Truthiness in political reporting

Journalist Katherine Murphy writing in the National Times on 3 September 2012:

The sheer scale and ubiquity of ''truthiness'' in political discussion is gradually stirring journalism's pot, forcing decisions some outlets probably, in truth, don't want to make.

There is already so much conflict - posturing partisan hackery dressed up as news, brutal culture warfare and the like - that outlets that still cherish the principle of giving readers measured, balanced equivalence don't much fancy picking a club and swinging it lustily with all the other Neanderthals.

But balance can't be balance absent judgment. Sometimes statements are just wrong. Sometimes lies are just lies. Politics can't be allowed to manipulate voters by playing with journalism's best intentions to be fair. [my red bolding]

# A big thankyou to Anony-mice of Yamba for sending this quote to me.

Allan Jones and #destroythejoint

From Twitter and #destroythejoint - the memes keep coming.

On Facebook

Clarence Valley local government election candidates and cultural understanding in 2012

Leaving aside for the moment candidate Jeremy Challacombe’s rather odd expectation that members of the Yaegl community might need to sit cross-legged in the sand to discuss the future of Dirrungun at the mouth of the Clarence River, there was an even bigger surprise at the Yamba Meet the Candidates Meeting held on 3 September 2012.

Another candidate, Paul Parkinson, appeared to be labouring under the strong misapprehension that Australia’s court systems are clogged up with indigenous land claims which are primarily financial compensation claims.

According to Mr. Parkinson, native title claims post-Mabo have degenerated into something other than a desire to be recognised as traditional custodians of the land.

A view which somewhat surprised and confused this listener, so I went looking for answers.

All was not as this candidate apparently believes.

Compensation applications are made by Indigenous Australians seeking compensation for loss or impairment of native title according to the National Native Title Tribunal.

In January 2010 there seems to have been only three compensation applications listed across the entire country.

There are currently no notices of compensation applications for New South Wales. Nor are there any in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia or Victoria. There is one listed in relation to a nature reserve in West Australia.

That is it – one lonely compensation claim notification on the books right now. Hardly an argument for unresolved claims piling up in the court system.

According to Justice Berna Collier as of 30 April 2011 the Federal Court had 471 native title claims before it nationwide, with only 17 in the ACT/NSW. The majority of these are not new claims. Again, hardly a number to bring the Bench to its knees.

Interestingly, native title claims usually only come before the Federal Court for formal determination if such claims are opposed – for example by government or mining corporations.

On any given day one is more likely to find the Federal Court's daily list filled with immigration, taxation or commercial litigation rather than native title matters.

What still puzzles me is why Paul Parkinson thought it appropriate to make that inaccurate  statement in the first place.

A map of native title claims in New South Wales can be found here.

Roxon, Super Spy

Granny Herald 21st July 2012

Australian Attorney General Nicola Roxon, not content with creating a national database for all Australians when she was Federal Health Minster which collates everything personal and intimate a government agency has ever known about each and every one of us in the riskiest way possible, now wants to keep copies of all our online browsing and phone conversations for a two-year period. And it looks as though we will all be personally paying for this gratuitous government spying.

Her obsession with digital data is becoming pathological. Will someone call her GP – urgently.

Petitioning Premier O'Farrell: Don't cut community organisations

Twenty-six vital community organisations, including the Welfare Rights Centre, Lifeline (Sydney and Sutherland), Redfern Legal Centre's financial counselling service and the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service and Twenty10, are at risk of having their funding cut by the NSW Government.

Megan Clement-Couzner of Woolloomooloo writes:

I'm a young woman who lives in Sydney. I know the value of community organisations. I recently had a young queer friend from Western Sydney approach me, asking for help to deal with issues of homophobia and severe depression. I knew she was at risk of self harm. Having community services in NSW meant I could help her access free counseling and a support group. She would never have been able to afford these services otherwise. Without organisations like the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service, I wouldn't have known how to help her.

Megan is calling on concerned citizens to sign the petition and have Premier O'Farrell not cut funding of community organisations.

Sign the petition here.

Premier O'Farrell is on Twitter here and Minister Pru Goward is here. Use the hashtag #BOFcutswebleed to tweet about this petition!

Vote One for Paul Parkinson, the candidate with the 'flexible' curriculum vitae?

This is what candidate at the 2012 Clarence Valley Local Government Election,  Paul Parkinson, had to say about his time at Kempsey Shire Council on his campaign website http://www.paulparkinsonclarencecouncil.com/:

Served 3 terms as a Councillor on the Kempsey Council (14 yrs)

He stated the same at the Maclean Meet the Candidates Meeting on 20 August and again in The Daily Examiner on 30 August 2012.

When Mr. Parkinson lodged his sworn statement with the NSW Electoral Commission on 30 July 2012 he also wrote:

This is what Kempsey Shire Council had to say about Paul Parkinson on 23 March 2004:

That Standing Orders be suspended to allow Councillor Parkinson to address Council prior to leaving this his last meeting in his term on Kempsey Shire Council.
At this stage Councillor Parkinson addressed the meeting concerning his 12 year term as a Councillor and the great privilege it has been for him in this role and thanked Councillors and staff he had worked with during this time.

It would appear that either Kempsey Shire Council keeps highly inaccurate official minutes standing uncorrected  for over eight years or Mr. Parkinson cannot count.

Somewhat magically, he has served three terms whose lengths were around 4.66 years apiece.

I leave it to readers to make up their own minds.

The Australian Minke Whale Project

The Minke Whale Project

Dwarf minke whales visit the northern Great Barrier Reef each austral winter, forming the only known predictable aggregation of these whales in the world. Growing up to eight metres and weighing several tonnes, they are exceptionally inquisitive and often approach boats, divers and snorkelers closely, sometimes interacting for extended periods.

The MWP (based at James Cook University, North Queensland Australia) conducts multi-disciplinary research into dwarf minke whale biology and behaviour, the social and economic values of the whales and the sustainable management of swim-with-whales tourism. The MWP research team works collaboratively with the GBR swim-with-minke whales tourism industry, Reef managers and wildlife conservation NGOs…….

More here.