Aunty goes off the rails

Mornings, 23rd November 2012

Summary published: 1st February 2013

Complaint:

Several audience members complained about interviews on 774 ABC Melbourne which covered allegations against the Prime Minister in relation to her involvement in an AWU slush fund. Complainants said that interviews with Mark Baker, Editor-at-Large at The Age and Michael Smith, former 2UE talkback host, lacked balance, were conducted aggressively, and that the presenter demonstrated bias.

Complaint Finding Status: Upheld

Upheld against 4.1 ABC Editorial Policies (11 April 2011)

Audience and Consumer Affairs response:

Audience and Consumer Affairs found that the interviews were in breach of the ABC’s editorial requirement to gather and present news and information with due impartiality. The argumentative style of the interviews, combined with a pattern of strongly stated personal opinions by the presenter that at times oversimplified the issues at hand, was not in keeping with the ABC’s rigorous impartiality standards for news and information. Seventeen complaints were upheld.

Complaints finalised January 2013.

http://about.abc.net.au/complaints/mornings-17/

Sadly, some things never change

Letter to the Editor,
The Daily Examiner,
Grafton

This is a letter that asks a stark, grim question and is addressed, in part, to whoever left two little kittens on the street on New Year's Eve. Why did you dump two little kittens, just putting them in a box and leaving them in the street, not caring if they had shelter or food? There's a skinny dog that prowls by the garbage bins and around the park seats and if he finds a bone or a crust he is having a lucky day. If you are worthy to own a dog, it is your decent duty to feed him and give him the best you can.

Mrs D Rowlands,
RSPCA

Source: The Daily Examiner, 6/2/1963

(reprinted in " Backward Glances: From The Daily Examiner, Fifty Years Ago",

compiled by Chris Nield, 6/2/2013)

CSG mining company Metgasco now throwing Githabul elders off their own land?

Officials close the Eden Creek State Forest
adjoining the Doubtful Creek coal seam gas drilling site yesterday afternoon

In order to assist Metgasco Limited in its battle with Northern Rivers protestors, officials have closed Eden Creek State Forest.

Therefore Metgasco needs to explain why an elder apparently in the forest as part of his cultural duties and obligations found himself in the middle of this incident reported in The Daily Examiner on 6 February 2013:

Earlier, two Githabul elders were arrested in two separate incidences while police secured the site.

Witnesses said one of the men was conducting a Githabul initiation ceremony when he was arrested within the Eden Creek State Forest for allegedly spitting.

Eden Creek State Forest was handed back to the Githabul people under the Native Title Act in 2007.
 

Northern Rivers Talking Turkey 31 January 2013

UPDATE:

The Echo Net Daily 6 February 2013.

NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteers will no longer feed police at an anti-coal-seam gas (CSG) protest at Doubtful Creek near Kyogle after an outcry from local firies opposed to CSG.

The 'alleged' defamation that NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is now trying to spin

 

Premier O'Farrell appears to believe that saying "alleged" absolved him of all blame in this report by ABC News 2 February 2013:

 

Mr McCardle is demanding an apology from Mr O'Farrell and says his client will take him to court for defamation if he does not.

But Mr O'Farrell says he does not see any need to apologise.

"I hasten to explain to Mr McCardle, who is a lawyer, that I did use the word allegations," he told Macquarie Radio.

"I didn't prejudge the allegations."

 

The Premier’s original statements

 

Snapshot from The National Times article Thomson's lawyer demands O'Farrell withdraw comments 1 February 2013:

 

 

"I think Mr Thomson and his lawyer need to calm down a bit - after all, the allegations surrounding Craig Thomson is that he was all too ready to take his clothes off in front of strangers in exchange for money."

 

And at 4.17 minutes into this YouTube video when he had to quickly bite his tongue just before "in front of strangers" in an effort to avoid mention of money:

 

 

http://youtu.be/8Gj6trSfuo0

 

O'Farrell has been very silent since NSW Police had to admit that its statment to the media concerning the need to publicly arrest Federal Independent MP Craig Thomson at his electoral office had been incorrect.

 

Yamba versus McDonalds revisited

[Tiley, Dr. Ian (2012) Divided We Fall: An Insider’s Perspective on Local Government Amalgamations]

Click on image to enlarge text

The Nannas gently chide Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis over his tacit support of coal seam gas mining

Clarence Valley Review 30 January 2013

The body language is telling. NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, is obviously not comfortable with the message. Which is unfortunate.

Given that the alleged $1.4 billion in direct expenditure Metgasco claims it will be contributing to the Northern Rivers economy over 20 years pales in comparison with the more than $1 billion tourism contributes each year to the region and, an initial 1,000 well wide gas field will inevitably have a negative impact on this section of the regional economy.

Taking the mickey out of Abbott's relentless self promotion

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's crass attempt to ride on the back of last month's devastating bushfires across New South Wales drew an almost Where's Wally? response across the Twitterverse.

His image was inserted into a good many photographs.

This happens to be my personal understated favourite. It may be the only time James Hunter Ashby and Abbott are ever sighted together.