Mood:
d'ohTopic: aust govt
Comment (links to follow, maybe)
We have been stewing over this insight for about 3 days now - what is the real real politik of Fuelwatch? Small change in price of petrol effect. Small but significant polling pain for the federal ALP Rudd Govt as per News Corp press today. Largely irrelevant as to big ticket item of carbon pricing. Yet the Coalition are fighting tooth and nail against the plan - even raising shaky constitutional issues via MP Chris Pyne.
And accused by Ross Gittins of lacking strategic nouse, suggesting shallowness. But now I think I understand. Kev you are a clever chap.
Get Up was seed funding cyber activism from Evan Thorley MP (ALP) and others on a diverse but unity ticket of Anybody But John Howard. Get Up have kicked on post electin to become a huge progressive 250K subscriber/membership not so ALP aligned as such anymore, building another feisty raison detre 6 months into the new Govt. Acknowledging that earlier ALP influence is an important aspect of growing beyond that stereotype with open ness and honesty (Solomon on MTP 10 about a month ago).
Thorley himself came from the US IT sector avoiding the tech wreck of 2000-01: Cross fertilising Australian politics with the pioneering Demorat aligned George Soros funded MoveOn.org aimed at removal of George W Bush 4 years in 2004, as a balancer to Fox News right wing ranting in the Big Media.
So what is Fuelwatch if not an internet based mass engagement, empowerment movement on a significant price sensitive topic of interest to most voters given our car dependence? The Coalition have every reason to fear another highly successful Get Up only this time out of the national ALP Govt proper.
Brendan Nelson as Opposition Leader was on 7.30 last night with ridicule over price controls of supermarkets in GroceryWatch. But it's not a joke Brendan. Just as Get Up is all too real. Just as Barak Obama raising huge funds on the net is no joke. Just as Big Media are embracing/meeting/loathing the challenge of the internet - as significant as invention of the printing press in the late 15C according to experts like Jay Rosen and Margaret Simons.
Just as you read it here first.
