Mood:
sharpTopic: big media
Neal Blewett former federal ALP minister, and John Hewson former leader of the federal Liberal Parliamentary Party have 10-15 minutes on Sydney radio as we write. These guys are independent spirits no doubt and smart observers of political life no doubt too.
They or similar ALP and Coalition are given a free go every week. But is this according to the ABC charter for all Australians? We doubt it.
The trouble is that a good 30% of the electorate don't vote for either but are channelled there by the systemic two party preferred voting system.
There is plenty to agree and disagree with from such as Blewett and Hewson, such as the the penultimate post about timing of Quentin Bryce as Governor General as brand ALP goes into meltdown here in NSW. Neither go that timing point perhaps because both are still a little too friendly to Big Power.
We are willing to bet that both have participation in either current state or federal government official bodies with sitting fees or whatever?
This weekly segment needs review and revision. What we would suggest is a Little Party Liners segment in addition to balance. With one rep from the Green Party, and one from say the Nats or other right focused group like Steve Fielding. That would be much fairer and representative of the true voter demography in terms of airtime.
That is if the ABC is serious about "balance".
