Telstra continues down the path to irrelevance as Thodey tries to woo MPs with canapés & cocktails

Historical share price table from Telstra website

Market share not what it used to be, share price in a downward spiral since 1999 and reaching a record low recently, dividends not as golden as they used to be, profit margins getting slimmer, a company profile which is often a public relations nightmare - and now national telecommunications 'giant' Telstra has added insult to injury by trying to lobby a federal MP who just happens to have seen Thodey's razor gang at work in her own electorate.

This is the Member for Page's response to David 'let them eat cake' Thodey in a media release on 28 September 2010:

Saffin condemns Telstra decision to close Call Centre

Page MP Janelle Saffin said Telstra Business has today shown its contempt for its employees and for Regional Australia with its decision to close the Grafton Call Centre on November 23.

Ms Saffin said with this move Telstra missed an opportunity to turn around public opinion and show it can be a good corporate citizen.

"By ignoring the unprecedented local campaign to save the local Telstra jobs, Telstra has made it pretty clear how much it values us here in the regions.

"The organisation has chosen to ignore its employees, the union, the Mayor, and State and Federal representatives and about 6000 local people who signed a petition asking to keep the centre open.

"Telstra will now find it has very poor standing in the local community and faces the loss of a lot of local business.

"This decision shows a total lack of imagination. Telstra couldn't see that expanding their operations in this region could have been a cost saving.

"I note that CEO David Thodey regularly talks about Telstra's new push to improve customer service, but the Corporation somehow believes that the best way to improve customer service is to cut jobs.

"Today in Parliament all MPs received an invitation to cocktails with Mr Thodey in Canberra next month.

"I have answered that along with more than 6000 people in the Clarence Valley, I want the 108 jobs in Grafton and not the canapés and cocktails.

"Today I have lodged a Notice of Motion in the Parliament calling for the condemnation of this appalling decision.

Daily Examiner photoshops Telstra CEO with predictable results

Never say there will be no lingering bitterness over Telstra's decision to axe around 180 jobs in the Clarence Valley and strip about $6 million in wages from the local economy.
In today's Daily Examiner David Thodey's image has obviously been photoshopped as an invitation for a bit of anatomical comparison.
I'm happy to oblige...........

BEFORE

























AFTER

Just how thick is Tony Abott et al?

Fair dinkum!

Abbott's mob put up Bruce Scott who, despite the comments that follow about the coalition parties, is more than a half decent bloke for the spot of Deputy Speaker.

And, surprise, surprise, Scott was rolled 78 votes to 71.

Gee! That was an earth-shattering surprise!

Who, apart from Abbott and his half (and that's an extreme exaggeration) brained deputy Julie Bishop would have thought Scott, with his National Party baggage would capture the imagination, let alone the votes, of the Independent MPs who had previously seen the light and jumped ship from the terminally diseased National Party and its inbred relative the Liberal Party?

It isn't just lack of money which makes for a shorter life - it's often discrimination by the health care professions

Last Monday morning I caught a news item on ABC radio concerning a study commissioned by Catholic Health Australia which reportedly showed that an affluent person lives longer than a poor person. Around three years longer.

I immediately looked down at my wristwatch and began to count the seconds - as surely as night follows day it came across the airwaves.

In this instance it was a certain Jesuit priest Fr. Frank Brennan (pictured opposite); who baldly stated "If you come from a poor, dysfunctional family without education, of course your health outcomes are going to be worse than if you are from a well-off, functional family which has a good education."

Yes, that's right, the bottom line is that it is all the fault of the dysfunctional family.

Never mind that Australian society subtlety discriminates against those who are obviously in the lower socio-ecomonic strand. That the social determinates of health and well being are a lot more complex than alleged family dysfunction.

When giving such a statement to the media don't make an effort to point out that the affluent and articulate are likely to be seen by the medical and related heath care professions as being the peers of people in these groups and, therefore more time and energy is frequently expended in exploring treatment options and providing medical care even within the public health system.

Stay silent on the fact unofficial medical service rationing is occurring in this country and that it is not often occurring to those with money. In fact it has already been admitted that living in regional Australia often results in lower life expectancy for some life threatening diseases and, there is some evidence that those with higher incomes may receive more referral to specialist doctors if New Zealand research translates to Australia as I suspect it might.

Do not even consider that such unconscious systemic discrimination (based on socio-economic status, ethnicity or diagnosis) leads to poorer health outcomes in our supposedly democratic and egalitarian society.


* A quick Google search using the term "discrimination by health professionals" displayed over 83,000 results including discussion of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, diagnosis and income levels.

Journalism and ethics - can they ever share the same bed?

I'm still trying to puzzle this out.
After interviewing a blogger apparently on the proviso that his anonymity would be preserved, a journalist later decides to out that same blogger on what seems to be a personal slow news day.
Or was old fashioned jealousy at the root of this unethical outing?
This is James Massola in justification mode:
"As I wrote on August 7 after interviewing Jericho (preserving his anonymity) about the piece that sparked debate: "Across Twitter a conversation bubbled and crackled as journalists and readers debated the merits of reportage from the campaign trail. Such a public conversation about journalism was unimaginable five years ago. If for no other reason, the incident demonstrated why Twitter, and blogs, matter."
So why did I out Grog if I thought he should keep blogging?
As a prolific blogger and tweeter, Jericho was putting information in the public domain to provoke discussion and debate. It might have been a hobby, but by engaging directly via Twitter with dozens of journalists, Jericho and his views became part of the public debate - and in an age in which the dissemination of information has been democratised, his scribblings had an influence."
Whatcha been drinking Jimmy?

A new electorate for Luke Hartsuyker?

I know my hearing isn't anything like it was in my younger days (and some say I'm selectively deaf), but I'll swear black-n-blue that Luke Hartsuyker was sworn in as the Member for Cowan in the House of Representatives this morning.

That left me wondering, who is the Member for Cowper?