A Four Corners “expose” of the supposed moral failings of ministers Christian Porter and Alan Tudge set against the “ooh vicar” titillation of Malcolm Turnbull’s so-called “bonk ban” elicited almost 2,500 comments from readers, most of whom were not pleased. Ian was irked:
“It’s an obvious political attack dressed up as moral outrage and the supporting cast proves that.”
Tomas tut-tutted:
“In the Tudge instance it appears to be very much a case of hell hath no fury while Porter seems to be still living out his uni years. Neither have covered themselves in glory but I ask myself how could this expose be in the public interest. Add to this the supporting cast of KK, SHY and MT and you have to ask why we the taxpayers are funding this abomination called the ABC. This was not journalism.”
Rick raged:
“Of course it's a political attack and the ABC knows it will succeed because Morrison is too gutless to do anything about it.”
Mark remarked:
“Firstly, odious behaviour from Trudge and Porter. If you are bonking your employee it is an unequal relationship, so arguments about consenting adults don’t apply.
Secondly, the implication of the whole story was that Trudge and Porters less than ethical behaviour was reflective of LNPs poor record on women’s issues, under representation in parliament etc. Maybe, but the failure to make enquires of what was happening on the other side of politics was a failure, and the cries of bias are not without merit.
Thirdly, dredging up Porters poor behaviour from uni, and having the temerity to dance was tawdry character assassination befitting a tabloid paper … very poor by Four Corners.”
Charlie Brown countered:
“If the Coalition has maintained Turnbull’s ridiculous bonk ban it invites close scrutiny of the actions of the private and personal lives of its members. However, the ABC’s overt ongoing bias against the Coalition raises questions about the veracity of any program where it criticises the government, but when it comes to this type of sleaze, it simply begs the question of what purpose the program served other than to kick the government again.”
Themistocles theorised:
“Does anyone doubt that the ABC is an ‘activist’ organisation with a green-left bias? I certainly don’t. This publicly funded institution is out to ‘get’ the conservative side of politics.
What the ABC has been up to is not what I would characterise as ‘holding the government to account’ nor ‘in the public interest’.
“It would be foolish for the Coalition to ignore what the ABC is up to any longer — they will lose elections if they do. The Prime Minister must call a royal commission into the performance, staffing, adherence to their charters, funding and future roles of the ABC and SBS.
The royal commission should be required to hand down its report well before the next federal election so that the Australian electorate can decide.”
Not clever, said Trevor:
“Why isn’t the ABC investigating the Victorian hotel quarantine fiasco instead of this drivel?”
Emily was aghast:
“So no corroborating evidence … not a single text, email, photo? Just a former PM with an axe to grind, a green senator, Labor senator, and a demoted woman … quality journalism there ABC!”
MarketingMan wasn’t buying it:
“It was apparent this was a Liberal Party attack. The second half was devoted to trashing Christian Porter. It was an outright attack on the Liberal Party by a left-wing dominated public institution. Payback for not getting funding.”
Ian again:
“What a surprise, Kristina Keneally and Sarah H-Young teaming up with Louise Milligan and the ABC to unfairly launch an attack on Coalition Ministers. Milligan has been found to have her facts seriously wrong in the past, so why should we believe her on this occasion?”
Julie was overjoyed:
“Someone has to give a view other than that of the Murdoch Press.”
Darryl wanted dirt:
“I have always had my suspicions about B1 and B2 as well. I await the next Four Corners exposure of that secret relationship.”
Craig was confused:
“We have passed laws allowing same sex marriages and legalising prostitution but two heterosexual consenting adults can’t have a drink in a bar?”
Eheu Fugaces frothed:
“So what David Anderson described to Senate Estimates today, and presumably regards, as the work of award-winning investigative journalists, applying the highest standards of journalism, turns out to be a nasty, parochial little saga of tale bearing, tittle tattle and scuttlebutt.
One government minister, on the say so of one woman who knew him at university, will be cancelled as a sexist and a misogynist. It is for this that taxpayers give the ABC $1.1bn per annum. It’s OK to cancel this minister. He’s male, and he’s a Liberal. The program should have displayed at the end this disclaimer: ‘No Labor or Green politicians were harmed during the making of this program’.”
Alessandro asked:
“Where waw the ABC when Bob Hawke was around? Or when Tony Burke took a staffer for a trip to Tasmania on taxpayers money? The ABC is obviously a political tool for the left, and Ita B has failed to change the culture only to be overcome by it. Australia has plenty of networks. There is no need for a government funded broadcaster — just keep children’s programming and regional and rural-orientated services. Sell the rest.”
Peter William’s point:
“The ABC sees this as protection from any further action by the government as they will cry ‘we are being persecuted for uncovering this scandal’. Ignore them, remove the board and appoint an administrator with instructions to reduce staff starting from the top and sell all assets, lease back as required to run a subscription only service.”
Maxwell let the hammer fall:
“This is a ‘get square’ by the ABC against the coalition, and a ‘get square’ by a disgruntled deposed former PM against his former colleagues that had no choice but to replace him. Turnbull’s grand standing is exposed when he can’t explain why he appointed Christian Porter as AG, despite what he knew and his supposed reservations. The ABC’s bias is laid bare by the fact that they have completely ignored the Labor Party. If the ABC thought their relationship with the government was bad before, they ain’t heard nothing yet, and the Labor Party would be advised to tread carefully, lest Labor peccadillos were to be ventilated.”
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In a column today, Henry Ergas, which concluded the Four Corners piece “lacked the slightest pretence of being fair-minded, objective and impartial” and completely failed to ask or explain “why it was in the public interest to devote taxpayers’ resources to so shabby a purpose”. Rosalind was enraptured:
“Thank you, Henry. This is the most sane, thoughtful and meaningful analysis of what has happened to the ABC that I have read. It was in tatters after years of decline, but last Monday’s shameful Four Corners episode tore away the last shred of credibility that its news and current affairs division had. I don’t think there is anything left to salvage and whoever is given the poison chalice of running the ABC is powerless to change things when they face a staff collective with no brake on it. I don’t want my taxes funding this outfit any more.”
Ann averred:
“I never watch the leftist ABC on anything political or opinion based. It has become a left wing of the Labor Party. No fairness in any of its reporting. Four Corners used to be a must watch, but never again.”
Teresa tittered:
“With all the cuts you barely pay for it. But you do pay for Foxtel so there’s a consolation prize.”
Jane explained:
“The ABC expose is hugely disrespectful to the women involved, painting them as victims, incapable of making their own decisions and being regarded as responsible adults capable of choosing to engage in affairs. People may have different personal moral views, but that does not mean these women should be treated as objects. ABC have become the new puritans and this looks like a witch hunt.”
Murray mooted:
“Don’t want to impugn the integrity of the two women who conceived and produced this program for ‘our ABC’, Sally Neighbour and Louise Milligan, but they both have form. Sally Neighbour with her ‘Story of the Century’ three episode program affirming the Russia, Russia Russia hoax perpetrated by the Democrat Party to undermine the legitimacy of the Trump presidency, which proved unfounded per the Mueller investigation, and Louise Milligan’s pursuit of Cardinal Pell via a book, whose whole basis was overturned by no less than the High Court with a unanimous decision. These women need to be seriously curtailed by the ABC to contain any further embarrassment.”
Roger reckoned:
“Every employee in the ABC should read this, because again Mr Ergas reminds us of what are the true values of western modern thought that broke the theocracy of the Middle Ages. Ita should hang this in her office and read it every day to remind herself what the ABC should aim for.”
Heather hated:
“No, Ita should hang her head in shame for allowing this abuse of taxpayers to continue.”
Jason observed:
“At one point the ABC politics page was all about Porter with multiple high profile stories heavily featured but I actually had to search to see that Fitzgibbon had just quit the front bench. The fact that so much real estate was given to this story when there are such thin allegations is preposterous. As it was put to me ‘this was a 10 min story for the 7.30 report that had been stretched to fit a Four Corners format’. Abysmal.”
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Joel Fitzgibbon quit the Labor frontbench after a blistering shadow cabinet row with Anthony Albanese, in a move that amplified internal divisions on climate change and threatens to destabilise the Opposition Leader. Ken clapped:
“Good to see that someone in the Labor Party understands the disaster of ‘climate change action’ and is prepared to stand up and be counted. I hope there are others that join Joel and act in Australia’s best interests.”
Shut Up Idiot snapped:
“Nope. He simply wanted to save his backside in a working class seat. Listen to his remaining talking points. He parrots his Labor given lines. He’s got nothing.”
Show ponies, said Tony:
“Labor might be tortured over climate change, but the government isn’t far behind. Only a very small group of holdouts in Canberra (both sides of politics) have got the guts to speak out against the madness, and they are largely ‘de-platformed’, ‘cancelled’, and whatever other weird terms are dredged up by the self-titled ‘progressives’.
“I reckon you couldn’t put a cigarette paper between their energy policies. Neither one would dare utter the words ‘coal fired power’; both would fall down in a blue funk if the word ‘nuclear’ was used; both love the idea of wind and solar with battery storage back-up; neither one gives a damn about the idea of having the kind of reliable, affordable, power that is needed to keep (say) the Alcoa Portland smelter running, or for us to switch back to producing our own steel rather than depending on dubious suppliers like China.
“Australia is on a slippery slope caused by a national hysteria over climate in which we, little old Australia and our minuscule 25 million people, have selected ourselves to be the conscience of the world, moralising about the beautiful new world that awaits us if only we will drive out the 3pc of CO2 emissions that are man-made. I’ve got news for you: the world isn’t listening! The world didn’t listen when we outlawed any and all use of nuclear, and it’s not listening now.”
Peter g posited:
“The loudest voices on climate change are more often than not, those people not dependant on low energy costs for their income stream to continue. It’s been sad to witness the shortsighted politicians in the past 20 or 30 years sit back and watch the unintended consequences of subsidies paid to renewables. For example skyrocketing power price rises and watching manufacturing move from this country to China.”
MBA said:
“Credit to Fitzgibbon. A rare person in the ALP who understands jobs are more important than climate change doomsday prophecy!”
Patrick’s prophecy:
“The real risk is global cooling. That’s when crops fail, animals and people struggle to survive. According to solar physicists we are heading into a grand solar minimum and several decades of global cooling.”
Gregory was gobsmacked:
“After reading this story, out of curiosity I went to the ABC news website … not one mention of any of this there.”
Sarah said:
“Apparently the chaos in the federal opposition isn’t in the public interest unlike the personal foibles of a couple of government ministers in their uni days long ago.”
Last word to LesleyF:
“As a result of the Covid crisis, Australia is deep in debt, businesses and the economy will take years to recover, and our major trading partner, China, is punishing us for daring to resist their demands. This hardly seems the time to cripple our remaining industry by implementing climate change ideoĺogy, the end result of which will be to have no effect on global warming. It is madness in the extreme for the Labor Party to make ģreen climate change policy the most important issue they can find.”
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