Mood:
incredulousTopic: aust govt
Picture: Trioli gets the post election interview of the year, Lateline 30th Nov 2007. In an interview lasting 19 minutes 42 seconds at one point the vision (here above) reveals a new open faced expression that Keating might describe as "relief" for Costello 6 years in Opposition, 13 years deputy leader, 11 years as Treasurer who wishes the new Opposition leardership of Nelson and Bishop his "best wishes" in "the prime of their life". In effect "not furious" but feeling vindicated. Indeed the shock waves of that interview roll on in the Howard cipher Sunday Telegraph today on page 5 by Malcolm Farr in terms of "He [Howard] knows Peter has sh*t in his nest" in Costello angers Liberals. Howard is in both Sunday papers in a transparent set piece pic fac in a retreat PR exercise. One paper is even impertinent enough to refer quizically to the golf partners as "mates" [their speech marks] which might mean security for the ex PM.
Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208
“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”
Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.
For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.
Media backgrounder
A bumper harvest since the federal election on Nov 24th as we catch up some revealing colour mag feature stories of high quality also:
- Tim Blair, News Ltd opinion editor in Sydney is we fear getting neurotic and maybe fearful for his job there at the Telegraph along with 'last Howard man standing' Piers Akerman (e.g. all those Hiener Affair articles). Last week we simply made the observation that News Ltd opinion writers are starting to actively express concerns about dangerous climate change and the need for action. These articles seem quite stark in their contrast to outdated dinosaur thinking on the issue (eg Blair), often in the same edition of the News 'Limited' newspaper. Our piece was here:
It's time for News Limited & PM Rudd to ditch Piers/loggers' anti science rhetoric on climate including graphics of cover story in News Ltd Australian Literary Review by Nobel Prize winning medico Peter Doherty contrasting with the dodgy stuff.
It seems this explains the graphic above for the Blair story of 'the doctor and the icky medicine' for the planet. Geddit? Doherty is the doc. Even the attack on 'ecology action' philosophical underpinning in the headline seems quite pointed. And true to form there is sensible commentary on climate elsewhere in the same Saturday edition of the News Ltd paper that Blair cuts loose (shown at the bottom). Meanwhile elsewhere in comic popular culture even Jerry Sienfeld (in the middle of the image in a review same day in Fairfax Herald) is using his children's Bee movie to teach an environmental message. Wake up Tim Blair. Ecological concerns are real.
- Uh oh, what can you make of this scary postage stamp story. This is alot more serious than the treatment it's getting - which is almost none:
- Sydney Morning Herald this weekend over eggs the promo of McKew scoop of 'How I done it' in next weekend's edition (see images below). We counted two full page adverts and two little teasers dotted through the news sections (the second full pager is in the business section). Is this the ALP 'history written by the victors' airbrush of Not Happy John and Wilkie/Greens 2004 unrusting of Bennelong from Howard, with Green preferences of Lindsay Peters getting her over line? Almost certainly, with the active collusion of Big Meeja SMH
1. keen to ingratiate with the new Rudd regime
2. desperate to crush the growing 3rd force in politics that will break their corporate economic grip on the country for a more ecological basis to modern civilisation.
It's all about power folks, not truthful reporting. But clearly McKew is the new 'Peter Garrett' PR vehicle for brand ALP. They need the Green senate vote while PG is effectively redundant in the PR stakes - though not intellectually as an undoubtedly bright ex lawyer rock star.
- Mike Kaiser is hi-tailing it back to Qld. The spin is that this was always the plan, but really we feel it goes like this:
Kaiser is perceived to be a practiced liar 'proven' by a scandal in Qld over his younger machine politic days as per this curious Independent MP website resource, and in an article this weekend by Clennell in the SMH he maintains that culture of 'whatever it takes':Kaiser admits he is going, but 'not going there' Beattie didn't want him in 2000 after the scandal up north hence the brief stint as an independent MP, and he was picked up by the understanding forgiving bruvvers in Sussex St who employ the same MO. Come on down Mike Kaiser CoS for Iemma in Sydney. Bligh's ascension as Premier of Qld means Beattie is no longer a blockage there for MK, the heat is off after all this while and
- anyway he could know too much about Gibson/Koperberg/Orkopoulos (alleged) criminal precedents - all of these factors are compelling 'return to sender' material i.e. back to Qld ALP machine.
Onya Mike. Another fat machine pay packet awaits no doubt.
Here's a picture below almost certainly courtesy of the NSW ALP 'whatever it takes' mob via ciphers at The Sydney Daily Telegraph mob 21st November 2007, 3 days before voting. This image we submit is the moral equivalent of the infamous racist dog whistle leaflet in Lindsay, only it's tailored to the gun happy hunter redneck lobby (about the same redneck demograph who hate Muslims only this time from a different and legal tack). A more refined and effective dog whistle? Undoubtedly.
- Tim Gartrell gives his national press club speech found via (bless them) the abc website here . We haven't read it all but notice the lead in about the battle post elections to claim an accurate telling of the history that soon follows the voting day itself. How true - refer McKew/SMH promo above, Howard to push his own memoirs in due course, all the spin of the last 2 weeks. So of course Gartell has his go too in his speech, as is his right for the victors. Similarly Morris and Baird on Lateline 7th December with Trioli (her last day earlier that morning as abc 702 radio announcer morning show? [no finishes Friday 14th Dec they tell us]:
Virginia Trioli talks to Liberal insiders Bruce Baird and Grahame Morris
Morris comes out with some howlers about not really losing just "running second" contrasting with Baird's view they 'they lost their soul' and Howard definitely should have quit in favour of Costello way earlier. To Morris it's all technical performance. To Morris Howard stayed too long because he didn't want to be "selfish" and leave the party in a fix - talk about dishonest spin. The man was drunk with power (as Gerard Henderson does seem to concede now too in a recent SMH column). We haven't read Judith Brett in this weekend Herald in "Collapse of a man of steel", being the author of various conservative titles like 'Robert Menzies Forgotten People' etc.
Howard apparently is keen to write his own memoirs says Phillip Coorey back on 3rd Dec 07 in the Herald, even if the elected Libs say John, we know ye not - Libs' undue rush to wipe slate - Opinion ...
- cracking cartoon by Nicholson above of malevolent 'baby' electorate about to get a new (panda/Mandarin speaking PM Kevin) teddy having just trashed a Howard PM Teddy. We did a double take in shock as we had a soft toy like that in childhood which the dog got to while the family loaned the place on holidays. We were very annoyed at the time too. (Has the older brother there in PMC somewhere been blabbing about moi?) Hopefully the role of blogging 5th estate accountability on Big Politics/Media revolving door is more high minded than shallow malice. Rather for us "it's the ecology stupid" but we find it gratifying to think we were part of the Howard Teddy destruction experience too. Very cathartic like this cracker from Moir day before polling:
- How much impact did the internet have on the election result. Alot I would say not least some 230K strong Get Up, even if that's churning alot of existing activism, because getting lots of bodies onto polling booths on the day is a real influence. Get Up get their spin into the writing of history here: Internet activists claim role in Howard's end - National - smh.com.au
- Paul Sheehan in the revisionism stakes writes a poison pen to Senator Bob Brown but it's so misconceived we find it pretty easy to demolish here on SAM in Paul Sheehan's hopelessly ignorant, deceptive analysis of Brown v Garrett
- The ALP inspired and nurtured Climate Institute birthed by the looks out of the Australia Institute is said to be an independent lobby group. This image Innner West Courier 20th Nov 07 at p16 should clarify things. John Connor as their CEO is shown next to no less than 4 ALP candidates (and 3 MP's) at a Get Up (another so called indy) Walk Against Global Warming event pre election. Connor in an earlier job helped Bob Carr (a donor to the Climate Institute) broker a pro woodchipping 20 year resource security deal for the NSW logging industry in breach of a 1995 election promise to end the practice by the year 2000. He was employed by the NSW Nature Conservation Council very hard up for finances at the time and Carr as Premier offered them big contributions ($300K over 3 years) to cut the deal. This was rationalised on the basis of extensive new national parks. (There is always a rationalisation for bad environmental policy married to careerism.) To our eye Connor is jumping from the back of one crocodile to the next as quick as he can.
- appropo workaholic PM Kevin Rudd (see implication of Mal Farr Insiders earlier today) notice p21 of Sunday Life colour insert for one of the tragic press today, with graphic of Kevin and proverbial strong cup of tea in "How to leave WORK at work" as follow up to the over working Aussies who fail to take holidays story mid week. Here's a thought Kev - the people voted for you not least for your life time of discipline leading to an impressive work rate at this time in your life. On the other hand they voted for you over the other guy with just as great a capacity for work and "long days" and greater experience too. Might be time to have a little less faith in workaholism and more in the choice of the electorate that your values suit the times. The values you can't change no matter how hard you work. And they may change their mind one day again too and that's just the way it goes. But we like the fact you drink Irish Breakfast tea.
- Cobber Grattan today in her SunHerald piece focuses rather negatively - considering they already just got a thumping - on the travails of the federal Coalition 'leadership'. Is indeed Nelson/Bishop the real deal? The thread through her article and the general media not least Insiders panel today is that he isn't straight. Too much rodent slippery double talk. And you can see it in his long prose like talking style talking around things like Beazley did. That's not the cut through that Turnbull employs so well.
- Getting back to the Peter Costello future, Kerry Anne Walsh today Fairfax SunHerald reckons as per Harold Mitchell, that he could return to be leader no. 3 in this new cycle in time for the next vote. Mmm. it's offline by the looks in A Costello triple bypass: one leader gone, two to go p65 9 Dec 07. Logical but retired MP Bruce Baird on Lateline 7 Dec thinks he's bailing out for sure.
- the new Robert Redford movie Lions for Lambs about the Afghanistan war is likely a cracking good movie, as per the Redford profile 24 Nov in Good Weekend, and Doogue on Saturday RN yesterday. The guy is an indy and environmental champ from a pretty tough background apparently.
- Echoes of the Telegraph page 1 blowtorch last Friday analysed on SAM here: Split in NSW green movement in 2000 prefaces Lane Cove River rail crossing 'debacle' with this miserable Sydney rail management story day before polling 2 weeks ago and likely lost in the flurry:
Cure for train woes found: 23 new chiefs - National - smh.com.au
- Similarly day before polling about the sad mad Newhouse election campaign dashed on the rocks of a shaky personal life and very sharp legal rival here with Ackland traversing chapter and verse on the legals, but perhaps missing the point that the damage to the Newhouse candidacy in the minds of the free enterprise and business elite might not have been the legalities but that this "human rights lawyer" was actually on the ALP state govt machine drip at $600 per day. The kind of cushy financing to keep a govt preferred candidate afloat till election day that the Constitution was meant to cut adrift. How long did he have that job? Was it since the preselection or the highly publicised Vivian Solon case embarrassing to the Coalition govt candidate?
- reported on SAM earlier this week (with a healthy 530 readers that day, from Bali?), now see this article barracking for a Rudd election ... by the Indonesian environment minister the day before the vote, which is indeed very unusual meddling in the electioneering of another country: Elect Labor to ease in post-Kyoto era, says Indonesian minister at page 7 23rd Nov 2007 Sydney Morning Herald. Seems to be offline.
- Senator Nettle presumably remains in the federal parliament until mid 2008. She gets sledged by Mal Farr on Insiders today while he congratulates 'young talented' Liberal senator Marise Payne who got shafted in the shadow ministries by leader Nelson. Indeed this is the litmus test of Nelson's failure to provide a real new broom. Why Nettle regularly got sledged by Farr we are not sure. He also annoyed Julia Gillard earlier in her career apparently. It may be he rattled their poise with his certainly sharp wits until they either learned or failed to deal with him respectively. Here's a pic of lefty Kerry with her lefty aristocracy famous unionist green bans advocate Jack Munday Valley Times Nov 8th 07:
We find this adverse result for Senator Nettle getting turfed out a bit confounding. She is certainly smart, a very successful public speaker from her student days and energetic with it. Some decent activist credentials. It may be the numbers were stacked against her or maybe Farr has a point perhaps about ideological inflexibility, though we remain agnostic about that. Certainly the Green Party adverts were a cut above previous elections, like this one (we tried to find the cute woman from exclusive Oyster Bay in our clips but got this guy from Woolloomooloo):
Here is the Oyster Bay version which ran in the more conservative The Australian 21 Nov 07 p7. Very slick;
- Iemma, according to the Saturday Telegraph is going for power industry privatisation to break clear of the poisonous caucus infighting regarding his MPs Gibson and Koperberg. A cynic might say the Telegraph is applying the blowtorch on these essentially personal and arguably trivial matters in order to get the privatisation agenda through:
Iemma's power showdown
BESIEGED Premier Morris Iemma has demanded a showdown with his mutinous caucus MPs as his troubles over power and trains continue to grow.
Meanwhile contrary to the Telegraph spin about Iemma in political quicksand and at risk of losing the premiership over domestic violence allegations (from the last ice age they are so old), Imre Salusinszky is happily writing in the big serious sister rag The Australian saying there is no way Iemma is walking. Who to believe? Imre for mine.
- Matthew Warren at the do nothing on climate The Australian effectively says the civil society sector are the lunatics running the asylum over at Bali first week of the UN conference. Warren being ex energy industry cipher for the greenhouse mafia:
Bali gabfest funny if not so vital Environment writer Matthew Warren and Jakarta correspondent Stephen Fitzpatrick What a difference a day makes when you're debating global warming ...The madcap cycle of spin and subterfuge is a suitable allegory for the first week at the Bali talks: a veneer of big rhetoric, lots of meetings but no decisions; a trigger-happy media contingent being fed and led by a circus of activists only too happy to fill the vacuum until the real action starts next week. In short, the lunatics have been running the asylum.
Perhaps Warren's reputation has preceded him and he just has no one to talk to over there in Bali? Meanwhile nature is starting to crash in a juxtaposed article same edition:
Climate toll starts to soar Greg Roberts Global warming is already having an effect on our most vulnerable species: birds
and this isn't funny either
Global warming to burn Aussie farmers
Siobhain Ryan AUSTRALIAN farmers are likely to be among the hardest hit in the world from climate change, losing up to a 10th of their production to g...
- A more ethical treatment of the UN Bali state of play is here in the rival Fairfax Poor nations reap rich world's climate pain | smh.com.au, and Bali response must be action on global scale | smh.com.au
- Hilarious promo for the original 'rock music is from the devil' Rolling Stones Xmas book by Ronnie Wood GW 8/12/07
- Ian Macnamarra gets a qualified good rap in the colour magazine of The Australian this weekend, and its an interesting read. We are a fan here, and think he is best to not take it defensively or nervously. People say what they want but the fans keep coming back if its good work and they do. The kinder, gentler John Laws of the ABC.
- Albanese has a credibility gap in his own home turf, the same one that spawned the No Aircraft Noise Party so many years ago. It's really only the Greens who will keep Albanese honest in his dealings with big capital airport owners and airline industry but it's revealing that the local suburban News Ltd owned press are running these covers Dec 4 2007:
- Mixed impressions from the post election politics regarding the despised Gunns pulp mill. The share price crashed on the election of the ALP, but Gunns claims to have the finance in place anyway: Gunns shares walloped by pulp mill speculation. That was post election. This follows pre election (day before) assertions Gunns has money to build pulp mill - Environment - smh.com.au, which itself was a riposte to such as this targetting of financiers ANZ earlier in Nov 07: Mill foes hit bank on PNG links | The Australian
- What a profound article in the Good Weekend at p54 of 24 Nov 07 called Dirty money about the massive mining and refining of oil soaked tar sands in Canada. Really very scary stuff.
- The general vibe is that W Bush's USA will not attack Iran after the National Intelligence Estimate report, and thank the Lord for that. We think it is NOT a coincidence this happened after the thumping of man o steel Howard at the election on Nov 24. The logic goes like this: The aggregated USA security agencies who produce the NIW would have seen Bush weakened by a poll of an ally effectively of 13 million quasi yankees (ie we Aussies dear reader) and thought the timing was opportune to do the President over, assuming they really believed the gist of their NIE in the first place. Similarly read Hawks see end is NIE | The Australian
- When it comes to asbestos it seems it is never really over legally or health wise for Australians: Refer The Australian p40 Nov 26 07 (offline) with a summary here too via the Eric Beecher vehicle Business Spectator - New asbestos time-bomb for Hardie. The story is about a new cause of action via exemplary damages for those previously successful personal injury litigants. Just one more legal grenade thrown by Bernie Banton literally as he was slipping into the next world. What an incredible achiever. Vale Bernie Banton.
10 Meet the Press
Summer break for MTP - no broadcast
Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress ,
Myspace web address: www.myspace.com/meetthepeople
7 Weekend Sunrise, 8.35-40 am Riley Diary -
Penultimate Riley Diary - worthy segment. Some good visuals and insights about genuinely happy ALP parliamentary party, but we noticed Conroy rather silent and subdued in one pan across the room. [He's been done over by traditional rivals in the Victorian ALP apparently].
Amusing spoof on Rudd mimicry of Garrett dance hand moves appropo nothing much except Garrett in the news for effective crushing by the brutal and dishonest ALP (see McKew history of the victors pitch in media background abov).
Amusement at motorbike riding pollies of the Coalition (BBishp, Nelson) with quip about the Brendidos.
http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend
Insiders 2
Last show for the year it seems.
Talent is Super Cardigan Man aka Geof Lawrence, Secretary of the ACTU mate of Greg Combet no doubt. Holds the line on union valid role in Rudd PM future as a lobby group. Barry Cassidy - cracking question: "What are going to get for your $30 million investment?" or similar words.
Mild mannered GL says all the predictable things distancing from (what Steketee in the The Australian calls 'fat bellied swearing' unionist) cliches like the WA twins but you somehow feel there is some steel there in GL all the same, playing the long game. An inspired choice to lead the ACTU in an election year to avoid the Coalition smear campaign of thugs etc, only time will tell if he is the right one post election.
Panel is Annablel Crabb after her breathtakingly good piece in the weekend Herald. Bravo. The Lombardi and Van gogh references were jewels. What a gorgeous mind.
Also relaxing were Mal Farr and Glenn Milne. Both looking better slept. Farr outtake is a plea for (as BC concurs with reference to 'Ruddbot') to return post election to "normal hours".
He's right. Ease back there champ. Get into a sustainable rythym. That's what that Howard early morning walks was all about. Rythym.
Glen Milne is last of the three on the couch. Builds on AC reference to Garrett shell like portfolio, to say that "sad" to see Garrett dismantled by the ALP machine, and sniggers of NSW ALP Right in particular.
[Certainly reflects the general vibe of major press with every second cartoon noting either Garrett back on training wheels or mouth taped shut or some other acceptance he's hobbled and gagged by ALP Govt - as predicted by those who really understand the ALP machine politics like Senator Bob Brown of the Greens does. An important truth to be exposed. And the foundation motive of the Green Party formation re ALP culture of dishonesty - refer backgrounder above. In this sense 'the rodent' dishonesty aspect of Howard's prime ministerial term was well learnt in a game of flattering mimicry of rivals.]
Regular segments serviceable. Notice Warren in Talking Pictures joking or sledging (?) Walkley for Cathy Wilcox 'should have gone to Katsoukis' said with steely blank expression.
Warren has another striking line: Maxine McKew's mouth is like a mobile Lunar Park, refering to the front gate in the shape of smiling mouth. [Suggestive of famed ALP visual style over substance credibility gap for ex tv presenter McKew? Mmmm.]
Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/
Sunday 9
- Summer break - no Sunday 9 show.
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp
