Latest news with #MWD
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Set up full-fledged document assistance cell for Waqf Umeed portal'
With the confusion over the Waqf Umeed portal growing, a member of the Telangana State Waqf Board, Syed Abul Fattah Bandagi Badesha Quadri, pointed out that the Board must set up a specialised documentation and information technology cell so as to assist mutawallis in locating property documents, and uploading them. 'I had made a representation to the Minorities Welfare Department (MWD) last year, underscoring that the Chief Commissioner Land Administration (CCLA) office has important documents such as waqf muntakhabs, and files pertaining to jagirs, inam lands, temples, masjids, so on and so forth. The MWD wrote to the CCLA seeking a hand over of the files in the Urdu record room to State Archives,' Mr. Quadri told The Hindu. The MWD, in a letter issued earlier this month, also sought the cooperation of the Endowments Department in terms of accessing documents which could be waqf. Mr. Quadri underscored that not uploading documents on the portal could have long-term ramifications. Therefore, the cooperation across departments and agencies was paramount. 'While some board staff were sent to the Archives to gather documents, more focused efforts are required. Which is why the Board must give all possible technical assistance to mutawallis and managing committees to strengthen their documentation. Documents with different government offices must be made more accessible,' he said. Meanwhile, a senior board official pointed out that the State government has sought the opinion regarding the Umeed portal from the Law Department. A response is awaited.
Sky News AU
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
ABC's Sally Sara wins award for 'most unbalanced interview of the year', as cartoonists at Nine, the Guardian paint US as villain over Iran war
Read Gerard Henderson's Media Watch Dog column every Saturday morning on THE LATEST IT'S GONG AGAIN TIME FOR MWD FAVE PHILLIP ADAMS ON THURSDAY 3 JULY At last some GOOD NEWS. Media Watch Dog fave Phillip ('Have I told you more than a score of times that I was a teenage commie') Adams has just received another gong. How do we know this? Well, Comrade Adams put out this post on Elon Musk's X at Hangover Time on Thursday 3 July and a member of the Newcastle Soviet forwarded it to MWD. So, it's Farewell to Phillip Adams AO, AM, Hon DUniv (Griffith), Hon DLitt (ECU), Hon DUniv (SA), DLitt (Syd), Hon. DUniv (Macquarie), FRSA, Hon FAHA. And it is Arise Phillip Adams AO, AM, Hon DUniv (Griffith), Hon DLitt (ECU), Hon DUniv (SA), DLitt (Syd), Hon. DUniv (Macquarie), FRSA, Hon FAHA, Hon. (Newcastle). NEW AWARD – MWD AWARD FOR THE MOST UNBALANCED INTERVIEW IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE CALENDAR YEAR AND THE WINNER IS SALLY SARA Here's how the segment commenced on ABC Radio National on 18 June 2025: Sally Sara: That was the chair of the UN independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory in Israel, Navi Pillay. She's just presented her report to the UN Human Rights Council, which says that Israel has committed crimes against humanity with a clear goal in mind, quote, "the destruction of life in Gaza". It comes as fighting between Iran and Israel escalates. Israel has made the case that its actions are in self-defence. Iran, on the other hand, has told the United Nations Security Council that Israel's strikes are unlawful. So the question remains, where do Israel's actions lie in line with international law? William Schabas is a professor of international law at Middlesex University. I spoke with him a short time ago. William Schabas: Yes, thank you. Sally Sara: What do you make of these remarks from Navi Pillay from the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory? William Schabas: Well, this is not the first report that she's issued. She was formerly the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations, and she has headed this commission now for really, since it was set up in late 2023. You know, the conclusions and the observations are consistent. And so it continued. Professor Schabas went on supporting the view of Navi Pillay and Comrade Sara did not challenge him at all. There followed such questions as: Sally Sara: From your point of view, do you think that genocide is currently happening in Gaza and the West Bank? William Schabas: Oh, yes… And this: Sally Sara: When looking at genocide, how important is it to consider both the actions that are occurring but also the language that you're talking about, which gives some indication of intent here, why those actions are happening? And this: Sally Sara: What do you think about a couple of the defences which are often put forward by Israeli officials, and we've certainly had interviews on this program where it's been the case. One is the defence of self-defence, and the other, in terms of what's happening in Gaza, is Israel denying that it is the occupying force. What do you think when you hear those arguments? William Schabas: Well, those are old arguments…. And this: Sally Sara: Professor William Schabas, thank you so much for your analysis and expertise this morning. It's been valuable. Thank you. William Schabas: Thank you. There was no push-back at any time from Ms Sara. It was, indeed, the softest interview of the year so far. MWD will award this prize again in December – for the second half of the year. CAN YOU BEAR IT? INSIDERS 'TALKING PICTURES' FANGS THE UNITED STATES WHILE GOING SOFT ON IRAN You've got to admire photographer Mike Bowers. He was involved in a late-night dinner some decades ago with Barrie Cassidy and a senior ABC manager in Europe or somewhere when the decision was made to create the ABC TV Insiders program. In addition to Cassidy, others who attended were ABC executive Max Uechtritz, former ABC producer Gaven Morris and photographer Mike Bowers. Your man Cassidy became the presenter of Insiders from its birth in July 2001 until his retirement in June 2019, and Comrade Bowers ended up presenting the 'Talking Pictures' segment. Comrade Bowers has stayed on every Sunday doing much the same thing in a leftist kind of way on his 'Talking Pictures' segment. The idea of 'Talking Pictures' is to get cartoonists and occasionally photographers to comment on the work of their cartoonist mates – along with, on occasions, the work of photographers. It's no surprise, then, that Bowers and his guests invariably praise the work of cartoonists/photographers. It is only rarely that there is any criticism. Which makes the segment somewhat boring and invariably predictable. For a long time, Comrade Bowers – who recently moved from the leftist Guardian Australia to the leftist New Daily – ignored the work of The Australian's Johannes Leak, one of Australia's finest cartoonists and artists. However, after Media Watch Dog commented on his absence, Leak's work now gets cited briefly every now and then. Such as last Sunday. However, 'Talking Pictures' is essentially a manifestation of the taxpayer funded public broadcaster as a Conservative Free Zone with leftists talking to, and about, other leftists. Here's how it commenced on Sunday 29 June: Mike Bowers: I'm Mike Bowers and I'm photographer-at-large for The New Daily . I'm talking pictures this morning with freelance cartoonist Glen Le Lievre . And a very warm welcome back. Glen Le Lievre: Morning Mike, glad to be here. Mike Bowers: We seem to stumble from one Trumpastrophe to another. He shocked the world again using stealth bombers. It's not so much the Manhattan Project as the Madhattan Project. Glen Le Lievre: Spare a thought for the poor dove, what it must be like to be trapped in there. Mike Bowers: This is your cartoon, Glen, dove of peace here is not going to outrun the mushroom cloud. How about that? First up, Comrade Bowers elected to discuss a Glen Le Lievre cartoon with, yes, Comrade Le Lievre. Both comrades thought his cartoon was pretty funny. Quelle Surprise! By the way, Bowers did refer to The Madhattan Project. 'The Madhatter Project' would have worked better if he was going for a joke. But there you go. Needless to say, the segment was essentially a leftist rant. For starters, contrary to Le Lievre's cartoon, the US's air attack on Iran was not an assault on a peaceful dove. The US attacked the nuclear facilities of Iran – which is a theocracy that kills or imprisons its dissenters, suppresses women, funds terrorist organisations and fired missiles indiscriminately into Israel in October 2024 and April 2025. It didn't get any better. The Bowers-Le Lievre duo showed give-peace-a-chance cartoons by Harry Bruce ( Cairns Post ), David Pope ( Australian Financial Review ), Fiona Katauskas ( Guardian Australia), David Rowe ( Australian Financial Review ), Megan Herbert (Nine Newspapers) and Matt Golding (Nine Newspapers). All were critical to a greater or lesser extent of the United States or Israel. Not one was critical of Iran. There were references to a couple of non-leftist cartoonists – whom Comrade Le Lievre criticised. Let's go to the transcript: Mike Bowers: Warren Brown has been on fire recently, and he's witnessing the A-bomb 1945 with military here in New Mexico, watching Trinity and witnessing the F-bomb 2025, as the press blocks its ears because the president dropped the F-bomb. Glen Le Lievre: Thank God Warren decided to do the F-bomb drawing so the rest of us didn't have to. Somewhat dismissive, don't you think? And then there was this: Mike Bowers: Glen, Trump's approach to Iran is something he swears by, and there's definitely a surplus in the swear jar here, according to Johannes Leak. So Albo's defence budget is just a couple of buttons. Glen Le Lievre: Defence from whom, from what? The Chinese? I mean, if they're coming for our buttons, they're too late. Another dismissive comment about a conservative cartoonist. Le Lievre fails to understand that China does not have 'to come for' Australia. Australia can be dominated by any unfriendly nation which interdicts Australia's sea lanes and/or flight paths. That's why defence is important. And here's how 'Talking Pictures' ended: Mike Bowers: Glen, you've got the bomb as a shark-like figure here eating the kids. Glen Le Lievre: Every box of kids is guaranteed to have your daily requirement of snap crackle and please stop. Mike Bowers: Yeah, please stop. I love 'Free Nobel Prize inside!' Glen Le Lievre: You've got to get to the bottom of the box. Quite an achievement when you think about it – even if you don't. All up, the Bowers/Le Lievre duo showed 11 cartoons – and two were drawn by Comrade Le Lievre. That's 18 per cent according to MWD. And the segment ended with the duo talking about Le Lievre . Can You Bear It? (FALSE) PROPHET CHAS LICCIARDELLO'S PREDICTION THAT DONALD TRUMP WAS TO BE A LAME DUCK PRESIDENT DROWNS IN THE ABC's SITUATION ROOM In recent times, the ABC has increased its resources in the United States. Indeed, it sent John Lyons to Washington DC in the new position of Editor Americas. Never mind that he was back in Australia, around the time of the release of his latest book, when the Canadian election took place. These things happen. As avid Media Watch Dog readers know, Comrade Lyons is on record as having said that he intends to interpret the Trump administration to Australians. And President Donald J. Trump is not a Canadian. Not yet, at any rate. So your man Lyons' views on Canada don't matter much. But Ellie's (male) co-owner digresses. In the absence of Lyons on leave, Australians have to rely on the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster's Planet America to find out what's going on in the US. This is how the ABC currently describes this program: Planet America Coming to you from the Situation Room, John Barron and Chas Licciardello cut through the spin as they discuss the people, policies and politics from the week in Donald Trump's second term in the White House. Planet America is on a production break. Chas and John will return soon. Alas, Planet America is on what journalists like to call a W.E.B. – as in Well Earned Break. MWD can barely wait for its return. In the meantime, here's a refresher on the Thought of Chas Licciardello. It occurred on 12 December 2024 – around six weeks before Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. Let's go to the transcript where Comrade Chas discussed US politics with presenter David Marr on Radio National's Late Night Live (aka Late Night Left). Chas Licciardello: Trump, right now is at the zenith of his power. It only goes down from here. He comes a lame duck or a lame dog, so to speak, from here. David Marr: Thank you for that. Yes. Lotsa thanks for that. Now, as avid readers know, since returning to the Oval Office close to six months ago, President Trump has been very, very busy. Among other things, he has introduced a new tariff regime or 'Liberation Day', put his somewhat hyperbolically named 'Big and Beautiful Bill' to Congress, presided over the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, had a bust-up with Elon Musk, engaged in a row with Ukraine's president Vladimir Zelensky and more besides. Yet it's just six months ago that your man Chas, the ABC's home-based 'expert' on matters America, declared that Trump was at the zenith of his power and was about to become 'a lame duck or, perhaps, a lame dog'. How's that for a false prediction? What planet is Chas on? And here's another question: Can You Bear It? That's Chas and John in the ABC 'SITUATION ROOM' at Ultimo in inner-city Sydney AS VERBAL BOMBS GO OFF IN THE PENTAGON'S PRESS ROOM, THE ABC TV NEWS CHANNEL FALLS ASLEEP ON THE JOB Unlike the topic of the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster's coverage of the Trump administration, there was enormous interest in MWD's comments last week about the handling of the aftermath of the US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Or, rather, the ABC's lack of coverage of same. Soon after 10 pm (AEST) on Thursday 28 June there was a conference at the Pentagon which was addressed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Caine. As MWD pointed out last week, it was a riveting occasion. Hegseth attacked sections of the media for their coverage of the US military action. And Caine gave considerable detail about the extraordinary military action when US stealth bombers flew for 36 hours from the US to Iran and back. As President Trump put it – from 52,000 feet the B-2 bombers successfully dropped 14 bunker-busting bombs on designated targets in Iran – each around the size of a refrigerator door. In Australia the Pentagon press conference could be watched live on Foxtel – either Fox News or Sky News – or on Sky News Regional. However, the ABC TV News channel had an early night. Can You Bear It? A MARK KENNY MOMENT Wasn't it great to see Mark ('Please call me Professor Kenny') Kenny back on ABC TV Insiders on Sunday 29 June? As Media Watch Dog readers know, your man Kenny has – in the words of the late Kitty Muggeridge – risen without trace. After a brief stint as a student at the University of Adelaide he went to work for a socialist left backbench Labor MP in the South Australian Parliament. From there, Comrade Kenny became an ABC producer in Canberra and then it was on to a journalist position at Fairfax Media. Then, lo and behold, it was a matter of 'Arise Professor' as Comrade Kenny was given a professorship at the Australian National University. Quite an achievement since, according to MWD's research, he has neither academic teaching experience nor any substantial publications – apart from newspaper articles and columns. It is not clear whether or not the learned professor teaches any students at the ANU. But he does put out a podcast called 'Democracy Sausage' which is of little interest to the vegans in our midst – among others. And he is a regular panellist on the ABC TV Insiders program. COMRADE KENNY STUMBLES AS HE FANGS THE LIBERAL PARTY OVER ITS FEMALE REPRESENTATION Did anyone catch the comment by Mark ('Please call me Professor') Kenny in the 'Final Observations' segment of Insiders last Sunday? If not – here it is in its full (verbal sludge) form. In other words, this seems to be what passes for scholarship when professors meet at the taxpayer-subsidised Australian National University. David ('Please call me Speersy') Speers was the presenter and Professor Kenny chose to discuss the Liberal Party and its leader Sussan Ley: David Speers: Mark. Mark Kenny: Just on the scale of the – uh – the women problem that the Liberal Party has. Labor will have more women in the parliament than the Coalition, right? has MPs, right? – Uh – Labor will have – um – a majority in both houses. Ley will have five women behind her, sitting behind her, when she's sitting at the dispatch box. Um – uh – so they could all travel to Parliament in the same car effectively. Whereas Labor's contingent of women would need a full-size bus. Uh – there are more women in the Teals than in the Liberal Party – uh – parliamentary Liberal Party. Um – the, the, the minor party of the Greens has more women in it than the Liberal Party has, has women. Um – and in fact, there are more Greens with hyphenated names than there are Liberal women in the parliament. So, I mean, it's a fairly significant problem. What is – uh a really, um, significant problem – right? – is that Professor Kenny could not make an – um – obvious point without being hopelessly wrong for the most part. The learned professor is wrong. There are not more women in the Teals than in the Parliamentary Liberal Party. There are six Teals in the House of Representatives. There are 19 women in the Parliamentary Liberal Party – 6 in the House of Representatives and 12 in the Senate. The learned professor is wrong. The Greens do not have more women than the Parliamentary Liberal Party. The Greens party has 7; the Liberal Party has 19. The learned professor is wrong. There are not more Greens with hyphenated names than there are Liberal women in parliament. There are 5 Greens members belonging to what Paul Keating once called the hyphenated-name set. There are 19 women in the Parliamentary Liberal Party. It was hardly 'news' – even on Insiders – for Mark Kenny to state that the Parliamentary Liberal Party needs greater female representation. Yet the learned professor tried to make a joke about this – while managing to get his (alleged) facts wrong. Even though he used notes to make his point. Verily a Mark Kenny Moment. An avid reader has just drawn my attention to an interview which Comrade Kenny did with Peter FitzSimons in the Sun-Herald on 11 May 2025. It was part of the '5 Minutes with Fitz' series – which, I am sure you will agree, is a long time to spend reading something written by The Red Bandannaed One of recent memory. It's notable that the ANU professor did not contest Comrade FitzSimons' evident sexism and ageism. Here we go: Fitz: What I saw when they crossed from the Dutton concession speech [on election night] to the Albanese victory speech was a cross from a room of grieving old white men and their good lady wives with twin pearls and a fresh hairdo, to a cheering mob of all ages, colours, sexualities and no doubt – let's say it – even genders that actually looked like Australia. MK: Precisely…. And then there was this: Fitz: When I do your course, professor, I've decided upon my PhD thesis: 'By being 'woke', the ALP has made itself stronger. By rejecting it, the LNP are circling oblivion'. I shall make the case that when organisations go 'woke', they become more powerful, more connected and reactive to the world they're in, and more successful. MK: Exactly…. [This was the first time I have heard that Professor Kenny actually teaches courses at the ANU. This might be worth checking out. – MWD Editor.] DOCUMENTATION THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA'S FIRST EDITOR KATH VINER GETS FACT-CHECKED IN PRIVATE EYE Media Watch Dog has always resented the entry into Australia of The Guardian (the avowedly leftist British newspaper which commenced publication in Manchester in 1821 funded by the profits made from the slave trade). As avid readers know, The Guardian Australia was the idea of one-time Liberal Party leader and prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Your man Turnbull wrote in his book Malcolm Turnbull: A Bigger Picture (Hardie Grant Books, 2020) about how he did this. Turnbull was apparently of the view that the Australian media was not left-wing enough. [Really. – MWD Editor.] So he approached Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian in Britain, and suggested to a left-wing business guy in Australia that he 'use his fortune to bankroll an Australian edition of The Guardian '. Turnbull also introduced Rusbridger 'to two seasoned Canberra political writers, Lenore Taylor and Katharine Murphy (aka Murpharoo)'. And so it came to pass that Rusbridger's deputy Kath Viner was dispatched to the colonies to set up The Guardian Australia as its first editor. Comrade Viner returned to the Mother Country circa 2015 and was replaced by Comrade Taylor as editor with Comrade Murpharoo as her political editor. The former is still in situ at The Guardian headquarters in inner-city (where else?), Sydney. The latter recently stepped down as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's senior press secretary. Ellie's (male) co-owner is of the view that avid readers would like to know how the socialist Kath Viner is doing while toiling for the masses in London. Thanks to Private Eye for this entry in its 'Street of Shame' column in its edition of 13-26 June 2025: Prophet & Loss Understandably preferring to avoid the newspaper she is in charge of, Guardian editor Kath Viner spends much of her time these days writing lengthy posts on LinkedIn, where last week she celebrated the 10th anniversary of her appointment as boss. 'On June 1st 2015 we were pre-Brexit, pre-Trump, pre-pandemic, pre-AI. The Guardian was making big losses and the business model was not sustainable. When I see photos from my first day, I look so innocent!' she chortled. 'It has been constantly challenging and I have taken some tough decisions to build the Guardian's future – we now have 1.3 m people in every country in the world who support our journalism financially.' Fun fact: in the financial year up to 2015, when Viner took over as editor, the Guardian lost £17.6m. In the last set of accounts, losses stood at £38.2m – though staff were assured last month they are likely to come down to 'less than £25m' for 24-25. When paying membership of the Guardian passed the 1m mark way back in November 2018, Viner still felt confident enough to boast of the success of the paper's actual pages. 'This means that within just three years, the Guardian is on a path of being sustainable. We hope to break even by April 2019,' she told readers. The Guardian Australia is reported to have paid back its seed funding to Turnbull's millionaire mate. However, it is noted in media circles in Australia for paying its wage-slaves low remuneration. Meanwhile, The Guardian in London continues to survive on the funds it gets from The Scott Trust Limited – something that its editor Kath Viner seems not to know. [Interesting. I do not recall that either Comrade Taylor or Comrade Murpharoo ever declared their Malcolm Turnbull- Guardian connection when they were on the couch of the ABC TV Insiders program (producer Samuel Clark). – MWD Editor.] NEW SEGMENT: MWD RAILS AGAINST CLICHÉS & JOURNALISTS TELLING OTHERS TO 'GET REAL' THIS WEEK STARRING NINE'S JAMES MASSOLA Ellie's (male) co-owner just loved it when, every morning, ABC Radio National Breakfast would interview a bloke or sheila from the Canberra Press Gallery about Australian national politics. Over the years, such MWD faves as Paul ('They call me Bonge but not as often as used to be the case') Bongiorno, Nine's David Crowe and more besides. Especially since the interviewers were the likes of Fran (I'm an activist') Kelly and Patricia ('Please call me PK') Karvelas. Now, alas, RN's Breakfast is under the new management, so to speak, of presenter Sally Sara. And the segment with Canberra Bubble media types occurs only once a week on Fridays after the 8 am News. These days James Massola is national affairs editor for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald . He appeared on the RN Breakfast discussing Australian national politics on Friday 27 June – along with the program's Melissa Clarke (who seems to be on everything every day) and Katina Curtis (of the West Australian ). This is what Comrade Massola had to say, in somewhat turgid language, about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's press conference on the US attack on Iran and more besides. Let's go to the transcript: James Massola: ..I know there was some things going on in the PM's personal life at the time Sal, which he hasn't spoken about publicly, which I won't now. But it was an odd - sorry - an odd press conference. And I kind of came away thinking, "well, okay, this is what progressive patriotism", you know, which is a phrase that Anthony Albanese is bandying around the moment. He's, you know, trying to, if you like, slightly reorient our Foreign Policy to be very much sort of focused on our region, if you like. And I thought this is a manifestation of that. He doesn't want us to be the country that, you know, under John Howard, for example, would send off one, you know, if you like - I shouldn't say it, but I will say it - a token, you know, naval vessel, or what have you, to a task force or a group. And sort of, you know, maybe we don't contribute all that much, but we're there. He [Anthony Albanese] wants us as a country to be slightly, uh, well, to be orientated in a slightly different way. And that's what we've seen this week. Sally Sara: Of course, for those ADF people who are deployed, even if it's a small deployment – it is a challenging and active deployment, for those ADF personnel. James Massola: – Which is why I said it hesitantly, absolutely Sal. What a load of absolute tosh. Correct MWD if it is wrong, but you know, if you like, it was sort of the Hawke Labor government which sent one naval vessel to the First Gulf War. The Howard Coalition government, on the other hand, sent Australia's SAS to the Second Gulf War and to Afghanistan (along with other members of the Australian Defence Force). This was more than a token commitment. Hendo shouldn't say it – but he well, sort of, you know, Nine's man in the Canberra Bubble got this wrong. And then there was this when presenter Sally Sara turned the topic to the Liberal Party and women: James Massola: I'm gonna take, I would like to make a couple of points about Sussan Ley this week. I think it's been underestimated the significance of a Liberal leader saying, "actually, I'm opening the door", or 'I'm open to quotas'. I think that was a big deal. And secondly, on Angus Taylor, I mean, I heard, obviously, I heard your interview with him this morning. I took a slightly different view to Mel [Clarke], in that I heard a person who is saying, "I don't really have a specific plan. I think we need to do more. We need to fix this problem, but I'm not going to say anything that I haven't said anything before about how we're going to do that". Like the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And that's what we heard from Angus Taylor. And I think the Liberal Party needs to get real. Well, in Massola-speak, MWD would like to make a couple of points about Nine newspaper's national affairs editor. MWD shouldn't say this but it will. Citing the definition of insanity as 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result' is, now, a boring cliché. So is urging others to 'get real'. Ellie's (male) co-owner shouldn't say this – but he will do. Comrade Massola should get real and embrace a cliché-free lifestyle. THE GUARDIAN /ABC AXIS Wasn't it great to see The Guardian /ABC Axis back in action? The occasion was the Newspapers Segment on ABC TV's News Breakfast. The date was 2 July. News Breakfast provides regular slots on this segment for the avowedly leftist Guardian Australia (usually Josh Taylor) and the avowedly leftist Australia Institute (usually Ebony Bennett). But no conservative gets a run. There is no regular slot for anyone from The Australian or such organisations as the Institute for Public Affairs, The Menzies Centre, The Centre for Independent Studies or The Robert Menzies Institute. MWD understands that the Robert Menzies Institute's Georgina Downer once had a slot but invitations suddenly ceased. All this befits the ABC as a Conservative Free Zone. But MWD digresses. On 2 July James Glenday and Bridget Brennan were in the presenters' chair. They spoke to The Guardian Australia's Josh Taylor. Earlier on, Comrade Taylor discussed technology matters, as is his wont, before turning his attention to, yes you've guessed it, Sky News. Here's what he had to say – with a focus on the Liberal Party and women and quotas. [Yawn – MWD Editor]. Josh Taylor: You can see that this [discussion about the Liberal Party and quotas for women in pre-selections] is obviously going to keep going, and it's really hard to see, sort of see how this is going to, whether this is going to be a sort of issue that divides the party or not. I noticed Janet Albrechtsen in The Australian is basically arguing against it again, saying that quotas will mean that we'll get worse candidates and things like that. But I think Labor will look at some of the people who are on the opposition benches and be like, well, what's happening now? Bridget Brennan: Yeah, you know, do you remain a relevant national political party if you don't put women up front, or you don't have a system to do that, and just hope, just by doing nothing, that it will change. I think there are some pretty strong concerns around that. Josh Taylor: Yeah. I think the other thing is that whether the branches themselves are representative of the broader population, I've heard Liberals talk about how the people in the branches just talk back Sky News talking points, back at them. And obviously that doesn't play well in the electorate, as we saw in the last election. So whether we need more, I guess diversity, and guess more people to join the branches and affect the party from within, that might be something. I think that a lot of them have gone to the Teals now. Bridget Brennan: Yeah, yeah, that has happened. Josh, it's great to see you as always. Turn it up. The Liberal Party went to the electorate with a policy platform close to that presented by the Labor Party. It was not drawn up by the likes of Rowan Dean. In any event, there's more genuine debate on Sky News at night than can be found in The Guardian Australia or on the ABC. Sky News has a number of paid contributors of a left-of-centre persuasion. However, the Guardian Australia is written for what in Britain is called 'a Guardian reader'. And the ABC has no conservative presenters or regular commentators on its (ever-shrinking) news and current affairs programs. ELLIE'S 'OCCUPY ULTIMO: RESTORE Q+A ' IS A FAILURE DUE TO A LOST IN FEAST DAY TRANSLATION SITUATION ELLIE'S OCCUPY ULTIMO CAMPAIGN IS A WOEFUL FAILURE It is Ellie's (male) co-owner's melancholy duty to record that MWD 's campaign to get the leftist-dominated ABC TV Q+A re-instated on the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster is a failure. A total failure. Which means that Q+A – with its panels and audiences stacked with leftists – will no longer be around to provide material for Media Watch Dog . What happened? – MWD hears avid readers cry. It seems that Hendo is at fault. In MWD on 20 June, avid readers were urged to support Ellie's 'Occupy Ultimo: Restore Q+A ' campaign by assembling around Gin & Tonic Time on the Feast Day of Saint Cyril of Alexandria at the ABC's Ultimo headquarters. Foolishly Hendo assumed that avid readers would know the relevant date was Friday 27 June. Obviously not – so only Ellie and her (male) co-owner turned up. Apologies to all concerned. * * * * * Until Next Time. * * * * *
Sky News AU
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
ABC misses Pentagon meeting on Iran attack before copping Antoinette Lattouf judgement - despite employing 30 legal staff
At 10 pm (AEST) on Thursday 26 June, the United States Department of Defense held a press briefing at the Pentagon. It was addressed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine. Both men spoke and took questions. The briefing, on the US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, took around 40 minutes. How does Media Watch Dog know this? – avid readers might ask. Well, it was shown live on Fox News in the US (which is available in Australia on Foxtel). And the Fox coverage was shown live on Sky News (available on Foxtel as well as Sky News Regional). And what about the ABC? – MWD hears avid readers cry. Well, zilch is the answer. ABC TV continued with its usual (boring) late night programming. And the ABC TV News Channel did not bother to cover the Pentagon gig – and was as dull as usual. Agree with President Donald J. Trump's decision to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities or not – this was riveting television. Hegseth (a one-time Fox News presenter) criticised sections of the media for their dismissive coverage of the attack. And Caine gave a fascinating account of how the air raid was conducted – covering events of up to 15 years ago. Retired General Jack Keane described the occasion as one of the most instructive Department of Defense briefings he had ever witnessed. But you would not know this if you watched the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster After Dark (as the saying goes) on 26 June. EDITORIAL YET ANOTHER ABC LEGAL HOWLER Media Watch Dog was not surprised by Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah's decision in Antoinette Lattouf v Australian Broadcasting Corporation which was handed down on 25 June. The judge found that the ABC had contravened the Fair Work Act 2009 by terminating Ms Lattouf's employment in late December 2023. MWD had this to say on 28 February 2025: As MWD has maintained from day one on this matter, the ABC should not have employed leftist activist journalist Antoinette Lattouf for five days as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney's Mornings program. And it was most unwise for the ABC to terminate her employment after three days of a five-day contract. Both were instances of poor management. The process went through six lines of management and involved ABC managing director David Anderson and (former) ABC Chair Ita Buttrose – who are currently in disagreement about facts in the case. Mr Anderson and Ms Buttrose have since left the taxpayer funded public broadcaster as has the ABC's Christopher Oliver-Taylor who was involved in the decision making. Meanwhile the ABC – which has a legal staff of around 30 – has ended up paying more than $1 million dollars in compensation and costs. Meanwhile Ms Lattouf remains an activist journalist – saying this after Justice Rangiah's judgment was delivered: 'I was punished for my political opinion. I won't be taking any questions. I'll have more to say in due time. Thank you.' That's all well and good. Ms Antoinette Lattouf was not employed for her political opinions. However, she was treated much more harshly than some high-profile ABC journalists who proclaim their political opinions. CAN YOU BEAR IT? You've heard about the ABC – as in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. But what about the ABC – as in the Always Bryant & Curran? As avid Media Watch Dog readers will recall, as recently as 14 June, Ellie's (male) co-owner drew attention to the political love-in between ABC presenter and former BBC journo Nick Bryant and the Professor of Modern History at Sydney University, James Curran. The reference was to a discussion on ABC Radio National's Saturday Extra about your man Curran's book The Unknown Nation: Australia After Empire – which is the outpouring of an alienated member of the leftist intelligentsia concerning Australia's (alleged) faults. It was one of those familiar events on the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster where the left-of-centre Bryant agreed with the left-of-centre Curran and, in time, the learned professor – well, you get the picture. On Saturday 21 June, Saturday Extra ran a segment titled 'Influence and Ignorance: A Short history of snubbed Aussie PMs'. The guest was James Curran and presenter Nick Bryant. It would seem that this ABC duo believes that the Australia-United States alliance can be judged with respect to the personal relationships between Australian prime ministers and the US presidents. In any event, this is how Comrade Bryant kicked off the discussion. Or bounced-the-ball as they would say in Australian Football League language: Nick Bryant: Now this weekend, the analysis pages of the newspapers should have been full of commentary on Anthony Albanese's first sit-down meeting with Donald Trump. But it didn't happen, of course. Because the US president left the G7 summit in Canada early to deal with the escalating war between Israel and Iran. Instead, there have been a rash of headlines about the Australian prime minister being snubbed. It's not the first time the press have seized upon the perceived slighting of an Aussie PM. Jimmy Carter called Malcolm Fraser, 'John'. Richard Nixon reportedly had to ask William McMahon how to pronounce his surname. And when he announced the AUKUS Defence Pact, Joe Biden seemed initially to struggle to recall Scott Morrison's name. Joe Biden: I want to thank – uh – that fella down under. Thank you very much, pal. Appreciate it Mr Prime Minister. Nick Bryant: But does all this get a little bit overblown? Well yes, it does. But this did not stop the Bryant/Curran discussion from extending for a further 15 minutes and 30 seconds. Soon after, Bryant acknowledged that the formal name of Australia's 22nd prime minister was John Malcolm Fraser. He already had conceded that President Biden, who was cognitively challenged at the time, remembered Scott Morrison's name after a ten-second, er, senior moment. As to whether President Nixon asked William McMahon how to pronounce his name – who knows? In any event, the US president might have been distracted by Sonia McMahon's dress – which was described by the Powerhouse Collection – 'Straight bodied, full-length evening gown…. Long slit sleeves decorated with a ladder-effect of rhinestones. The dress is slit from the underarm to the hem with an infill of flesh-coloured nylon fabric with bands of rhinestones extending from the underarm to the hip.' MWD avid readers might like to know this – it is certainly more interesting than yet another Bryant/Curran discussion. Then the learned professor (who is also the Australian Financial Review's 'international affairs expert') spoke about how Prime Minister John Gorton was denied 'a private sandwich with the president' which Prime Minister Harold Holt had previously experienced. Yawn. But it went on and on. Including this piece of trivia: Nick Bryant: And George Herbert Walker Bush actually tells the story of being reduced to tears when he delivered an address in the parliament in Canberra and saw his old friend Bob Hawke not sat in the Prime Minister's chair but on the back benches. [Interesting – I thought G.W.H Bush died in 2018. Maybe he was communicating from the other side via the psychic John Edward – MWD Editor.] James Curran: Yeah. Well, that's right. I think, as I said, the expectation was that he and Hawke would continue the chemistry. But as I said, he [Bush] got [Paul] Keating [who had replaced Hawke as prime minister] and then [Bush] went up and vomited in the lap of the Japanese prime minister. Nick Bryant: The famous moment which may even have cost George Herbert Walker Bush the presidency. [He] went on to lose that election in 1992, of course…. Go on. And they did. Comrade Curran went on to state and re-state his familiar critique of the Australian-American Alliance. Along the way, he had this to say about how/when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should/could meet President Donald J. Trump. Let's go to the transcript: James Curran: …it's almost as if the nation's prestige and honour has been affronted. But you know, I mean, if you look back in history, it often has taken a good six months, sometimes longer for an Australian prime minister to secure a meeting, an initial meeting, with an American president. So, the kind of, the kind of hair pulling and hand wringing that's going on now, I think frankly, it's a little bit immature. I think it's a sign of a kind of almost a dedicated provincialism to the place sometimes. We just can't seem to rise above it. We panic. And the alarm bells go off. Which raises the question. How much hyperbole can an AFR international affairs expert drop into a couple of sentences? However, it continued with the learned professor telling listeners – if listeners there were – Australia 'can't keep sort of getting its knickers in a twist'. At this time, it being around 8.30 am (aka Hangover Time on a Saturday) MWD threw the switch to Zzzzzzz. He woke up asking: Can You Bear It? Media Watch Dog just loves it when ABC journalists interview ABC journalists on the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster. And so Ellie's (male) co-owner was thrilled – absolutely thrilled – when he found out that the ABC's Patricia Karvelas was to interview the ABC's Raf Epstein on the ABC's Politics Now podcast. It's the sort of thing that gives (political) incest a bad name – but it's great for Ellie's (male) co-owner. Now Comrade Epstein also stars in this issue's hugely popular 'A Moment' segment – in this instance, 'A Raf Epstein Moment' (re which see below). No surprise then that the Raf/PK exchange went to air on Monday – the day after Comrade Epstein appeared on Insiders . He seems to be in demand by ABC types to talk about Iran and Israel. It turned out that he repeated on Monday much of what he said on Insiders on Sunday. Including the point that Trump had once misspelled the nuclear facility of Fordow as Forgo on a Truth Social post. Yawn. And he criticised Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu but not Iran's Sayyid Ali Khamenei. And he quoted from Tucker Carlson. Yawn again. Here we go: Raf Epstein: And if I can end on a final point, Tucker Carlson got a brief mention over the weekend, and we glossed over him on Insiders. We're in a bad place if someone like that, who I don't actually regard as a good-faith actor in the American media landscape, if he's the only one saying to a proponent of war, "do you actually understand the country you seek to topple?" That's really important. I can't name every ethnic group in Iran – Patricia Karvelas: No, but I've got to say on that, that clip between, that went viral, between Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz, what alarmed me is that I definitely could answer more of the questions than Ted Cruz. Wasn't that alarming, though? This is a lawmaker. Raf Epstein: In some ways it comes as a lawmaker because I would always expect you to answer more questions than a Senator from Texas. It's not accurate to describe Senator Cruz as a 'proponent of war'. After all, he merely supported a military air strike on Iran's nuclear capacity. The Trump administration has no intention of going to war with Iran. Moreover, Iran would be a nuclear threat whether it had a population of 10 million or 100 million. Cruz did not know the answer to Carlson's question about Iran's population but this was a mere 'media gotcha' moment. As to Comrade Epstein's put-down of Texas senators – this raises the question. Is Epstein a snob who is contemptuous of the American South? And here's another question: Can You Bear It? As avid MWD readers well know, Hendo loves ABC programs with a left-wing tendency and a lack of viewpoint diversity. Why? Because they provide lotsa copy for Ellie's (male) co-owner. Consequently, ABC Radio National's Late Night Live is a MWD fave because it's invariably 'Late Night Left'. Unfortunately, Laura ('the Morrison government was into ideological bastardry') Tingle has changed roles and exited LNL. She is now the ABC's Global Affairs Editor and – as such – intent on explaining Australia to the world, as she put it. A big task, to be sure. But, as the saying goes (or went), someone's gotta do it. MWD expects that the Conservative Free Zone will select another left-of-centre type to do the Australian national politics slot on Mondays. This leaves the Tuesday American politics slot to the left-of-centre Bruce Shapiro and the Wednesday British politics slot to the left-of-centre Ian Dunt. But, MWD digresses – not for the first time. On Tuesday 24 June, Late Night Live presenter David Marr interviewed an ex-ABC journalist, the left-of-centre Andrew Fowler. Discussion turned on the new edition of Comrade Fowler's book on Julian Assange titled The Most Dangerous Man in the World: Julian Assange and his secret White House deal for freedom. Andrew Fowler is a member of the Julian Assange Fan Club. While on Ellie's Late Night Walk, Hendo tuned into the Marr/Fowler exchange which was described by the ABC as follows: A year ago this week, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from prison after a 14-year fight for freedom. Assange accepted a guilty plea of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. documents in exchange for being returned home to Australia. But how did this deal come about and what happened in the lead-up to his return home? Journalist Andrew Fowler shares the inner-dealings and joins the dots on the backstory of the negotiations to release Assange. On the way home, Ellie's (male) co-owner noticed that Comrade Fowler had not made any reference to Comrade Assange's woman problem. However, towards the end of the interview, the issue was raised by David Marr. Let's go to the transcript: David Marr: Do the Swedish charges that were eventually abandoned, the accusations of sexual misconduct. Do those still hang over his reputation? Andrew Fowler: They do hang over his reputation, yeah, and they shouldn't. David Marr: What are his plans now? What's he going to do? Andrew Fowler: By the way, [the UN] Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer actually nailed that whole story of the, of the women and Assange in Sweden and what happened. And it's a long and complicated read. But his view, his view, was that this should not be proceeded with any further and he was quite strong in his condemnation of the way the whole process operated…. David Marr: Fair enough. Is it? The fact is that Assange's long incarceration in Britain's Belmarsh Prison was primarily due to the Swedish charges (as David Marr described them). By the way, MWD takes no position on the allegations against Assange – only that they were made and affected his long incarceration. In Human Rights Watch on 16 April 2019, Heather Barr (the associate director of the HRW's Women's Rights Division) described the situation as follows – note that HRW was broadly supportive of Assange. When WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange was arrested in London last week so he could face charges in the US, it raised deep concerns around media freedom. Amid these concerns, however, let's remember that Assange is also accused of rape. Assange fled to London's Ecuador embassy seven years ago to escape pending extradition proceedings that would have seen him returned to Sweden to face charges of unlawful coercion, sexual molestation, and rape, based on allegations by two women. He stayed in the embassy since then, he says, because Sweden would not guarantee against his onward extradition to the US, should the US wish to prosecute him for leaking diplomatic cables. As Assange sheltered in the embassy, beyond the reach of law enforcement, the statute of limitations expired on the charges of unlawful coercion and sexual molestation, meaning that they can no longer be prosecuted because so much time has passed. The rape charge was shelved, but can be restored until its statute of limitations expires in August 2020. It is the Swedish prosecutor's job to determine whether to seek Assange's extradition to Sweden under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW). In short, Assange ended up in Belmarsh Prison because he skipped bail. This is a serious offence under English law. He remained in prison while extradition proceedings were underway. As former British prime minister Lord Cameron (aka David Cameron) put it on ABC TV's Insiders on 21 March 2024 when interviewed by Sarah Ferguson: Sarah Ferguson : You don't want to see him extradited to the US? David Cameron: I think there are legal processes that need to be gone through. I think, you know, part of this [delay] is because Assange himself decided to camp in the Ecuadorian embassy for years on end. That was unnecessary. He should have faced his accusers earlier, in my view. This point is frequently overlooked by members of the Julian Assange Fan Club. In 2010 Sweden sought Assange's extradition to face sexual assault charges with respect to two women. Assange, who was living in Britain, was arrested but bailed. Assange skipped bail and obtained entry into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2012. Andrew Fowler did not mention Assange breaking bail in his LNL interview. Can You Bear It? Here's how the Sydney Morning Herald's headings covered the US attack on Iran nuclear facilities between Monday 23 June and Thursday 26 June. This gives a pretty clear idea of where the powers-that-be at Nine's SMH stand on this issue. Can You Bear It? A RAF EPSTEIN MOMENT IN WHICH ABC PRESENTER RAF EPSTEIN RANTS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP Did anyone see Raf Epstein in rant mode on ABC TV Insiders last Sunday? Comrade Epstein was on-the-couch with Phil Coorey ( Australian Financial Review ) and the zany Samantha Maiden ( ). David ('Please call me Speersy') Speers was the presenter. Coorey and Maiden made sensible and considered comments about the Israel/Iran War. Not so much with the others. Let's go to the transcript early in the program: David Speers: So, Raf, the pressure is building on Iran. But the pressure is also building on Donald Trump who has to make what's a difficult decision. Raf Epstein: It's pretty scary to be honest, seeing him say, "I don't care what the intelligence community thinks". I don't know any intelligence, I don't know of any American intelligence assessment that says what he says, what Bibi Netanyahu says… David Speers: Ann Coulter's quote about Donald Trump – that he's like a sofa, he bears the impression of the person who last sat on him. You just hope that it's not Netanyahu that he was listening to. The Israelis can make a case, and you can make a case for why something should happen. But the very first basic steps of, what does the intelligence actually say? I mean, that's that does seem to be something that's absent from the conversation. What a load of absolute tosh. As to Ann Coulter's comment about President Donald J. Trump 'resembling a sofa in that he hears the impression of the person who last sat on him', it is not only as old as Methuselah. It's also inaccurate. Trump does not act in accordance with the view of the last person to whom he talked. [I remember that DLP Senator Vince Gair used the sofa/impression put-down against Liberal Party leader Billy Snedden half a century ago. And it wasn't new even then. – MWD Editor.] Also, the message from the Second Gulf War of recent memory is that United States intelligence agencies make errors. The discussion continued: Phil Coorey: Well, they [Israel] don't want a country [Iran] sworn to their destruction having nuclear weapons. And they don't want them to have the wherewithal to build those weapons. Raf Epstein: And they [Israel] can make that argument. That's fine if they want to make that argument… But what is completely absent from the discussion, and as much as I love my colleagues, and you know, I'm talking about my friends as well as my colleagues, there has been not a single question about whether or not what Israel is doing is illegal. I have not seen Penny Wong or Anthony Albanese – no one asked that question. Comrade Epstein is an example of a taxpayer-funded journalist at the Conservative Free Zone that is the ABC criticising a Labor government – from the left. By this time your man Epstein was somewhat garrulous – and engaged in vigorous arm movements to give emphasis to what became an anti-Israel rant: Raf Epstein: The issue is, how does the world deal with the problem? And Israel's great at escalating conflicts…. Your man Epstein continued: Raf Epstein: The concern is also, and, I mean, it's a bit embarrassing as well. It takes Tucker Carlson, who's a charlatan in many respects, but it takes someone like him to expose – Samantha Maiden: You're on the Tucker bandwagon again are you? Raf Epstein: Well, you know how much I love him. But he's someone who's exposing that how weak and pale and shallow the American understanding is of Iran…. How about that? Raf Epstein favourably quoted Tucker Carlson's (alleged) knowledge of Iran. This is the same Tucker Carlson who exhibited woeful ignorance about the late Soviet Union and contemporary Russia in his fawning interview with Vladimir Putin in February 2024. David Speers made this point at the end of Epstein's comment re Carlson. Soon after, Comrade Epstein channelled Carlson – who had asked Senator Ted Cruz about the population of Iran – with this question: Raf Epstein: …Here's a pop quiz. Are Persians, a majority ethnic group or a minority ethnic group in Iran? Phil Coorey: Wouldn't have a clue. Raf Epstein: Right. Exactly. We're all talking about the fate of that country. Can I, I had to look up another ethnic group - I know there's Arabs and Kurds and Turkmen and Assyrians, but I have to look that up on Google . It is widely known that Iran is a majority Persian nation with very few Arab residents. But what matters in this context is not the size or composition of Iran's population – but rather whether the theocracy controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. Then, near the end of Insiders , Speersy read out the breaking news that the US had attacked the Iranian nuclear family at Fordow. At this time, Epstein became a military expert: [Speers reads out Trump's Truth Social post about bombing Iran] David Speers: Well, that is some big, big news. Raf Epstein: That's a full plane load? Because there's two bombs per B2. Phil Coorey: Whatever. Raf Epstein: Well, no, it's important – David Speers: A full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site Fordow. Raf Epstein: Because the speculation was that you need more than one plane because you need to drop a series of those bombs so that they get down and actually successfully destroy Fordow. David Speers: Well, we'll see how successful it was. That is a big, big development right at the end of our show. Let's get some quick Final Observations… This is how your man Epstein commenced his final observation: Raf Epstein: He [Trump] misspelt Fordow on his social media site as "Forgo" – which personally I find a little bit terrifying, but interesting breaking news…. It turned out that the US had sent seven B-2 Bombers to Iran which dropped a total of 14 bombs – not one as implied by Epstein. So, there you have it. The presenter of Mornings on ABC Radio Melbourne was terrified that President Trump had once made a typo by spelling Fordow as 'Forgo'. Really. [Come to think of it, your man Epstein's 'terrifying' moment may have been due to an autocorrect function. – MWD Editor.] Verily – A Raf Epstein Moment. AN ABC UPDATE On ABC Radio National Breakfast in 2025, ABC management has decided it is a good idea to get Melissa ('Please call me Mel') Clarke to comment on political interviews after they concluded – so much so that RN Breakfast has almost become the Mel Clarke Show. This is what she had to say, after New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters was interviewed on Wednesday 25 June, concerning his view of the US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. Melissa Clarke: I did find it interesting that he [Peters] said that, you know, where he does have these concerns about the legality, that it's something that he would relay in private. It kind of put off a little bing inside my head, because it's only in the last couple of hours that we've seen Donald Trump publish a text message from Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO. And Mark Rutte had sent a very, I think it's fair to describe it as a pretty obsequious text message to Donald Trump…and Donald Trump just posts it on Truth Social. So even if Winston Peters and others do want to raise their concerns in private with Donald Trump, sometimes you just never know where your communications might end up. Sally Sara: Yeah…. Clarke's analysis was highly opinionated – with reference to the bing within her head and the reference to Rutte's (allegedly) 'pretty obsequious text' to President Trump. It would appear that the powers-that-be at RN believe that listeners are so ill-informed that they need to have interviews conducted by Sally Sara explained to them by Melissa Clarke. On Radio National Breakfast on Thursday 26 June, Sally Sara interviewed Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley followed by Labor's Minister for Finance Senator Katy Gallagher. Sussan Ley was challenged by Sara. But Katy Gallagher was given soft questions – including an opportunity to criticise Ley: Sally Sara: Finally, the Opposition leader, Sussan Ley, gave her first major speech at the Press Club yesterday after the federal election – and is talking about having a fresh approach and doing things differently. Have you noticed a shift in the Opposition's approach since the election? Katy Gallagher: Well, time will tell, I guess. I think it's an important speech she gave yesterday. I think when I looked at the comments that she made about women, I think it is important that these matters are dealt with by the Opposition. I don't think problem identification is the issue, though. I think there's been many a time where problems have been identified about their policy offering, the number of women, how their organisation works. It's actually the next step that matters, which is what are you going to do about it? And I think we'll just have to wait and see whether the rhetoric actually is matched by action. Sussan Ley was not asked her opinion about Labor's Senator Gallagher. THE FLANN O'BRIEN GONG FOR LITERARY VERBAL SLUDGE As avid Media Watch Dog readers are aware, this occasional segment is inspired by the Irish humourist Brian O'Nolan (1911-1966) – nom de plume Flann O'Brien – and, in particular, his critique of the sometimes incoherent poet Ezra Pound. By the way, your man O'Brien also had the good sense not to take seriously Eamon de Valera (1882-1975), the Fianna Fail politician and dreadful bore who was prime minister and later president of Ireland for far too long. The Flann O'Brien Gong for Literary or Verbal Sludge is devoted to outing bad writing or incomprehensible prose or incoherent oral expression or the use of pretentious words – or a combination of all of the above. CHRIS WARREN SCORES FOR A REFERENCE TO HAMMERS, NAILS AND SO ON Lotsa thanks for the avid West Australian reader who drew MWD's attention to an article in Crikey on 25 June. It was written by Christopher Warren and titled 'The category error behind the ABC's latest 'Back to the Future' reset'. Comrade Warren is a former federal secretary of the Journos' Union – aka the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance. Essentially your man Warren called for new ABC managing director Hugh Marks to be sacked. Already. It seems that he wants a return of Q+A which was junked under the ABC's new management. Comrade Warren blamed News Corp, yes News Corp, for the current state of the ABC. Quelle Surprise! But he then threw the switch to written sludge. Here we go: There's a good rule of thumb at the ABC: if News Corp likes what you're doing, it's probably the wrong thing. The strategy is, in philosophical terms, a category error — the sort you get when the national broadcaster puts a commercial hammer in charge of the delicate knowledge-making network that is the ABC. All of a sudden, diffuse cultural creativity becomes just so many nails to be hammered into the planks of a mass medium. Clever, eh? But what does it all mean? Well done Comrade Warren – you won the Flann O'Brien award. Literary Criticism By Flann O'Brien of Ezra Pound My grasp of what he wrote and meant Was only five or six % The rest was only words and sound — My reference is to Ezra £ * * * * * Literary Criticism By Ellie of Chris Warren My grasp of what he wrote or meant Was only four or five per cent Maybe he just took the p*** The reference is to Comrade Chris **** Until Next Time ****
Sky News AU
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Ex-defence chief tells muted ABC journo 'it'll be over' by 2028 in bizarre climate change rant, as same reporter throws 'misinformation' barb at Tim Wilson
THE LATEST NINE'S JAMES MASSOLA'S STATE OF CONFUSION ABOUT TREASURER JIM CHALMERS' Ph.D. THESIS ON PAUL KEATING James Massola is the chief political correspondent for Nine's The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. His column on Friday 6 June is titled 'Deal or no deal: Chalmers' mistake'. It's about Treasurer Jim Chalmers' proposed tax changes to superannuation – but refers to former Labor Party treasurer and later prime minister Paul Keating. Here is what Comrade Massola had to say: Chalmers' Ph.D., Brawler Statesman , was written about Labor's legendary former treasurer and prime minister, Paul Keating, and how the one-time member for Blaxland implemented and then bedded down ambitious and necessary economic reform over more than a decade. What a load of absolute tosh. One of MWD 's avid readers has studied Chalmers' Ph.D. thesis and knows that the full title is: Brawler Statesman: Paul Keating and Prime Ministerial Leadership in Australia . In short, the thesis is primarily about how Paul Keating wielded power as prime minister. Here is a paragraph from the thesis' abstract to Chalmers' Brawler Statesman : This thesis utilises new material and an interactionist framework to re-examine the prime ministerial power debate and conclude that powerful leadership relies heavily on a willingness of others to be led. Paul Keating's stores of immense authority and influence relied on his personal approach but also, most importantly, on the compliance of his colleagues in the cabinet and caucus. MWD believes that readers would like to know this. CAN YOU BEAR IT? There are not many Australians who have reached the position of Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) and apparently hold the belief that climate change is a greater threat to Australian security than, say, China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CCP). No wonder, then, that Admiral Chris Barrie is something of a fave at the ABC. From which he receives lots of invitations to be interviewed. A bit like Malcolm Turnbull's open door to criticise the Liberal Party on the ABC any time he likes. Needless to say, Admiral Barrie was sailing on calm seas when interviewed by Sally Sara on ABC Radio National Breakfast on 5 June. He indicated that there was no reason for Australia to increase its level of defence spending at this time. Throwing the switch to alarmism, the former CDF had this to say: Chris Barrie: Now you look around the country and ask yourselves – what would you think if you were living in Taree now, or the Northern Rivers, or the east coast of South East Queensland and in other parts of our country, when the scientists are now telling us, forget 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming? It's already 1.6 degrees Celsius of warming. And we're not headed for 2 degrees anymore. It's now 3 degrees by 2050. And I think the planet is fighting back in ways that we weren't able to predict, and certainly doing it more quickly than we ever thought. Which suggests that your man Barrie believes that virtually every flood and bushfire in contemporary Australia is due to global warming (as it used to be called). It's a big call – which Comrade Sara did not challenge. And then there was this as the Admiral opposed the development of a gas field in the North West Shelf along with emissions-free nuclear energy. Let's go to the transcript: Sally Sara: But the opponents say we need gas for the transition. Chris Barrie: I've heard that argument about nuclear power, too. There are all sorts of options, but frankly, there's got to be a plan. And we've got to come clean and what that plan really looks like. And if we're serious about it, it's got to lay out objectives for each year of this government. This term of the parliament is the most important we've ever faced in dealing with climate change. Because by 2028 at the next election, it'll be over. Sally Sara: Chris Barrie, thank you for coming into the studio this morning. Yes, many thanks indeed. So, there you have it. According to Chris Barrie, if Australia does not develop a climate plan to his liking by 2028 'it'll be all over'. Presumably, he was talking about the planet – despite the fact that Australia produces just one per cent of global emissions. And what did Sally Sara say when Admiral Barrie set sail on the HMAS The-End-Of-The-World-Is-Nigh frigate? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Can You Bear It? It appears that the love-in between the ABC and the Teals has continued beyond the election. On 2 June 2025, it was confirmed by the Australian Electoral Commission that the Liberal Party candidate Tim Wilson had defeated the Teal Independent Zoe Daniel to win the seat of Goldstein in inner metropolitan Melbourne. This was a great result for Wilson – who had been defeated by Daniel at the 2022 election – and a very poor result for Daniel who lost her seat despite a big swing against the Liberal Party. Comrade Daniel, who had claimed victory on election night (when there were still 26,000 votes to be counted) and danced and sang the night away, was the only Teal to lose her seat. As Media Watch Dog has documented, the Teals got very soft coverage on the taxpayer funded public broadcaster before and during the election campaign. This included Daniel, who is a former high-profile ABC presenter. On Tuesday 3 June, Sally Sara interviewed Tim Wilson on ABC Radio National Breakfast . Let's go to the transcript towards the end of the interview when Comrade Sara raised the issue of Tim Wilson's campaign tactics: Sally Sara: Can you say that your, unequivocally, that your campaign did not spread any misinformation about Zoe Daniel? Tim Wilson: I'm not aware of any misinformation that was spread at all, but that's – are you making some allegation? Sally Sara: No, not at all. Just there's, it was a very, very tense campaign, and just to ask from your side that it was clean. Tim Wilson: Oh, I'm absolutely confident that we absolutely stood up and spoke to the ambitions…. Sally Sara: Thank you…. How about that? Comrade Sara's demand that Tim Wilson declare 'unequivocally' that his campaign had not spread 'misinformation' with respect to Teal Daniel implied that he had done so. Sara produced no evidence to justify the query. It appears that she was channelling the line of the Zoe Daniel team that Wilson's campaign was not clean. Is this the new acceptable journalism on the ABC? And here's another question: Can You Bear It? While on the topic of the love affair between the taxpayer funded public broadcaster and the Simon Holmes à Court partly-funded Teals – thanks to the Media Watch Dog reader who drew attention to the ABC TV 7.30 program on 28 May. Titled 'Polling Booth Abuse' and presented by 7.30's (then) political editor Laura Tingle, this is how the segment was introduced: Laura Tingle: Australians like to celebrate polling day as a democracy party, complete with ubiquitous democracy sausage and cake stalls. International media reports follow the same script, but 2025 has been different. For a lot of volunteers and AEC workers, it wasn't fun at all. And here's a list of those who spoke to 7.30 with their 7.30 description attached: Leonie Bird [Volunteer for Monique Ryan] Rod Cunlich [Volunteer for Allegra Spender] Here's how La Tingle described this duo: Laura Tingle: Leonie Bird and Rod Cunlich represent some of the everyday Australians who came out to support candidates in the recent federal election. Across the political spectrum, volunteers tell similar stories of abuse, aggression and bullying at pre-polling stations and on election day, of voters being harassed, AEC officials being abused and police being called out. Whatever the impact on the outcome of the election, it has left volunteers shocked and sometimes traumatised. The seats being contested by some of the sitting Teals were the subject of particularly intense campaigning and harassment, and it didn't necessarily just affect people who were handing out how to vote cards. 7.30 also heard from: Peter Dawson [Volunteer for Monique Ryan] John Hooper [Goldstein resident] – Note he volunteered for Zoe Daniel. Malakai King [Greens Volunteer] Carolyn Bryden [Volunteer for Zoe Daniel] – who made a specific reference to 'Tim Wilson's t-shirt wearing supporters'. The focus of the 7.30 report was bad behaviour towards the Teals in the seats of Goldstein (Zoe Daniel), Kooyong (Monique Ryan) and Wentworth (Allegra Spender). Tingle also made reference to outside movements – mainly from the right but occasionally from the left. But this was not the focus of her report. No evidence was provided to support the view that Tim Wilson or the Liberal Party in Goldstein had been involved in unprofessional or threatening behaviour. Yet this was the proposition that Tim Wilson was asked to defend on RN Breakfast – with the implied suggestion from Laura Tingle's report that the Teals were victims. By the way, no reference was made on 7.30 to the fact that Monique Ryan's husband Peter Jordan removed a corflute belonging to the Liberal Party. And 7.30 made no reference to the fact that Comrade Bryden was more than just a 'volunteer' since he was listed as a member of Zoe Daniel's staff with an official parliamentary house email address. Can You Bear It? The ABC's favourable coverage of the Simon Holmes à Court backed Climate 200 Teals continued on Wednesday 4 June when Sarah Ferguson interviewed Nicolette Boele on 7.30 . This is how the (soft) interview commenced: Sarah Ferguson: A month and a day after we all went to the polls, Independent Nicolette Boele has defeated Liberal Gisele Kapterian in Bradfield. The final piece in the Teal puzzle that covers the former Liberal heartland of Sydney's North Shore…. A recount has now seen Boele win by a margin of only 26 votes. She joins me now. Nicolette Boele, welcome to the program. Nicolette Boele: Great to be here. Sarah Ferguson: First woman to win Bradfield. First independent after being a Liberal seat for 75 years. What does this moment mean? And so it went on – more free publicity for the Climate 200 Teals on the taxpayer funded public broadcaster. Comrade Ferguson made no mention of the fact that Ms Boele has one vote out of 150 MPs in the House of Representatives where the Albanese Labor government has a majority of 38 seats (94 Labor to 56 the rest). In short, like the other Teals, she will have scant political influence since the Teals are not in a balance of power situation. This is the second time Teal Boele has been interviewed on 7.30 – she was interviewed before the election, on 30 April. On neither occasion did Ferguson raise the matter of Boele's comment during the campaign when, after having her hair washed, she said to a young female hairdresser in the seat of Bradfield: 'That was amazing and I didn't even have sex with you.' She later apologised saying that her comment was 'a poor attempt at humour'. [You can say that again. – MWD Editor.] Imagine how Comrade Ferguson would have conducted the interview if, say, Tony Abbott had made such a statement to a hairdresser. Yet, to the Teal-friendly crew at the ABC, embarrassing comments by Teals are quickly dispatched down what George Orwell called the memory hole. Can You Bear It? FIVE PAWS AWARD Media Watch Dog's Five Paws Award was inaugurated in Issue Number 26 (4 September 2009) during the time of Nancy (2004-2017). The first winner was ABC TV presenter Emma Alberici. Ms Alberici scored for remembering the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 23 August 1939 whereby Hitler and Stalin divided Eastern Europe between Germany and the Soviet Union. And for stating that the Nazi-Soviet Pact had effectively started the Second World War, since it was immediately followed by Germany's invasion of Poland (at a time when the Soviet Union had become an ally of Germany). Over the years, the late Nancy's Five Paws Award has become one of the world's most prestigious gongs – rating just below the Nobel Prize and the Academy Awards. It was just after Gin & Tonic time on the evening of Thursday 5 June when Ellie's (male) co-owner noticed this article by the oh-so-zany Samantha Maiden titled 'Sydney University newspaper uninvites Political Editor Samantha Maiden from speaking at event'. It was drawn to MWD's attention by a female comedian reader: It turns out that Ms Maiden – a former editor of the Adelaide University student newspaper On Dit – was invited by a comrade at the University of Sydney student newspaper Honi Soit to take part in a student newspaper conference at Sydney University. [Don't you mean Hanoi Soit? – MWD Editor ]. MWD fave David Marr was also invited. It turned out that Ms Maiden was cancelled due to her position on Palestine – this in spite of the fact that there is no evidence that she has a stated position on Palestine, the Israel-Hamas War and so on. The editorial team at Honi Soit wrote that Maiden's views were not consistent with the position of a left-wing newspaper. In her witty article, Samantha Maiden had this to say about her censors: …The more I thought about [it] I reflected on how troubling it is that these sensitive petals at Sydney University, a good proportion of whom come from wealthy families, private schools and the world of mummy and daddy paying for their rent, are in such a froth about people that they think may think differently to them. Another panellist, the ABC broadcaster David Marr, kindly wrote a letter in support of free speech in solidarity. It turned out that your man Marr wrote to Honi Soit protesting at its censorship and concluded his missive with 'I'm out'. Well done Mr Marr. By the way, MWD just loves the pics supplied by Samantha Maiden in the piece – including one with her and a can of beer and another one with a glass of wine in hand. And, oh yes, there is one pic without Ms Maiden but containing a pic of Adelaide-based journalist David Penberthy channelling Dracula. Samantha Maiden – Five Paws for standing up in an irreverent way for free speech. Feel free to give a couple of these paws to David Marr. AN ABC UPDATE DAVID SPEERS APOLOGISES FOR ABC POLITICAL REPORTER CLAUDIA LONG'S HOWLER ABOUT THE TWO NATIONALS MPS – WITHOUT MENTIONING THE ABC OR THE NAME 'LONG' There was enormous interest in last week's (hugely popular) 'Can You Bear It?' segment which covered ABC political reporter Claudia Long's false claim on the ABC TV's Insiders program. The date was Sunday 25 May. Comrade Long claimed that National MPs Alison Penfold and Pat Conaghan were not in their north-east NSW electorates when the floods were at their most severe and five people died. The statement was totally false – due to the fact that Ms Long made the allegation without checking with either Ms Penfold or Mr Conaghan. How's that for unprofessional and lazy journalism? The ABC's Corrections and Clarifications website acknowledged the error. But Claudia Long was not named – nor was it acknowledged that the journalist who made the howler was the ABC's Canberra-based political reporter. Convenient, eh? In last week's MWD the following comment was made: These Corrections/Clarifications are all very well. But they are no substitute for an on-air correction on the same program – in this case, an apology read out by Comrade Speers on Insiders next Sunday. Media Watch Dog will be watching. Believe it or not, Insiders did make an on-air apology – a rare occasion indeed for the taxpayer funded ABC. Let's go to the transcript: David Speers: Now, just before we hear some 'Final Observations' – on last week's program, there was a suggestion two Nationals MPs had left their electorates during the floods in New South Wales. Alison Penfold and Pat Conaghan were, in fact, in their electorates helping their communities. We apologise for this error. It's always important to admit when you've got something wrong. This apology was better than no apology. But it did fudge the issue. Claudia Long did not make a 'suggestion' – rather her rant presented her criticism of the Nationals MPs as a statement of fact. Moreover, Comrade Long was not named – leaving the impression that the howler might have been made by one of the other panellists – Jennifer Hewett or Jason Koutsoukis or by David Speers himself. Then the apology was placed at the end of Insiders by executive producer Samuel Clark – not towards the start of the program where Claudia Long had made her false allegations the previous week. In the past, Insiders was known for sacking a panellist who made a serious on-air error. But the person in question did not work for the taxpayer funded public broadcaster. In view of this, it would be no surprise if the ABC's political reporter returned to the couch in the not too distant future. YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS 'You Must Remember This' is based on the chorus line in the song As Time Goes By which was popularised by the film Casablanca . It is devoted to reminding the usual suspects (living or dead) of what they and/or those they supported once wrote or said or did. Or, indeed, what they failed to write or say. NINE'S GOOD WEEKEND NEGLECTS TO QUERY AUSTRALIA'S (ALLEGED) 'LEADING DEFENCE AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST' HUGH WHITE ABOUT HIS FALSE PREDICTIONS IN THE PAST Did anyone read the 'Conversations' section of Nine Newspapers' Good Weekend Magazine last Sunday? Headed '18 Questions…with Hugh White', it involved interviewer Greg Callaghan and a flattering photo of your man White by Peter Tarasiuk. The left-hand side of White's (bearded) face was lit – but the right side faded to dark. The subheading was as follows: Our leading defence and intelligence analyst on the new world order, the folly of AUKUS, what we need to know about Indonesia – and why our leaders need to be frank with the Australian people. Needless to say, the questions were on the soft side. Along the lines of, say, 'Why is it that you are always right when speaking about Australian foreign policy?' For what it is worth [Not much, I anticipate. – MWD Editor], here are a few questions that Ellie's (male) co-owner would like to ask White, if given a chance: Q 19: How's your crystal ball these days? Any better than when you wrote this in the Sydney Morning Herald in March 2005?: 'We may face…a naval battle this year…between the US and Chinese navies, ostensibly over Taiwan's independence, but in reality over which power would emerge pre-eminent in Asia in the 21st century.' Q 20: And what about when you wrote in The Age in December 2012 that we should 'not be too surprised if the US and Japan go to war with China in 2013'. Q 21: And do you still hold this as a possibility? You know, the issue you raised in answer to this question on ABC TV Lateline in November 2014: 'Are we going to see war in our region?' – with your answer 'Look, I think that's a possibility we can't rule out' since the situation was a 'little like what happened in 1914'. Q 22: And why do you continue to use the word 'will' about the future? – which no one can predict. The reference is to your comment to Comrade Callaghan: Many people fear that if America steps back from leadership in Asia, the whole region would be oppressed by an all-powerful China. But that will not happen. [How does he know this? Is he a born-again Nostradamus? – MWD Editor.] Q 23: In view of your crystal ball malfunctions in the past, do you endorse the Good Weekend report of your interview last Saturday? Namely, 'it is hard to overstate Hugh White's standing on issues relating to Australia's national security?' MWD will let avid readers know if Hugh White answers any Questions 19 to 23. In the meantime, it is appropriate to state with reference to who Good Weekend regards as Australia's leading defence and intelligence analyst: You Must Remember This. THE CLICHÉ IN THE ROOM – AN ELEPHANT'S PERSPECTIVE IAN DUNT USES MEANINGLESS CLICHÉ SUGGESTING THAT, UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP, THE US MIGHT JOIN PUTIN'S RUSSIA IN GOING TO WAR WITH EUROPE ABC's Radio National Late Night Live is a manifestation of the taxpayer funded public broadcaster as a Conservative Free Zone. Look at the political commentators. Every Monday there was the left-of-centre Laura Tingle replaced – it would seem, by the left-of-centre Bernard Keane of the left-of-centre Crikey fame – discussing Australian politics. Then every second Tuesday the left-of-centre Bruce Shapiro of the left-of-centre The Nation fame discusses United States politics. Then every other Tuesday the left-of-centre Ian Dunt of the left-of-centre The i Paper discusses British politics – or something like that. You get the picture. On 3 June, Comrade Dunt discussed Britain's recently released Strategic Defence Review . Having described the Trump administration's relationship with NATO as 'The Elephant in the Room' your man Dunt went on to say this: Ian Dunt: I mean, the Defence Review is really quite vacuous because it can't say the thing that it must say in order to start planning sensibly for the future. Which is, you cannot rely on the US anymore. The US will not come to the assistance of Europe. But also, more frighteningly, it could easily find itself in a position where it penalises Europe for fighting against Russia. Or could even conceivably be on the side of Russia in a conflict against Europe. And because of that, because Britain's plans for military strategy have always relied on the idea the US would be leading in Europe. It leaves a black hole in the middle of its defence review. What a load of absolute tosh. Sure, Britain and NATO cannot rely on the US at the time of President Donald J. Trump, in the way it has done in the past. However, Comrade Dunt's assertion that the US 'could even conceivably be on the side of Russia in a conflict against Europe' seems, well, nuts. Does he really believe that Trump would support Putin bombing Buckingham Palace? MWD does not want to see your man Dunt lose his gig on Late Night Left. But a bit of viewpoint diversity would not go amiss on the program. Perhaps LNL could find a right-of-centre political commentator every now and then – preferably one devoid of both clichés and an interest in elephants. THE [BORING] SATURDAY PAPER The Saturday Paper (Morry Schwartz proprietor, Erik Jensen editor-in-chief) is the only newspaper in Australia that contains no news. It is printed on Thursday evenings and arrives in inner-city coffee shops on a Saturday morning. Ellie's (male) co-owner reads it on Mondays at Gin & Tonic Time. What's the hurry? THE SATURDAY PAPER'S JASON KOUTSOUKIS CALLS FOR AUSTRALIA TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS Wasn't it great to see Jason Koutsoukis on ABC TV Insiders on Sunday 1 June? He is the special correspondent of the leftist Saturday Paper and appears on Insiders in this capacity. Let's go to the transcript when Comrade Koutsoukis discussed Australia's emissions: David Speers (Presenter): But Jason, this gets to, I guess there's often a confusion around, there's a lot of gas, but it's shipped off to Japan and South Korea, and it's used there, and it's that that doesn't count in our domestic emissions. That counts in, you know, those third countries, Japan or South Korea, those countries. What does count in our emissions profile is the emissions caused by actually extracting the gas, turning it into LNG and so on. Jason Koutsoukis: That's right. And, and I think there is an argument, though, that Australia should start taking responsibility for the fossil fuels that it exports overseas. David Speers: Scope 3 emissions. Jason Koutsoukis: Indeed. But yes, and whether or not it adds to it, the production adds to our own greenhouse gas emissions. Yes, that's, that's part of it. But I think in the long term, Australia has to start thinking about the impact that its fossil fuels do have on the rest of the world. And so there's sort of a little bit of, the government is kind of weaselling out of this a little bit there by trying to absolve themselves. David Speers: It's only one planet, right, at the end of the day. Many thanks to David ('Please call me Speersy') Speers for telling viewers that there is only one planet. Who would have previously known this? [Funny that. An avid sub-continent reader told me that there are eight planets in the solar system but we only live on one of them. – MWD Editor.] As to Comrade Koutsoukis' view that Australia should take responsibility for fossil fuels that are exported – this overlooks the fact that the likes of Japan, South Korea, India, China and so on would obtain fossil fuels from other countries which may well produce more emissions than the fossil fuels they import from Australia. Australia is responsible for one per cent of global emissions. Add Scope 3 emissions and the Australian contribution to global emissions would remain very low. Perhaps TSP's editor-in-chief Erik Jensen should try to get more of his newspapers to China, India, Indonesia, Russia and the US where someone could act on Speers' message that there is only one planet. [Interesting. If Erik Jensen's special correspondent is so concerned about emissions – why is The [Boring] Saturday Paper published as a printed product. Just a thought. – MWD Editor.] HISTORY CORNER JUDITH BRETT'S ANTAGONISM TO THE LIBERAL PARTY IN GENERAL AND ROBERT MENZIES IN PARTICULAR DOCUMENTED An avid (but not uncritical) Media Watch Dog reader has challenged the comment on 16 May that – contrary to Laura Tingle's claim on ABC TV's 7.30 that Judith Brett is 'a Liberal Party historian' – in reality she is a left-wing academic critical of the Liberal Party in general and its founder Robert Menzies in particular. This is what MWD said on 16 May 2025: Judith Brett is not a 'Liberal Party historian'. Sure, she has written about the Liberal Party of Australia. Most notably her 1992 book Robert Menzies' Forgotten People . As Gerard Henderson documents in his Menzies Child: the Liberal Party of Australia (HarperCollins 1998), Brett was highly critical of the Liberal Party's founder. This is not understood by those who have not read Brett's work from cover to cover. In fact, Judith Brett is a left-of-centre academic. For example, in the early 1980s she co-edited the avowedly leftist Arena Magazine . Here are some facts. In Robert Menzies' Forgotten People , Brett argued that Menzies' anti-communism was a manifestation of his alleged homophobia. Here is what she wrote: The social anthropologist Mary Douglas has looked at the way different societies represent the social whole and the boundary between what is inside and what is outside society. The human body is a particularly rich source of imagery for the understanding and organisation of social life. The body's margins and internal divisions, along with images of bodily pollution and integrity, provide ways of thinking about threats to the social order – the body politic – and means of combating them. Much anti-communist rhetoric has drawn on bodily imagery: the imagery of sickness and disease (a social cancer) and the anal erotic imagery of the attack from behind (rooting rats out of holes). There are occasional uses of such imagery by mainstream Australian non-labour politicians like Menzies, but they are surprisingly few. Brett did not provide any evidence of Menzies' referring to 'the anal erotic imagery of the attack from behind'. But there you go. And this is what Comrade Brett wrote about Menzies' (unsuccessful) attempt to ban the Communist Party of Australia in 1951: Menzies took longer to be convinced of the need to ban the Communist Party than many of his colleagues. Once convinced, however, he was quickly able to reorient his arguments towards the urgent need to rid society of 'this alien and foreign pest'. He drew, as did his colleagues, on the anti-communist ideology already established in Australia. This ideology shared in the general preoccupation of pre-war Australia with keeping foreign, impure and corrupting influences out of the country, whether they were the darker skinned people of Asia, dangerous foreign pests and diseases, seditious literature or communist agitators. The anti-communist discourse which Menzies took up after his decision to ban the Communist Party, was a public discourse shaped to maintain social harmony and order by isolating and expelling threats to the social order. In taking it up, however, Menzies gave it a distinctive shape. Exploring this, we are drawn deep into Menzies' own view of social order and the sorts of threats he most needed to keep it at bay. Brett failed to acknowledge that, whatever the merits of the Communist Party Dissolution Bill, Menzies was right about communism. He understood that the Communist Party was intent on obtaining power in Australia and elsewhere. And he understood that Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and the like were murderous, totalitarian dictators. Some of the strongest anti-communists circa 1950 and later in Australia and elsewhere were former members of the Communist Party. Also, Brett's hostility to Menzies is evident in her claim that the former prime minister wanted to keep 'foreign, impure and corrupting influences out of the country…such as the darker skinned people of Asia'. The fact is that the White Australia Policy enjoyed bipartisan support during Menzies' time in Australian politics. Indeed, the Australian Labor Party and its affiliated trade unions led the opposition to Asian immigration. What's more, the White Australia Policy was administered with greater flexibility from December 1949 when the Menzies government came to office – than it was by the Chifley Labor government from the end of the Second World War until its defeat at the December 1949 election. The above are just a few examples that Judith Brett is a Menzies antagonist. She deserves to be heard in the public debate – but Brett should not be presented as anything but a consistent critic of the Liberal Party. **** Until Next Time ****
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
A rare glimpse inside the mountain tunnel that carries water to Southern California
Thousands of feet below the snowy summit of Mt. San Jacinto, a formidable feat of engineering and grit makes life as we know it in Southern California possible. The 13-mile-long San Jacinto Tunnel was bored through the mountain in the 1930s by a crew of about 1,200 men who worked day and night for six years, blasting rock and digging with machinery. Completed in 1939, the tunnel was a cornerstone in the construction of the 242-mile Colorado River Aqueduct. It enabled the delivery of as much as 1 billion gallons of water per day. The tunnel is usually off-limits when it is filled and coursing with a massive stream of Colorado River water. But recently, while it was shut down for annual maintenance, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California opened the west end of the passage to give The Times and others a rare look inside. 'It's an engineering marvel,' said John Bednarski, an assistant general manager of MWD. 'It's pretty awe-inspiring.' He wore a hard hat as he led a group to the gaping, horseshoe-shaped mouth of the tunnel. The passage's concrete arch faded in the distance to pitch black. The tunnel wasn't entirely empty. The sound of rushing water echoed from the walls as an ankle-deep stream flowed from the portal and cascaded into a churning pool beneath metal gates. Many in the tour group wore rubber boots as they stood on moist concrete in a chamber faintly lit by filtered sunlight, peering into the dark tunnel. This constant flow comes as groundwater seeps and gushes from springs that run through the heart of the mountain. In places deep in the tunnel, water shoots so forcefully from the floor or the wall that workers have affectionately named these soaking obstacles 'the fire hose' and 'the car wash.' Standing by the flowing stream, Bednarski called it 'leakage water from the mountain itself.' Mt. San Jacinto rises 10,834 feet above sea level, making it the second-highest peak in Southern California after 11,503-foot Mt. San Gorgonio. As the tunnel passes beneath San Jacinto's flank, as much as 2,500 feet of solid rock lies overhead, pierced only by two vertical ventilation shafts. During maintenance, workers roll through on a tractor equipped with a frame bearing metal bristles that scrape the tunnel walls, cleaning off algae and any growth of invasive mussels. Workers also inspect the tunnel by passing through on an open trailer, scanning for any cracks that require repairs. 'It's like a Disneyland ride,' said Bryan Raymond, an MWD conveyance team manager. 'You're sitting on this trailer, and there's a bunch of other people on it too, and you're just cruising through looking at the walls.' Aside from the spraying and trickling water, employee Michael Volpone said he has also heard faint creaking. 'If you sit still and listen, you can kind of hear the earth move,' he said. 'It's a little eerie.' Standing at the mouth of the tunnel, the constant babble of cascading water dominates the senses. The air is moist but not musty. Put a hand to the clear flowing water, and it feels warm enough for a swim. On the concrete walls are stained lines that extend into the darkness, marking where the water often reaches when the aqueduct is running full. Many who have worked on the aqueduct say they are impressed by the system's design and how engineers and workers built such a monumental system with the basic tools and technology available during the Great Depression. The search for a route to bring Colorado River water across the desert to Los Angeles began with the signing of a 1922 agreement that divided water among seven states. After the passage of a $2-million bond measure by Los Angeles voters in 1925, hundreds of surveyors fanned out across the largely roadless Mojave and Sonoran deserts to take measurements and study potential routes. The surveyors traveled mostly on horseback and on foot as they mapped the rugged terrain, enduring grueling days in desert camps where the heat sometimes topped 120 degrees. Planners studied and debated more than 100 potential paths before settling on one in 1931. The route began near Parker, Ariz., and took a curving path through desert valleys, around obstacles and, where there was no better option, through mountains. In one official report, a manager wrote that 'to bore straight through the mountains is very expensive and to pump over them is likewise costly.' He said the planners carefully weighed these factors as they decided on a solution that would deliver water at the lowest cost. Read more: Colorado River in Crisis: A Times series on the Southwest's shrinking water lifeline Those in charge of the Metropolitan Water District, which had been created in 1928 to lead the effort, were focused on delivering water to 13 participating cities, including Los Angeles, Burbank and Anaheim. William Mulholland, Los Angeles' chief water engineer, had led an early scouting party to map possible routes from the Colorado River to Southern California's cities in 1923, a decade after he celebrated the completion of the 233-mile aqueduct from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles with the triumphant words, "There it is. Take it." The aqueduct's design matched the audaciousness of the giant dams the federal government was starting to build along the Colorado — Hoover Dam (originally called Boulder Dam) and Parker Dam, which formed the reservoir where the aqueduct would begin its journey. Five pumping plants would be built to lift water more than 1,600 feet along the route across the desert. Between those points, water would run by gravity through open canals, buried pipelines and 29 separate tunnels stretching 92 miles — the longest of which was a series of nine tunnels running 33.7 miles through hills bordering the Coachella Valley. To make it possible, voters in the district's 13 cities overwhelmingly approved a $220-million bond in 1931, the equivalent of a $4.5-billion investment today, which enabled the hiring of 35,000 workers. Crews set up camps, excavated canals and began to blast open shafts through the desert's rocky spines to make way for water. In 1933, workers started tearing into the San Jacinto Mountains at several locations, from the east and the west, as well as excavating shafts from above. Black-and-white photographs and films showed miners in hard hats and soiled uniforms as they stood smoking cigarettes, climbing into open rail cars and running machinery that scooped and loaded piles of rocks. Crews on another hulking piece of equipment, called a jumbo, used compressed-air drills to bore dozens of holes, which were packed with blasting power and detonated to pierce the rock. The work progressed slowly, growing complicated when the miners struck underground streams, which sent water gushing in. According to a 1991 history of the MWD titled 'A Water Odyssey,' one flood in 1934 disabled two of three pumps that had been brought in to clear the tunnel. In another sudden flood, an engineer recalled that 'the water came in with a big, mad rush and filled the shaft to the top. Miners scrambled up the 800-foot ladder to the surface, and the last man out made it with water swirling around his waist.' According to the MWD's records, 13 workers died during the tunnel's construction, including men who were struck by falling rocks, run over by equipment or electrocuted with a wire on one of the mining trolleys that rolled on railroad tracks. The Metropolitan Water District had originally hired Wenzel & Henoch Construction Co. to build the tunnel. But after less than two years, only about two miles of the tunnel had been excavated, and the contractor was fired by MWD general manager Frank Elwin 'F.E.' Weymouth, who assigned the district's engineers and workers to complete the project. Construction was delayed again in 1937 when workers went on strike for six weeks. But in 1939, the last wall of rock tumbled down, uniting the east and west tunnels, and the tunnel was finished. The total cost was $23.5 million. But there also were other costs. As the construction work drained water, many nearby springs used by the Native Soboba people stopped flowing. The drying of springs and creeks left the tribe's members without water and starved their farms, which led to decades of litigation by the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and eventually a legal settlement in 2008 that resolved the tribe's water rights claims. By the time the tunnel was completed, the Metropolitan Water District had released a 20-minute film that was shown in movie theaters and schools celebrating its conquest of the Colorado River and the desert. It called Mt. San Jacinto the "tallest and most forbidding barrier." In a rich baritone, the narrator declared Southern California 'a new empire made possible by the magic touch of water." 'Water required to support this growth and wealth could not be obtained from the local rainfall in this land of sunshine,' the narrator said as the camera showed newly built homes and streets filled with cars and buses. 'The people therefore realized that a new and dependable water supply must be provided, and this new water supply has been found on the lofty western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, a wonderland of beauty, clad by nature in a white mantle of snow.' Water began to flow through the aqueduct in 1939 as the pumping plants were tested. At the Julian Hinds Pumping Plant, near the aqueduct's halfway point, water was lifted 441 feet, surging through three pipelines up a desert mountain. From there, the water flowed by gravity, moving at 3-6 mph as it traveled through pipelines, siphons and tunnels. It entered the San Jacinto Tunnel in Cabazon, passed under the mountain and emerged near the city of San Jacinto, then continued in pipelines to Lake Mathews reservoir in Riverside County. In 1941, Colorado River water started flowing to Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Compton and other cities. Within six years, another pipeline was built to transport water from the aqueduct south to San Diego. The influx of water fueled Southern California's rapid growth during and after World War II. Over decades, the dams and increased diversions also took an environmental toll, drying up much of the once-vast wetlands in Mexico's Colorado River Delta. Today, 19 million people depend on water delivered by the MWD, which also imports supplies from Northern California through the aqueducts and pipelines of the State Water Project. In recent decades, the agency has continued boring tunnels where needed to move water. A $1.2-billion, 44-mile-long conveyance system called the Inland Feeder, completed in 2009, involved boring eight miles of tunnels through the San Bernardino Mountains and another 7.9-mile tunnel under the Badlands in Riverside County. The system enabled the district to increase its capacity and store more water during wet years in Diamond Valley Lake, Southern California's largest reservoir, which can hold about 260 billion gallons of water. 'Sometimes tunneling is actually the most effective way to get from point A to point B,' said Deven Upadhyay, the MWD's general manager. Speaking hypothetically, Upadhyay said, if engineers had another shot at designing and building the aqueduct now using modern technology, it's hard to say if they would end up choosing the same route through Mt. San Jacinto or a different route around it. But the focus on minimizing cost might yield a similar route, he said. Read more: California, Arizona and Nevada all agree: The Trump administration needs to fix a key Colorado River dam 'Even to this day, it's a pretty impressive design,' Upadhyay said. When people drive past on the I-10 in Cabazon, few realize that a key piece of infrastructure lies hidden where the desert meets the base of the mountain. At the tunnel's exit point near San Jacinto, the only visible signs of the infrastructure are several concrete structures resembling bunkers. When the aqueduct is running, those who enter the facility will hear the rumble of rushing water. The tunnel's west end was opened to a group of visitors in March, when the district's managers held an event to name the tunnel in honor of Randy Record, who served on the MWD board for two decades and was chair from 2014 to 2018. Speaking to an audience, Upadhyay reflected on the struggles the region now faces as the Colorado River is sapped by drought and global warming, and he drew a parallel to the challenges the tunnel's builders overcame in the 1930s. 'They found a path," Upadhyay said. "This incredible engineering feat. And it required strength, courage and really an innovative spirit.' 'When we now think about the challenges that we face today, dealing with wild swings in climate and the potential reductions that we might face, sharing dwindling supplies on our river systems with the growing Southwest, it's going to require the same thing — strength, courage and a spirit of innovation," he said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
