Media backgrounder last 10 days
Mood:
energetic
Topic: big media
In the absence of the usual chunky package of big media background notables in our last Sunday Political Talkies story (due to ragged recovery from trip to the wilds of south west Victoria) we shall start a listing here as we catch up the grist:
- Joe Hildebrand hidden away on the inside last page of the Saturday Tele with this cracking quote in I feel right at home in state of fearing death | The Daily Telegraph attributed to colleague Simon Benson, which is saying something given Benson's big 'in' with this State ALP
"As my exasperated colleague Simon Benson recently put it to a nervous Liberal staffer: "For God's sake, this is a Government whose main policy agenda is killing its citizens - and you blokes can't even land a glove on them in Question Time!"
Trioli on abc 702 before 9 am today implicitly makes the same point over the DOCS minister over the tragedy of the 7 year old who never got a fair chance in life, dead of starvation. Bad governance, nepotism, cronyism, sinecures, zoo like attitude in Parliament (especially the Upper House), stacked branches, cynical power games, developer donations. It's very ugly governance in this state, and the Coalition are potentially as bad. It's the crap two party duopoly to my mind.
Simon Benson clearly has broken cover from the ALP skirts (like Putin's KGB from the tattered skirts of the Yeltsin/Oligarchs?!), which is surprising given his very big 'in' to the ALP networks, or alternatively is that Benson the cipher via Sussex St strategically helping Kevin07 break down that Howard line on 'ALP Federal/7 State dictatorship' election strategy?
The notion that Kevin will help remove the appalling NSW ALP govt will indeed be popular but just as likely a temporary posture till the election on Nov 24?
Sincere or not, Benson's logic has great resonance with Barry OFarrell so obviously competent as an Opposition Leader if not his bunch of rat bag/religious nutter shadows, with a few honourable exceptions.
Read Simon's piece today timed late 6th Nov 07and judge for yourself: State ALP gone if Rudd wins
- This cracking tip off to catch John Laws who apparently is in melt down mode after 55 years in the career until the federal election when he resigns. Tune in to hear Laws let rip | The Daily Telegraph
- The laughable PR postures of Bob Carr given his pro woodchipping history (dealt with here on SAM news site last week): Ex premier Bob Carr's push to protect his bush | The Daily Telegraph
Au contraire, the truth is much more like this:
- Fears over frieght noise in Valley Times Oct 25 07 3, Canterbury City Council is very worried about the new Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre - "the centre will operate around the clock, seven days a week ... 800 container movements per day ....local councils could unite ....this is going to be the worst disaster for the area ....this is the biggest single issue in Canterbury".
And guess who is Shadow minister for infrastructure in the Inner West to deliver the ALP brothers intensification of transport at any health and amenity cost? Anthony Albanese.
Virginia Judge state ALP MP for Strathfield is also getting sledged mercilessly as she should be by one Anthony Poljak of Strathfield in the letters page of the Inner West Courier p36 9/10/07 over the over development intensification, so super tanker container ships can save money while everyone else suffers.
- a surprisingly balanced and sober assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Kyoto protocol as a symbol and a process by Matthew Warren the energy industry spruiker who represents as an environment reporter here Few understand significance of 'symbolic' Kyoto | The Australian back on 29 Oct 07. We find it gratifying because we pick up the symbolism reported here separately just like the Montreal Protocol. Warren notes a learned article in Nature. The thesis is that demand increases for subsidised supply of whatever widget or service, which puts pressure on supply then a feedback loop to increase demand and therefore price. Sounds right.
- Hans Blix, Hans Blix, Hans Blix on JJJ, Dateline, abc 702 and radio national, winner of the Sydney Peace Prize 2007 which presumably means a nice free trip down under and a pat on the back. He deserves it. He also strongly supports nuclear power (which we don't) but then you want a nukes expert as a weapons inspector. Blix encourages sales of our uranium to the world. Australia recently were blackballed by India at the cost of "billions" of export revenue for imposing USA inspired conditions. Symptomatic of a very fluid dynamic in this area of geo politics (Richard Broinowski Credentials the cost of nuclear sell-out - Opinion - smh.com.au, , and probably a reason to indulge such as Peter Garrett despite all his double talk and carpetbaggery, otherwise the Blix view will win out, rather than the clean renewables vision. Sheridan at The Oz (link is scarce) is suitably pissed off that sales to India are not going ahead so far India sets new talks on nuclear deal - Breaking News - World ... - Underlining the ruthless nature of our Coalition govt 'values' commitment to trade above all else this ugle story re Burma Sanctions don't work, says investor with Liberal ties - World ... - Geof Gallup releases the inner lefty here New wave of radicalism | The Australian which won't impress the fiscal conservatives, although he might mean social policy as per Big Mal on some 'token' equal financial rights for gay couples - unfriendly profile by Steve Lewis of the 'red menace' Julia Gillard in the Daily Telegraph as "Left to own devices", (and similarly in Melb Herald Sun as "Fighting fire with burning ambition" ) tucked away on page 83 of the Saturday Tele which kicked off the latest phase of attacks on Gillard as too left. She was heard parrotting Rudd as an "economic conservative" with a cute form of words like always supporting 'competition and hard work'. - Chris Masters classic quote out take on full page feature notable for leaving the ABC but also for the spineless nature of our political professional class, by Erin O'Dwyer p57 Sun Herald Oct 14 07 (offline) called " 'I never had a problem, but there's a problem now' " presumably a quote of the veteran journo' "
Masters believes the media must change - slowly, from the grassroots up - but he wonders whether the politicians have really taken any heed. The same ones who clapped him on the back still "run up to Jone's flat for the endless meetings".
It made me think if they crawl to Alan Jones and they so disrespect him, what do they think of the rest of us?
You can see the answer amongst the antics of the machine men and women of the Upper House of say the NSW Parliament any sitting day of the week, full of themselves at their financial security via parliamentary pension having gotten to the top of that particular greasy pole and with no gravity or sense of public duty, a pathetic club of cynical wankers with few honourable exceptions. A very depressing place.
- AMP 'Investing in sustainability" advert looking to the ethical investment sector , full page Oct 6-7 Australian Weekend Magazine.
- cruel picture of the 'Governor General' Senator John Faulkner on 17/10/07 p7 Australian in story Wily Faulkner eyes Rudd tyros | The Australian - Funny take on time travel postures this election season by two major parties by Steve Burrell leveraging a Tardis picture Plague of time lords enters Australian politics - Business - Business - Flattering profile of 'national leader' of the Greens Bob Brown with big pic p7 29 Oct The Australian, in a purple patch for the veteran (also reported here separately) of serious real politik relevance arguably previously denied The Greens and Senator Brown alleging electoral credibility gap. Refer Brown launches bid for balance of power | The Australian, and the pragmatic preference deal between The Greens and the ALP last Saturday corroborates the theme Sat 3rd Nov 07, with the official statement here: Federal Labor has today confirmed its preference arrangements with the Australian Greens.
Labor will direct preferences to the Greens in the Senate. The Greens will preference the ALP for the House of Representatives ballot in target seats in all States and Territories, except Tasmania.
The ALP will preference One Nation, Citizens Electoral Council and Pauline Hanson last on all ballot papers in seats running candidates from those parties.
Federal Labor campaign spokesperson Penny Wong said, “Federal Labor has made these preference agreements only on the basis that they do not, in any way, influence or change Labor policy."
- On the same page and perhaps of equal import one of the infamous union twins
Kevin Reynolds proves his durability with the targeting of Joe McDonald there in WA with the old mantra that '$ talks and bullsh*t walks' in this story:
We gave Rudd $1m: union boss | The Australian Mmm that's compelling PR to the Kevin07 to lay off the contract wedding of union-alp election campaign. We here fell a little sympathy for rough hewn Joe with too many meat pies under his belt - how many funerals of building workers has he been to due to bad safety practices in such a dangerous job? Too many is surely the answer. The financial PR approach reminds us of our favourite poster of
Coalition Union money politiks way back Oct 7 2005:
- Gavin Brown as Sydney Uni vice chancellor parades his pro democracy free speech right to know credentials in a curious crouched photo in the Ed Supplement p25, 24 Oct 2007 next to canonised academic John Buchanan in Hockey smear 'attack on freedom' | The Australian. There's a big story here of some kind but not the obvious - the PM's man Shergold was rumoured as interested in the $600K perch to replace Brown in Crikey.com.au earlier this year. Sydney Uni is in trouble for black listing this news blogger (covering an education rally) and the NSW Ombudsman Office is indeed pursuing it as we have been further contacted. But the Uni is clever with its PR too - they did a friendly pic fac with the student agitators (in The Glebe which refused to publish our letter to the editor about the black list) to deflect our official complaint of oppression of free press by community media. 'Students good, community media bloggers bad' is the tactical line. But its dishonest - the uni holds public events advertised to the public and tax subsidised by the public and the public should be able to do community media on the campus. - Acoa are all over some mutual backslapping awards of the AbaF - Australia Business Arts Foundation. Refer a supplment Oct 26 p7 of The AustralianSomething to do with ALCOA FROG WATCH. The public need to balance up this almost certain greenwashing with the solid electricity known as aluminium with huge greenhouse implications and the global record of searching the world for unspoilt mountains and rivers to dam for cheap hydro and bugger the locals. this writer helped stop one such US$3 BILLION project in Aysen Chile (refer Patagonia project)
- Kimberley set to become battleground | The Australian - piecemeal LNG developments come under fire.
- Desire and the green cure - Richard Glover - Opinion - smh.com.au
Posted by editor
at 9:35 AM EADT
Updated: Thursday, 8 November 2007 9:27 AM EADT
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