rag !!

  211. Has anyone seen any evidence to back up Mr. Ackerman claims that the rioters/protesters on Christmas Island were throwing Molotov cocktails. Mr. Ackerman also alleged that the refugees seekers were allowed to wander down to the local garage to but petrol for these bombs.

    All I have spotted is a man pulling an on fire wheely bin into a tent area. It is alleged that they did throw rocks.

    Is Mr. Abbott admitting he is losing the carbon pricing argument and the revolution has run out of stream, as he is attempting to change the topic by camping out with the Aboriginals and calling for a new intervention. Is he admitting that Mr. Howard’s intervention was wrong, as sadly Labor has kept most of the original intervention in place.

    I would remind that you can provide feedback to Insiders on the ABC site.
    http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/contact.htm

  212. It seems the people’s revolt on the “great big new carbon tax” is in trouble, Abbott has thrown the media spot light onto indigenous troubles in Alice Springs.
    He seems a bit concerned that the great big new tax might morph into a great big new tax cut.

  214. Nothin, absolutely nothing today on the news.com site about tax cuts as compensation for the carbon tax.

    Not one word.

    Its absence suggests that it’s a winner for the government.

  219. Migs, I spotted your link to this ‘wonderful’ scribbling courtesy of..wait for it…Amanda Vanstone.

    And here it is in all of it’s glory. The gist of it is that Amanda thinks that it’s the “snobbish middle class who go to uni” and by God they should be made to pay for the privilege. I must tell daughter Erin who has existed on ticky tacky and received not one single brass razoo by way of a government handout, firstly to achieve a degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (Hons) and now to shortly achieve a PhD in Molecular Bioscience. Not bad for middle class pond scum.

    http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/uni-students-get-a-free-ride-for-too-long-with-their-hecs-debt-20110320-1c24r.html

  221. “Even apart from Prime Minister Gillard’s tendency to gush, her long-term relationship with Tim, the undefined spousal first person, is creating protocol issues.”

    Has not the prince and his bride to be, been living together for years. Are they trying to say that our PM will be the only couple in this situation.

    I have also her snide remarks that insinuate she should not be going on what is is considered as a junket. Imagine the outcry if the PM came out and said, owing to the expense, she will not go.

  222. Just read the ‘drivel’ at the Punch.com. What a nasty mean minded ignorant bunch of people they are! Do you know anyone who is that petty, bitchy and bitter? If opposition supporters are all like that thank God I’m not one of them.

    They are their own worst enemies, I guess. I couldn’t resist giving them a serve. Waste of time, I imagine. If it gets published I’ll be amazed!

  223. CU and Patricia, wasn’t it the biggest load of cods wallop printed for some considerable time. Talk about condescension..”undefined spousal first person”. Please keep up with the times Ms. Thornton, the word is ‘partner’.

    Protocol issues? The palace has managed with persons of other cultures bringing their several wives with them, gay Bishops, a Prince of the Realm describing his mistress in umm err female hygiene terms..I’m certain that they will cope with a partner to a Prime Minister.

  224. Min @ 20 Martch @ 8.13am

    Hi MIn

    Problem with that email is that it is such a lie.

    We did have debt.

    In 1929 Australian Governments owed a staggering 1,104,000,000 pounds at that time. I wonder what that would be equivalent to in todays market.

    by 1930 australians had the following taxes imposed

    Import Tax
    Excise Tax on Liquor
    Duty Tax on Liquor
    Import Tarrif Tax
    Death Taxes
    Gold Tax
    Land Tax
    Income Tax
    Customs Tax
    Import Tax
    Manufactured Goods Tax
    Starch Tax
    Sugar Tax
    Postage Stamp Tax
    Sales Tax.

    Women could stay at home because in those days 85% of all income tax was paid by the rich and the top bosses in companies only earnt a small multiple of the middle income salary.
    The top rate of income tax for the rich was 75%.

    Today less thatn 50% of income tax is paid by the rich. Top bosses earn multiples in the hundreds and at times thousands of the middle income wage. The top rate of tax for the rich is now 45%.

    Those statistics show the greed of the top income earners and the push of the tax burden to the middle class and poor over the years.

    Funny how these things are not mentioned, I for one would be happy to go back to those days on taxation because the likes of the blood sucking CEOs would be paying a fairer share of tax. In addition they would not be earning the disgraceful amounts they are now. They would also be subject to death duties on their vast fortunes.

    Much, much fairer wealth distribution in those days as a resault of the taxation of the times.

    Very interesting what you find when you do research.

  225. Shane how wonderful to see doggy Reilly here again..and you too :). Clearly the email is just a load of twaddle. The point to me is why do people such as the person who sent it who is intelligent and reasonably sane (although I’m beginning to doubt the last one) believe in such a load of [insert favorite expletive]. It seems that for some anything anti-government will do and don’t bother to check the accuracy of it.

  226. Hey guys! The Punch column printed my comment word for word as below and I’ve already had one good response!

    “Patricia WA says:05:16pm | 21/03/11

    Do you malicious minded morons commenting here realize how bad you make your side of politics look? The private lives of politicians have nothing at all to do with the policies they propose and enact for the public good, whatever side of Parliament they sit on. What a bitchy bunch of comments!

    Far better that our career focussed Prime Minister who somehow didn’t have time or the inclination to get married should be clear about the status of the relationship she’s living in than she should keep her partner hidden as a dark secret or have a phoney marriage just for appearances. Tim Matheson looks a decent sort of bloke. Julia, as an Australian, talks like a lot of us and she looks very elegant, for all that she’s developed a bit of middle aged spread. How many of you have perfect figures? Do you think the Prince of Wales is cringing about meeting PM Julia Gillard? His own parents were hardly models of decorum for all they spoke proper, ie plum in the mouth upper class Pom! Do any of you talk like that? If Princess Diana were alive today how would her boyfriend, Dodi El Fayad, have fared at the royal wedding?

    Reply wendy says:05:58pm | 21/03/11

    couldn’t agree more patricia – our pm is a clever, hard working, gracious, compassionate woman – i for one am proud to have her and tim represent us ……”

    Wonders never cease!

  227. Thanks Min

    You haven’t seen me for a while because I dislike verbal abuse and name calling which is becoming common place on most sites these days.

    Many call it being passionate, which is rubbish in my opinion, it is nothing short of aggression and violence, only in a written spiteful form.

    It comes from both sides.

    So I now only check in rarely and just thought I would comment with some facts on the email you received.

    I will however still post my blog regarding the environment which is almost finished and hopefully Nasking will read it.

  229. Patricia, you inspired me. I’ve just posted a comment as a reply to yours..it’s mostly what I wrote at 6.29pm but I toned it down a bit.

  230. Shane, for some strange reason your comment was languishing in spam which is the reason for it’s late appearance..apologies, I don’t know why that happened.

    Thankfully all of that is now in the past.

    I’ll be very much looking forward to reading your post, as you’ve probably guessed the environment is one of my keen interests.

  231. patriciawa

    I have observed if you can get your message on some of these sites, it is amazing how many will support what you had to say. It is like breaking the ice encourages like people to make a comment.

  233. I’ve downloaded the episode into iTunes and will watch it at the first opportunity. I hear that they give Anal Jones a serve.

  234. Migs @ 3.27pm and tax cuts. Even better, there won’t be any according to Hockey as if the Libs win they’ll take back the compensation package. I don’t think that Hockey is on a winner with this one.

    ”We will repeal the carbon tax, and there will be no need for compensation so we will unwind the compensation – because you don’t need to have compensation if you have no carbon tax,” Mr Hockey said.

    As the compensation will go mostly to low income earners what Hockey is saying is that a coalition government would increase taxation for low income earners and (if this part eventuates) ‘unwind’ increasing the tax-free threshold and removing pensioners from the tax system

  235. Latest Newspoll and Labor now has a primary vote up 6 points to 36%, LNP dropping 5% giving Labor a 51:49 lead.

    And a personal favorite Tony Abbott’s rating as Preferred PM has dropped 5 points giving him a 31% approval rating. Julia’s approval has gone up by the same 5%.

    In November Abbott’s Dissatifaction rating was 45%, but Tony has been working hard to ‘improve’ on this and it has since then been increasing to it’s current 54%. Great tactics Tone.

  236. Many politicians and MSM are keen on importing ideas and tactics from the US. Just like an obnoxious weed or feral animal released into the Australian environment, they tend to run amuck until control measures are introduced.

    In the West Wing the media is allocated seats for press conferences. Start talking to President Obama like a naughty school child and you will find yourself at the back of the room or out in the corridor.

    I would put Samantha Maiden, Dennis Shanahan and Chris Uhlmann on detention for a start.

  237. Just read the link to media watch Eddie, and he raises very valid points about the very weighted amount of airtime given to any scientist with a gripe against AGW, and highlights just how these scientists have failed in the basic scientific principle when raising their ‘arguments’.

    They are all dinosaurs imo who should be ignored, as they seek to confuse the issue, not add to the science.

    Just started watching the first ten minutes of Q&A, and it doesn’t look too bad at the moment. Mind you, pyne hasn’t got into full swing yet, he has already ignored the WMD in Iraq, and appears to believe we went in their to save the Iraqi peoples. History obviously is not his strong suit.

  238. Eddie from your link to Media Watch, I particularly like this one…

    Professor Andy Pitman of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales explained why he now declines requests from radio sceptics.

    It would be like asking a cardiologist to respond to the well known theory that humans do not have a heart and cardiologists only claim we have a heart so they can make lots of money claiming to operate on them.
    — Professor Andy Pitman, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW, 17the March, 2011

    Dr Pitman says he thinks it’s a serious issue:

    I happen to believe that the commercial media sector should have a standard equivalent to the ABC – a requirement for accuracy, balance, rigor. I might comment that this is likely to happen the week after hell freezes over
    — Professor Andy Pitman, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW, 17the March, 2011

  239. lunaleva – Isn’t Chris Uhlmann a pain? He has no screen appeal, apart from conventional dark good looks. His makeover for the new 7.30 makes him look like a stuffed doll, his face is stiff and his eyes dead and his overall presentation is wooden. Leigh Sales is only marginally more appealing with her looks and dress somehow echoing the PM’s style, except that JG has real panache and warmth. Sales lacks depth though she is more intelligent and perceptive in her questioning than Uhlmann. The fact that most of 7.30 is a rehash, often a straight replay, of earlier news stories, doesn’t stop the program falling very flat after all the packaging hype. I get the impression both of them are more interested in their performance and self presentation than in the news itself.

    For once I find the once a week WA version of 7.30 more appealing. Eliza Blue is natural and animated. Let’s hope they don’t try to ‘groom’ her for greater things.

  240. Patricia @ 8.43pm I thought to let you know that my comment in support of yours was published and that you also have another 2 supporters. Well Done!!

  241. The ABC cannot bring themselves to say that Labor is ahead on a TTP. (bold mine)

    The poll in today’s Australian newspaper shows Labor has clawed back its primary vote, and now sits even with the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis.

    No, Labor is ahead 51-49, that is not even.

    Yet when it’s 51-49 to the Coalition the ABC shouts, “Coalition Leading in Polls”, “Coalition Ahead in Latest Poll”, never “Coalition Even in Latest Poll.

  243. Pip that is a big stretch of the imagination coming from Pyne. I am absolutely certain that these days when a person hears the word ‘denier’ that they know that it’s about climate change and not denial about the holocaust.

    It seems that Speaker Harry Jenkins thought so too.

  244. “denier’ that they know that it’s about climate change and not denial about the holocaust. ”

    A large number of today’s population would not know what the holocaust was about, at least in would not be thee first thing to spring to mind.

    From a party that only a couple of weeks ago was likening the PM to Colonel Gaddafi, who most would know who they mean.

    No new sexist name calling since yesterday’s effort of harridan. Must have been too busy looking for a new meaning for denier.

  246. Min, are we dating ourselves with talk of .. denier stockings ? My strongest memory is of the ladders !!

  248. I am afraid I am one that always had ladders.

    Remember them before seemless ones became the vogue. I think it could have been called snakes and ladders then.

    Straight seams were hard to maintain.

  249. The worst bit was when mini skirts first came in and before pantihose were invented…a quite embarrassing task trying to maintain some sort of coverage between skirt and suspenders.

  250. Min, I wasn’t going to mention the suspender belt…..they used to slip around and the stockings would twist and I hated the damn things…

  251. We have it from the horses Asses) mouth on Ten news. PM Gillard got a bounce from hob-nodding with royalty and will get another bounce from the royal wedding.
    I do not seemed to remember our PM spending any more time with royalty that his Lordship did.
    See we are wrong, it is not his fault. I believe the man was serious.
    By the way, the matter of public importance was a little flat. There is no way you can say the same thing over and over without it becoming boring.

  252. I’ll be putting up a Media Watch lll soon as this thread – due to its length – might be hard to load for those who access it via their mobile phone.

    Media Watch ll, as with the original Media Watch can be found in the Archived page (above our logo).

  254. CU, there has been all the ins and outs about Julia and Tim attending the royal wedding (yawn) most of it just an excuse for twee lipped people to tut tut about the PM’s state of unwedded bliss and to make sarcastic comments about the PM’s dress sense. But nary a mention in the media about Abbott also attending but maybe he’s allowed to.

    How ridiculous. Abbott imagine the headlines: Abbott to receive a bounce in the polls due to his incredibly spiffy formal attire and not to go unmentioned, but he attended with a real partner, a wife.

  255. Pingback: URL

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