Clearly somebody didn’t get the group-think memo yesterday. Here is Ben Eltham telling us the AWU scandal is a non-story.
About the best argument you could make as to why the media is expending so much time and effort on an ancient and tenuous union scandal is that it is somehow relevant to Julia Gillard’s standards of governance and morality in office. That’s a tenuous link indeed. In our democracy, the media doesn’t get to decide who’s fit for office. Voters do.
The media loves a scandal. But sometimes there is no giant conspiracy. Sometimes there is no cover-up. Sometimes a dodgy ex-boyfriend is just a dodgy ex. Perhaps explosive new evidence will come to light and prove me wrong here. In the meantime, I’d like to see our nation’s journalists reporting on the bigger issues.
Meanwhile Jonathan Holmes tells us the ABC are onto the story:
One thing seems sure: the story is not going away. And my bet is that the ABC’s investigative programs can’t, and won’t, ignore it for much longer.
So will the ABC be spending our money – or as Holmes describes it “your money” – on a non-story? We’ll see. Perhaps a big investigation into why it is a non-story.
What he means is that journalists should start raising the question of the role Tony Abbott is playing.
C.L.
20 Nov 12 at 10:08 pm
Four Cornerless will be onto it I’m sure. Oh wait, sorry we’re not talking about Abbott. Carry on.
Gab
20 Nov 12 at 10:14 pm
I’d like to see our nation’s journalists write their own copy
Rousie
20 Nov 12 at 10:21 pm
Holmes is a breath of fresh air, but with the ABC about to shut down for its long summer vacation, who’s going to carry it?
Pyrmonter
20 Nov 12 at 10:32 pm
Eltham’s article typifies everything which is wrong with the ABC.
His article is grotesque and demonstrates a worldview which is incapable of understanding the corruption of the legal system which the Gillard affair is causing.
Gillard falsified a legal document, the application for association; she has admitted this.
There is circumstantial evidence that she falsified another legal document, Blewitt’s POA, and possibly backdated it to avoid stamp duty; Blewitt has also offered evidence to this effect and if he gives a Stat Dec to that effect that should ground legal proceedings.
Gillard has received unexplained money from Wilson who is alleged to have fraudulently processed large sums of money theough the vehicle of the application for association.
Gillard did not open a file to do with her work for Wilson in conflict with standard and required legal practice and in conflict with the interests of a major client of her firm, the AWU.
Documentation in relation to Gillard’s past has gone missing from various sources including a Federal court registry.
By claiming that she did not know of Wislon’s activities and did not report these activities because enquiries had begun Gillard has lied because at the time she has admitted knowing, and when she was possibly fired from S&G, no such enquiries had begun; that would leave her open to a charge of misprison which Michael Kirby has noted.
Eltham’s article is shit and typifies the moral vacuum of the left in this country.
cohenite
20 Nov 12 at 10:36 pm
So, what is a newly hatched journalist to do these days? The employment opportunities in paper / ink are vanishing faster than a drive by in Western Sydney. But wait..on yonder hill the light beckons. On suppliant knees, our bowing journo flails and prostitutes him/ her self for the penultimate sinecure. A snuggle rug in the bosom of a government spin department.
All hail Sir Humphrey!!
Steve of Glasshouse
20 Nov 12 at 10:46 pm
Maybe Holmes knows something we don’t. He’s much more of an ABC and media insider than Eltham, who is simply reciting what was a couple of months ago a widely held standard view.
Eltham’s behind the times and judging by his article, doesn’t seem very up to speed on the whole thing.
For instance, Eltham repeats the Gillard talking point about her amazing, incredible, oh-my-god hour-long press conference in which she answered all the questions put to her. No serious journalist who knows the story well describes the press conference that way, because it’s a mischaracterisation. It is well known that the press conference was a carefully crafted ambush for PR purposes. Gillard gave no warning that she would canvass the topic and therefore, none of the journalists who have covered the AWU affair or who were investigating it, were present. The journos who were there, although they gave a couple of valiant attempts, were unprepared. The fact that she supposedly answered all the questions that a random selection of journalists could think up off the top of their head is small cause for congratulations. Furthermore there were already lots of questions in the public domain about it, many in writing and very specific, that she decided to ignore.
Anyway, Eltham’s position is old hat. There have been new revelations, new questions, new refusals to answer the questions, and the Liberal party is now taking it up as well. It’s no longer just a ragtag bunch of journalists and bloggers.
dd
20 Nov 12 at 10:51 pm
“The ABC will revert to normal broad news coverage once the military conflict in Gaza has ceased. Until then all ABC outlets will report exclusively on events in Gaza”
Ben’s World.
Harold
20 Nov 12 at 10:51 pm
That would be interesting: an investigation into the mechanisms by which News Ltd has turned into a rabid right-wing rag, bereft of any impartiality. I doubt even Four Corners would be that brazen though.
m0nty
20 Nov 12 at 10:55 pm
And we’ll be topping and tailing those bigger issues as soon as they’re faxed through
Rousie
20 Nov 12 at 10:56 pm
News Ltd and Fairfax.
Gab
20 Nov 12 at 10:56 pm
I agree. It would be interesting.
Some people think it’s a non-story. Some think it’s a big scandal. So why not lay it all out clearly for all to see, and let people make up their own minds? It could be a fantastic opportunity to laugh at all those gullible enough to think there was something in it.
dd
20 Nov 12 at 10:59 pm
You’re a fuckwit monty; what has Eltham’s crap got to do with Murdoch?
cohenite
20 Nov 12 at 11:02 pm
Eltham makes a decent comparison with Whitewater. Clinton with Whitewater, Obama with Benghazi, Gillard with the AWU… it seems the right loves to cook up byzantine scandals that never go anywhere and in retrospect have no evidential link at all with the leftist leader.
m0nty
20 Nov 12 at 11:05 pm
She admitted she forged the application for association.
cohenite
20 Nov 12 at 11:07 pm
Fat Boy
Whitewater turned out to be bigger than what you suggest. Whitewater turned up Paula Jones and Clinton losing is license to practice law. I’m guessing that’s no big deal for a president to have this happen to him.
Benghazi is unfinished business
STFU, you fat idiot.
JC
20 Nov 12 at 11:09 pm
Bomber over target, the Dear Leader’s anti-aircraft gunner freaking out.
C.L.
20 Nov 12 at 11:22 pm
Well speaking of ABC and bias.
Just looking at this story now concerning the reduction in sentence of a Facebook troubled maker.
Contains the following line,
“The youngest victim in the case was just 16.”
Why would the journalist write “was just 16″ instead of simply “was 16″? The former doesn’t add any further factual detail it’s just an emotional tug.
Harold
20 Nov 12 at 11:22 pm
The weirdest thing was watching Jennine Perrett squawking like a parrot ‘there’s no story here’ while Latham looking like breaking both of Chris kenny’s arms for raising the mater.
Jannie
20 Nov 12 at 11:30 pm
La Tingle’s article in the weekend AFR seemed to say that because the conveyancing area was under the control and responsibility one of the commercial partners it would not have been done by Gillard, a salaried partner in the IR practice.
La Tingle displays little if any understanding of legal practice, in which the strict Chinese walls of an investment bank or even the more flexible arrangements of general commercial management may not be observed.
Various file annotations suggest Gillard was involved in the conveyancing – the question remains how much she knew about the source of funds and the grant of the Power of Attorney.
With all the files seemingly disappearing the greatest danger for Gillard is misleading the Parliament and she continues to studiously avoid making any statement regarding the AWU matter in the House.
H B Bear
20 Nov 12 at 11:54 pm
It does seem to be building its natural unstopable momentum. Just hope this Blewett bloke is no Gretch.
Jannie
20 Nov 12 at 11:55 pm
Jesus Christ. A journalist said that? A journalist in Australia??
It’s a world gone topsy turvey.
Ooh Honey Honey
20 Nov 12 at 11:57 pm
Have a look at Eltham’s profile and try and work out what he is qualified to do. I described him yesterday as a forensic poet which is simply a best guess. I’ve got no idea.
Mr Anne Summers continues to maintain the standards over on The Dumb, not quite Composta but not far off it.
H B Bear
21 Nov 12 at 12:25 am
You fucking what?
You’d say and deny anything to suit your ideology. Any sane person knows that the POTUS is the key link in the chain of command in such situations. At the end of the day, the failure to act rests with one person.
Abu Chowdah
21 Nov 12 at 12:31 am
LOL. Monty said the Slipper story was a conspiracy that wouldn’t lead anywhere.
C.L.
21 Nov 12 at 12:40 am
What a bore this story is and Holmes gave no reason whatsover for his statement that the ABC would take up the story and rubbished the last two stories from the Oz as ludicrous beat-ups.
What about waiting till you’ve really got something before publishing, rather than publishing failed exposes, such as ‘he denies he ever said that’.
Meanwhile, back in Britain, the man who thinks the Jews own the media has had his former mentoree and Cameron gal-pal charged with corrupt payments.
Now that’s a real story so Murdoch should learn journalism from the Guardian.
Scapula
21 Nov 12 at 12:43 am
““The ABC will revert to normal broad news coverage once the military conflict in Gaza has ceased. Until then all ABC outlets will report exclusively on events in Gaza””
Report? Every mention by the ABC starts with “Israeli rockets killed xxx Palestinian children today”. Pure propaganda.
The Beer Whisperer
21 Nov 12 at 12:47 am
The children were killed so its fact and not propaganda.
Scapula
21 Nov 12 at 12:49 am
As far as I can tell, the only ABC coverage of note was to gave a few sentences on the AWU scandal only as background in a story on the attack on Julie Bishop for representing CSR, framed in a “pox on both their houses” fashion decrying the use of personal attacks. I have yet to see/hear a detailed report on the AWU-WRA from the ABC.
Cold-Hands
21 Nov 12 at 2:25 am
“Luvvies”. Really, Sinclair? What is your problem mate?
wmmbb
21 Nov 12 at 3:28 am
How is the Ashby case going, btw? Seems to me that now that the political objective of the case has been fulfilled, it has been quietly shelved. And it was done not through anything related to the case itself, but text messages extraneous to the allegations. There never was any substance to the case, it was carried purely for political motives and should have been thrown out of court.
m0nty
21 Nov 12 at 6:39 am
Is this part of the four corners piece?
bennie
21 Nov 12 at 7:03 am
Holmes made another statement on Monday which has been proven patently untrue.
The Media Watch is over staffed when compared to any other media show across the country and yet the man can’t get this right.
Consider that when the wingnuts throw out Holmes as the high watermark of quality journalism.
Token
21 Nov 12 at 8:10 am
The pathetic Emily’s Lister was shown to be out of her depth when the Commonwealth had to settle.
Keep up dopey.
Token
21 Nov 12 at 8:12 am
He’s very observant, is Holmes.
The ALPBC gives him money, not the other way around.
Rabz
21 Nov 12 at 8:19 am
Two points: Murdoch did not say Jews own the media, he referred to those parts of the media owned by Jews. While it is true that the UK police have brought more charges against former NOTW employees it seems they are yet to arrest anyone at the BBC. Why is that?
Sinclair Davidson
21 Nov 12 at 8:51 am
I’m confident it’s a matter of time Sinc. the police like to do a proper investigation before making arrests. Unlike, say, Michael Smith. They took quite a while to arrest Brooks for example.
SteveC
21 Nov 12 at 8:56 am
Ashby vs Slipper is still an active case.
SteveC
21 Nov 12 at 8:59 am
Hey, you know who did say the Jooooos control the media?
Noted Fauxfacts fruitloop magrot knigston.
Rabz
21 Nov 12 at 9:03 am
Slipper, the political objective, has been quietly fulfilled by his appointment to the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. Obviously Joel Fitzgibbon nominated the very finest he had at his command.
Dr Faustus
21 Nov 12 at 9:08 am
I hope so.
Sinclair Davidson
21 Nov 12 at 9:08 am
Agreed, that is one of the many Ashby cases. My statement stands as another has been resolved.
Token
21 Nov 12 at 9:20 am
??????
1. Michael Smith has not arrested anyone
2. As a former policeman Michael Smith is gathering evidence for police matters. The Victorian Police commissioner has picked up his evidence as part of its investigations.
Token
21 Nov 12 at 9:23 am
“The children were killed so its fact and not propaganda.
Scapula
21 Nov 12 at 12:49 am”
It is when it is not in context or ignores inconvenient facts. How would you feel if our government put mortars in your backyard to use your children as a human shield for propaganda purposes? You wouldn’t be angry at your own government for deliberately putting your children at risk?
Disingenuous nonsense. You’re a fraud.
The Beer Whisperer
21 Nov 12 at 9:32 am
“Unlike, say, Michael Smith. They took quite a while to arrest Brooks for example.”
Bollocks. Smith is compiling evidence and decent people want this to be investigated. Do you lie on purpose, SteveC, or does dribbling come naturally to you?
The Beer Whisperer
21 Nov 12 at 9:36 am
So Julia/AWU is not an issue at the ABC. Williamson/Thompson/HSU not an issue? Obeid not an issue? CFMEU vs Grocon not an issue?
Call me a conspiracy theorist but it seems there could be a common thread here: corruption and sleaze in the labour movement. A dangerous trend if it’s not brought under control. Who do you think will do the hard work to fix it – the coalition, or the union stooges and their slush fund lawyers?
MACK1
21 Nov 12 at 9:45 am
jonathon holmes tells us the abc are onto the story. The only thing the abc are on is the gravey train.
johninoxley
21 Nov 12 at 11:24 am
“Mr Blewitt said he felt guilty he had not spoken to authorities earlier about the fraud.
Asked why he was prepared to cooperate now, he said he had recently learned that former AWU Victorian president Bob Kernohan tried to make the fraud public in 1996 “and got a bloody belting by union thugs for trying to disclose this.”
“(He) is still scared and still gets a bullet in the mail with his name on it,” Mr Blewitt said.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/bagman-ralph-blewitt-returns-to-reveal-all-on-awu-fraud/story-fng5kxvh-1226521053112
Sounds like news to me – even for the ABC.
MACK1
21 Nov 12 at 11:59 am
“Have a look at Eltham’s profile and try and work out what he is qualified to do. I described him yesterday as a forensic poet which is simply a best guess. I’ve got no idea.”
My recollection of Eltham at school (he was a year or so older) is:
1. Freakishly ginormous adam’s apple;
2. Pasty skin and wild hair;
3. Debate team;
4. Not many friends.
Mr T
21 Nov 12 at 12:07 pm
And those were his good points, eh Mr T?
Brian of Moorabbin
21 Nov 12 at 3:21 pm
They love him at The Dumb.
H B Bear
21 Nov 12 at 5:58 pm
He’s a useless fuckwit.
cohenite
21 Nov 12 at 6:17 pm
@ Bri-man, I only really remember him because of the adam’s apple. Most knew him as “the adam’s apple guy”.
Mr T
22 Nov 12 at 3:12 pm