It’s unarguable that Prime Minister Tony Abbott has set his sights on the ABC.
Abbott claims the ABC displays what he terms “lack of affection for the home team” in its reporting of events such as the Indonesian spy scandal, allegations by asylum seekers that Australian navy personnel caused them to suffer burns (earlier described as “sledging the navy” by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison) and, perhaps most heinously, “advertising” the work of whistleblower Edward Snowden whose disclosures led to so much trouble in the first place.
The Prime Minister would like it much better if we were all kept mushroom-like in the dark and showered with LNP shit, rather than informed by the national broadcaster of what our government is actually doing.
Somehow, the inanities, incompetencies and illegalities of the Abbott government are not the problem. The problem is the ABC reporting them!! Who would have thought!!
This reminds me of the Catholic church cover-ups of child sexual abuse, in which victims are blamed for speaking out and in so doing, risking the destruction of the institution. Similarly, many victims of intra-familial sexual abuse report they have kept silent because they have been told by the perpetrator that they would destroy the family if they revealed the crimes.
According to Mr Abbott, the ABC reporting his government’s failures and alleged failures is “working against Australia,” a classic perpetrator argument when silencing knowledge is his or her main goal. The objective is two-fold: self-protection and protection of the institution, in this case Australia (read Abbott, because he IS the country don’t you know) as the institution with the ABC as the instrument of its potential ruin if allowed to broadcast information that casts the government in a negative light.
This is a classic repressive conservative belief, that certain knowledge must be concealed in the interests of the greater good.
Abbott has confused his and his government’s interests with the interests of the country. As in the church and the family, the institution’s interests and the interests of all its members are not necessarily the same thing. If an institution cannot survive the dissemination of knowledge, then perhaps it does not deserve to survive.
Abbott has also lost sight of the fact that his government does not pay for the ABC, taxpayers do, and taxpayers hold a wide range of views, not just those of the LNP.
The government has its tame media voices in partisan shock jocks and the Murdoch press. Those of us who hold other views are, in this democracy, entitled to hear other voices and one of those voices we are entitled to hear is the ABC.
There is no homogenous “home team” in this country when it comes to political opinion and thirst for truthful information. The only “home team” Abbott can possibly be referring to is his government.
I see no reason why the ABC has any obligation to feel “affection” for this, or any other government. Indeed, we should demand quite the opposite.
No Place For Sheep 
Here’s how Fairfax reported it.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-blasts-national-broadcaster-abc-takes-everyones-side-but-australias-20140129-31lt8.html
Hopefully that’s not paywalled for you.
I too was struck with the way he conflates the government’s interests with the nation’s. Who does he think he is? Putin!
Clearly Scott Morrison want’s all media outlets to look the other way, not even entrusting information about asylum seekers to the friendlies over at News!
Will nobody rid us of this meddlesome priest?
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And another one: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/blogs/blunt-instrument/somebody-call-the-waaaambulance–the-abc-has-been-mean-to-abbott-20140130-31nt0.html
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And a very good one it is. Clearly more than one person has TA’s number.
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“L’état, c’est moi” Said Louis XIV – or was it Tony Abbott?
Thus individual or organisation such as the ABC that acts in the interest of the 23 million plus Australians, but does not further the political ambitions of Tony Abbott, must therefore act against Australia’s interest.
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Thank you. A fantasist, like Snoopy in pursuit of the red Baron. anation held to ransom for a pieces of garbage like this.
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It shouldn’t be how dare the ABC embarrass the government by reporting the truth.
It should be how dare the government criticise the ABC for reporting the truth.
It should be how dare the government treat the people of Australia with such disrespect that they decide what we should and shouldn’t know.
We deserve the truth.
As soon as truth is compromised, as soon as a government decides what its people should and shouldn’t know, it crosses the threshold into dictatorship.
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Reblogged this on Love versus Goliath : A Partner Visa Journey and commented:
Jen presents a very good analysis of why journalism is not about spruiking the government’s line, but about informing the people. Supporting transparency, providing information.
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I go along with what Robyn from Team Oyeniyi says. It’s important that people are provided with different sources of information. It’s bad when a government is out to keep people uninformed. I for one would like to know exactly what is happening with our navy.
Very good when people go to the trouble to keep us informed. I am going to reblog this post on Auntyuta!
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Good for you!! 😉
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Reblogged this on auntyuta.
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I am amazed that a PM wants to be interviewed on a commercial radio station. Surely he could have done that on the ABC radio or a program such as Q&A.
To place oneself on the same footing as Alan. Jones and the Bolt’s of this world seems a bad move unless Abbott resides in a similar world of making slanderous remarks, bogon cheap shots and unsubstantiated claims. I can’t see how anyone even still listens to 2 GB.
I thought people had better things to do.
Boo to Abbott.
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You’ve reminded me Gerard. Wasn’t it the case that Q&A wanted to give Tony airtime last year in the run up to the election? But Tony didn’t want to come. Kevin did it. David Suzuki did it. Heck even Bill Gates gave of his time. And Tony can only find the time to talk to Hadley on 2GB….Curiouser and curiouser!
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What do you want? It helped him to win votes, didn’t it? That’s how he got in, that’s how our democracy works.
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Hmm… I thought it followed the same rules as a two-up ring myself. You pays yer money and you takes yer chances!
Apparently earlier I was speaking metaphorically about political accountability. A notion lost in the mists of that bygone era known to a few remaining truth-keepers as before the election. We all know its long forgotten now!
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Better things to do?
2GB ( Jones) consistently tops the radio ratings in Sydney.
Murdoch’s daily and Sunday newspapers account for approximately two-thirds of all daily (including Sunday) newspapers sold in Australia.
Bolt is apparently Australia’s most-read political blogger.
I’m afraid the above tells us much about the mentality of the Australian people.
After all, if we were all half smart, surely all of the above would have been out of business long ago?
Sadly, the reality is quite the opposite.
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Poor little Tonywony! Have those nasty lefties Leigh and Kerry been picking on him again?
How dare they ask all those horrid questions without first giving him a chance to prepare some written lies…sorry, answers.
Cue the theme to Team America, with a slight change: Australeeyah…f*ck yeah! Tony’s come to save the motherf*ckin day yeah!
Wishing you all a belated Happy Kim Jong Abbott Day. Where would we be without him?
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Yea, where would we be without him?
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Happy to know that it’s not just America that gets things all backwards.
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As a Contralabelist, I thank you for this:
http://thebluereview.org/five-modest-suggestions-to-improve-civil-discourse/
In this arena everyone needs a friend.
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Yes we do. Thank YOU.
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A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
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Well said. But even the sheep will grow teeth eventually.
This is of course No Place For Sheep.
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Nice to read a substantial report at the ABC, involving Malcolm Turnbull moved to a fairly overt rebuke of Mad, Bad and Sad just a few moments ago, re his attempt to intimidate it.
Perhaps his rantings have reached there stage where even his own may be getting fed up with him.
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I am on record as preferring a competent bastard to an incompetent saint as leader. This one however is simply an incompetent bastard.
And incompetent bastards don’t want anyone to know just how badly they are fucking up.
To echo HG, will no-one rid us of this turbulent priest?
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I’m not on record, but I agree with your preference.
I struggle to think of many incompetent saints making it to the top. I think we’ve had plenty of competent bastards, the problem being that the bastardry rather than the competence has been rewarded to the extent that we’ve descended to the current level of incompetent bastardry, and it might just get worse.
I know I’m short on examples, but everyone will have their own slant, and this thread’s all about Tony (unfortunately).
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The incompetent saints don’t last long. NSW had an opposition leader by the name of John Mason. The Federal Libs had John Hewson. The ones who got to the top job almost by accident are largely forgotten. I’ve forgotten them already!
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That’s always been the problem with the ABC, they report the truth, whereas certain pollies would prefer the public only received their version of the truth.
And now, the obligatory “study” of the ABC to see how it can be silenced without the taxpayers realising it.
This cartoon on it . . . . .
Cheers
Mick
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Absolutely love all these steam showers
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