Posted on 03/01/2011 2:13:29 PM PST by naturalman1975
REMEMBER how so many journalists hated John Howard, who nevertheless won four elections in a row?
Remember how almost all the media backed a plan for a republic, only to have it rejected at the 1999 referendum?
How often have we seen this gulf in opinion between the mainstream media and the public they report to?
I suspect Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s lie may be the latest example.
It’s rare to see such overwhelming fury from a public at having been so brazenly deceived by a politician.
Before the election, as everyone now knows, Gillard repeatedly promised she would not introduce a tax on carbon dioxide emissions—in effect, a great green tax on electricity and petrol.
“There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead,” she said.
But six months later Gillard says she will indeed give us that carbon tax, and from next year, without even going to another election for a mandate.
The reason? Just one of the 150 members of the House of Representatives, the Greens’ Adam Bandt, demanded this tax, as did his leader, Bob Brown, holding the balance of power in the Senate.
Everyone knows Gillard broke her solemn word. And a great many people hate politicians lying to them so flagrantly, which is why the talkback lines are smoking, protest rallies are planned, and Essential Research, in a poll this week, detected a huge and election-losing drop in Labor’s support.
But in one part of Australia, that anger is not felt. No zephyr of protest wafts. No objection is raised to Gillard stealing an election with a lie.
That part of Australia is where some of our most influential political reporters and commentators work.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.news.com.au ...
Julia Gillard is a “watermelon” (”green” on the outside, “red” on the inside). What were they expecting?
The point is there is a mechanism under Australia’s law and constitution for this type of situation. When in 1998, John Howard decided he wanted to introduce a Goods and Services Tax, he had ruled out before the 1996 election, he called another election and went back to the polls specifically to get a mandate on that specific issue. He put his government on the line and let the people render their verdict. The media should be insisting that Julia Gillard does the same.
They won’t because most of them are left wing and they know she’d lose.
Dydd Dewi Sant Dda!
The disparity between what the mainstream press says and what people really think just makes me think how glad I am to live in an age were the Internet is available to have the other side of the argument presented to the masses, in spite of the propaganda the pollies and other elites who control the mainstream media might want people to believe.
Put in context with recent events in the middle east, it gives people a cause for hope doesn’t it? I bet it is only because of the internet that this issue hasn’t already died unnoticed....
I saw the Essential Research poll 52-48 but 2-week rolling average so I assume it’s worse than that. But can’t find anything else - have there been other polls in the past few days?
So you’re dealing with a media double-standard in Australia? One-sided media seems to be everywhere. Sorry!
:(
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