Andrew Bolt has an interesting snippet of information:
[Tim Mathieson had] taken a mate, ABC host Barrie Cassidy, to an AFL game between Richmond and Essendon, and was furious to see Opposition Leader Tony Abbott getting the same VIP treatment, including a tour of the players’ rooms.
Nothing wrong with taking a mate to the football. Even if that mate is the host of one of the premier political talk shows on the taxpayer funded ABC.
But it seems Tim Mathieson was a guest of the Richmond Football Club in his capacity as “first bloke” – i.e. the invitation would have been part of some sort of “government relations” program. Now I suppose that Barrie Cassidy, as host of Offsiders, might have been at the game anyway (he is a Collingwood supporter) but the question remains. I think the ABC needs to reassure us that this is all above board.
Stedman didn’t take Cassidy to the football.
Taxpayers did.
C.L.
11 Mar 13 at 12:33 pm
The problem is not that Tim invited Barrie to the football, the problem is that Barrie accepted.
Insiders will not survive if he so blatantly sides with the left, which it has been. I used to be careful to catch Insiders every week. Right now the show is unwatchable.
Of course the problem could be solved easily. Tony Abbott could defund the ABC, and adopt a PBS model for them. We would then get to see how well Barrie could raise funding from the bruvvers. Which would be great fun.
Bruce
11 Mar 13 at 12:38 pm
Ol’ Leathery a partisan Lefty? I don’t think we needed a clapped-out Mousse Salesman to highlight that.
Everything at the ALPBC is OK – just ask Managing Director Mark Scott.
H B Bear
11 Mar 13 at 12:39 pm
Don’t privatise the ABC!!!
Make it pay-for-view. Whatever revenue is returned to government by subscriptions can fund whatever the like (including trips to the AFL)
Lysander Spooner
11 Mar 13 at 12:44 pm
@Sinclair
I have enjoyed reading and occasionally putting a comment forward on this website.
I will be sad to see it be shut down.
NoFixedAddress
11 Mar 13 at 12:49 pm
NoFixedAddress – we’re in trouble already. We get many more hits than 15,000 a year.
Sinclair Davidson
11 Mar 13 at 12:52 pm
I find it fascinating that Mathieson feels entitled to complain about Abbott receiving VIP treatment.
Here’s a bloke whose only relationship to the position of PM is via his dick, complaining about the alternative PM.
Do you think his dick might be considerably bigger than his brain?
DavidLeyonhjelm
11 Mar 13 at 12:54 pm
Picture if you will the following alternative scenarios:
Tony Abbott took a mate to the football, and was outraged to find that Tim Mathieson was being given the same VIP treatment as him.
[EXPLOSION IN FAIRFAX]
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd took a mate to the football, and was outraged to find that Prime Ministerial missus Janette Howard was being given the same VIP treatment as him.
[EXPLOSION IN FAIRFAX]
I rather like the idea of Janette having a tour of the dressing rooms …
Philippa Martyr
11 Mar 13 at 1:13 pm
“I find it fascinating that Mathieson feels entitled to complain about Abbott receiving VIP treatment.”
Yes, it’s bizarre. He gets VIP treatment because he happens to be the partner of the PM. Abbott gets VIP treatment because he’s important in his own right.
Jarrah
11 Mar 13 at 1:25 pm
@Sinclair
see you in the hamilton gulag
NoFixedAddress
11 Mar 13 at 1:47 pm
He’s all class. Not.
Lloyd
11 Mar 13 at 1:47 pm
Oh he’s all class all right. Low class!
Lew
11 Mar 13 at 2:15 pm
[OTT. Sinc]
Borisgodunov
11 Mar 13 at 2:18 pm
What’s all the fuss about?
“One-siders”, hosted by Bob Hawke’s former Press Secretary; the A.L.P.’s “Hateline” hosted by the scrupulously impartial Phoney Jones; the “7.00 P.M. National A.L.P. Views”; the “7.30 Report”, which used to be hosted by Gough Whitlam’s Press Secretary; the A.L.P.’s “Media Watch” hosted by the severely myopic Jonathon Holmes, are all thoroughly impartial.
Goebbels McTurnip, their Chief Script-writer, said so!
Up The Workers!
11 Mar 13 at 2:37 pm
Scissorhands has obviously elevated himself to a grandeur from where he attempts to dictate the arrangements of the Leader of the Opposition.
What a pity Tony could not have taken him out the back and shown the prat why he has an Oxford double blue.
James of the Glens
11 Mar 13 at 2:37 pm
Adherents of the Fisk doctrine might reasonably expect amongst other things, a detailed public explanation from Mr Mathieson as to exactly why in his opinion it was such ‘a shocker’ and ‘just not on’ for an AFL club to extend VIP privileges to the Federal Opposition leader.
Tapdog
11 Mar 13 at 3:48 pm
It would have been especially galling if the players showed genuine interest in meeting abbott and asked the first bloke, “Who are you again?”
Boy on a bike
11 Mar 13 at 3:57 pm
Doesn’t the ABC have a rule about declaration of interests? Funny how such rules apply to John Laws and Alan jones but not the Cassidy.
Mique
11 Mar 13 at 4:24 pm
Yes, just imagine this was janette Howard referring to mark latham in the same manner. They would still be talking about it now.
When you put it in that context, it clearly shows just how far the office of the PM has been dragged down.
brc
11 Mar 13 at 5:22 pm
Bolt reporting that Barrie Cassidy was also caught referring to the ALP as “us”…..
MDMConnell
11 Mar 13 at 5:50 pm
If Barry Cassidy and Kerry O’Brien both confuse ABC and ALP it suggests they are one and the same.
Samuel J
11 Mar 13 at 7:02 pm
[...] Further to Sinclair’s post, a further question to ask is whether these trips by Tim Mathieson were classed as ‘official travel’ and hence the air fares and accommodation paid by the taxpayer. Note this extract from the Department of Finance and Deregulation’s Ministers’ Entitlements Summary: [...]
More information please (2) at Catallaxy Files
11 Mar 13 at 7:24 pm