Mood:  incredulous

Author’s general introductory note

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media. 

For actual transcripts and/or video feeds go to the programme web sites quoted including Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

Other sources of pollie talkies on Sunday include SkyNews paytv Sunday Agenda, Radio National Monica Attard Sunday Profile show. And of course Sunday night shows SBS Dateline, Sixty Minutes and now Sunday Tonight on 7.  

  Media backgrounders  

* PM Rudd’s voice in parliament last week was loud and full of righteous indignation, too loud and too full one feels, of outrage over the Turnbull “politics of fear” and “politics of smear” over the Grant ute GFC finance affair. As we write Laurie Oakes is grilling Swan and it’s a fierce debate over ministerial favouritism for Mr Grant.  

Then Rudd’s voice on 8.30 pm ABC TV footage last Friday of late that day  press conference shows him quavering, nervous, in shock, long pauses and stumbles. Yet the abc radio news bulletins next morning, and from memory AM show have an edited version of smooth confident rejection of the allegations by PM Rudd.   Yet just as Godwin Gretch tone and manner is striking probative of honesty, so is Rudd’s quaver and stumble indicative of the opposite. Yet the ABC either had different audio from late evening to early morning or they edited Rudd’s audio in a case of political bias??? 

 Certainly whoever survives or dies politically this next few days, the beltway have seen Rudd’s political mortality starkly revealed. Rudd seems to be as much shocked at his natural human limitations to control all things and every detail including in the backyard of his own electorate.  

* PM looks to be relying on procedural rules to prevent his staffer Andrew Charlton from attending and answering estimate committee questions or even general media questions. So even if he did email Godwin Gretch or contact him in another way he will never have to answer questions directly. But Gretch will.  

* Turnbull revealed as very effectively setting the scene with admissions about Kerry Packer death threat and protection of public interest regarding Fairfax from political interfering Packer ownership. And using that to contrast allegations of favouritism to ALP political donor Mr Grant.  

* Annabel Crabb in Saturday column well off the pace with this greatly ironic comment: “ Andrew Charlton, an unnervingly brilliant young pup who is marked for greatness in Labor circles”. Charlton being the alleged emailer from the PMO’s office contrary, it’s claimed, to PM’s statement to parliament of no such contact.  One thing is for sure Charlton will never have to front the big press or an estimates committee as he is a staffer of the PM Rudd and Rudd will enforce that cone of silence.

* Similarly Lenore Taylor this weekend Oz newspaper refers in a soft piece on the scandal to post Costello period as being “Turnbull unplugged” trying to say unrestrained/louder/stronger/clear air which is a different metaphor given unplugged is less not more electrical amplification. Is she also losing perspective about federal ALP politics. Too soft?  

* Deputy Prime Minister Gillard talking Middle East role for Australia in peace negotiations with VP Biden?

  * Albanese as Left faction infrastructure minister supports doubling of aircraft movements over the next 20 years despite home seat Marrickville area copping it badly in terms of noise but also air pollution. Albanese says a 2^nd airport is critical. Richmond RAAF base is now under control of Albanese’s factional ally inner westie Defence Minister John Faulkner. But look at this picture from the Hawkesbury taken this morning. The RAAF base is on higher ground 10 km from Windsor/Hawkesbury River true but still very fog affected??? 

 * Last month as a political blogger I had a computer security problem, which caused me to confront a possible suspect, with copy to well known media analyst Margarent Simons as an honest broker.  What happened was that a very selective 3 months of email correspondence, and one email file archive called "SAMtech" was deleted. SAM is an acronym.  So my point is - emails can be deleted – as per the Godwin Gretch testimony.  

Secondly, a well known programme called TracksEraserPro can be used to delete hard drive copies of anything off a computer. You can download it for free off a trustworthy site called MajorGeeks.  SAM’s editor uses it every day to keep clutter off my hard drive.  Having said all this - emails sent via an Internet Service Provider will probably have a record of the IP no. of the computer source (DNA of the machine) and receiver - speaking as a non geek amateur. Also I suspect the geeks can insert false IP numbers or proxies to avoid detection.  Welcome to the cyber wild west..  

* Senator Brown didn't say he would be bankrupt, he said he was threatened with bankrupty by Forestry Tasmania doing the dirty work of the ALP and Coalition.  So Abetz is being deceptive and cynical. Also another false trail is that Brown already had $600K in legal funds so he was rich. Actually what he said was that he'd already paid that amount in legal costs.  What scares the majors is that Brown has such massive social capital just like Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life, only this is real life, not a movie.  

*  Nasty misogyny, and blind prejudice, including sisterhood in ugly condescension and patronizing critique, implicit in attacks on Greens Party Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Some of it in official commentary from political rivals and censorious older women (‘Deb’ Cameron, Pru Goward) jealous (?) of both her political reach into mainstream press and her superior success at a much younger age? Some other nastiness in redneck letters pages.

Fact is HY had the whole thing under control in the senate chamber, and it was old boy Senate Speaker who claimed he had no discretion to allow “strangers” in the house during a tedious mechanical vote on a division. Since when did experienced mothers not know how to do 2 things at once? This issue has revealed the critics as moral frauds and bullies infused with blind prejudice against The Greens.  

*  Fallout from NSW State budget was unusually mild criticism except on free trade purity which the Left wing govt won’t worry too much about. Interesting that Penberthy managed to sideline literally both Simon Benson and Piers Akerman in their Sydney Daily Telegraph comment pieces, Penbo picking up the cudgels for free trade, many will see as an arid line of debate after the GFC has blown the credibility of orthodox economics out the window. Ironically the AAA rating in NSW was consolidated and seen as smart politics when Standard & Poors helped cause the GFC in the first place with faulty ratings. Talk about flawed paradigm.  

* Peter Costello quoted “you have to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em” is quite clear evidence that the timing of his effective resignation from future leadership role(s) in politics was highly calculated and probably self interested. The polls had turned for Turnbull, the coalition were about to split using Costello as a focus for the redneck conservatives and Nats on climate etc. And there were green shoots in the economy suggesting Rudd’s stimulus strategy may well work.

 Costello is thus revealed as a supreme chancer. We always suspected counsel for Woodside, Lisa Hamilton, was the brains behind his IR Dollar Sweets IR legal victories. A student politician by definition doesn’t have time to do the real hard legal research work.   

* Amazing synchrony of SAM feature headline and or picture this last 2 Sunday talkies and real politik following: A fortnight ago we used a title about ‘props and pollie crunch’ only to see Defence Minister Fitzgibbon walk the plank unexpectedly later that week. Then last week we used a picture of car crash in the local area into the trees to symbolise ETS hitting the wall of the Green Party/Coalition opposition. Nicholson grabbed the same visual metaphor here in the The Australian this weekend (as per image above)

  * Mark Arbib is under constant attack in the Senate these last several days. Most interesting is Arbib’s shrill, teenager style voice protesting his certainty of fact and purpose over massive education fund cash splash. Arbib is starting to realize (?) that the arrogance of NSW Right ALP doesn’t play on the national stage of federal parliament. Comes across as a spiv out of his moral depth.  

* Back to sleaze of NSW ALP politics and their “junkyard dogs”, in the agri politics bible here in NSW: The images are MPs for the Shooters Party gun nuts and right wing religous nut Fred Nile MP propping up the NSW ALP Govt in the upper house here.

1. embarrasses NSW Govt after fairly successful state budget including grudgingly by SMH itself earlier in the week. Content of story shows water supply not at threat at all, but Cox's river tributary certainly is at risk and damaged by heavy metals due to leaching via arsenic. 

2. reinforces the agenda for sell off of the public energy assets, a long running crusade of both major newspapers in Sydney 

3. Story is important but normally would have run at page 3, 4 or 5. The placement indicated the big media real politik malice. 

Golf, no broadcast.

Meet The Press - Watch Political Video Online - Channel TEN.

Riley Diary 7, from 8.30am

LO grills Treasuer Wayne Swan on the intricacies of the $500M line to Ford Credit to sustain car dealership industry during the intensity of the GFC. And Mr Grant was to be looked after within that umbrella.

LO: ‘enormous pressure’ to look after Grant. ‘Emails show Swan was being kept up to date at home fax.]

[Calls up the whole ALP Qld political culture of Mike Kaiser cooking the electoral paperwork years ago forced to resign ministerial position, here again cooking the paperwork.]

Auditor General inquiry doesn’t include Wayne Swan in the narrow terms of reference only PMO, implying a fix. ‘Won’t resign.’

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/oakes

Insiders 2: 9- 10am

 Great opening line from compere Cassidy about a lot more than mere “car trouble” with footage of Rudd strenuous denials about the ‘politics of smear’.

Footage of Swan denials.  Gretch package in Riley Diary style.

Estimates committee David Martine cover for Gretch, profound footage of honest evidence. “Put in a position a public servant should never be put in”.

Panel is Schubert of The Age, Meglo The Oz, Toohey AFR/Fairfax.

Cross to New York for Deputy Prime Minister Gillard [talking Middle East role for Australia in peace negotiations with VP Biden?]. Email smokescreen to Godwin Gretch evidence of favouritism to car dealer Mr Grant, defending Govt reputation.

Your shout about Costello retiring.

Panel much discussion about Godwin Gretch with much footage of questioning by ALP senator Doug Cameron including journo Lewis contact with Godwin Gretch and special attention for Mr Grant but not Kay Hulls electorate related car dealership.

Talking Pictures with Peter Costello: ‘I’ve enjoyed the banter with the press over the years’ but that’s not what he said attacking the glasses of Michelle Grattan, or grump over answering questions post election defeat intentions.

Profound footage of Obama swatting fly by his own hand in front of the cameras during an interview.

Toohey sledges Costello 11 years – bloated middle class welfare and structural deficit in a boom. Hard talk indeed.

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

Inside Business with Alan Kohler

Chief at Morgan Stanly discusses over leveraging causing GFC.

Refer http://www.abc.net.au/insidebusiness/

Posted by editor at 12:30 PM NZT

Updated: Sunday, 21 June 2009 12:48 PM NZT

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