Tuesday 29th April 1997
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Pauline Hanson's One Nation Official home page.Pauline Hanson's Offical Home Page. Extracts from Pauline Hanson's book "THE TRUTH". The freedom of the tradition press is currently facing its "last stand" in this country. A point which was clearly demonstrated in the ABC's Media Watch program last night.
The Media Watch presenter started off by revealing how Packer's Channel Nine 60 minutes program had used the wrong baby picture to demonstrate the "before and after" success of a doctor was supposed to have used his surgical skills to fix up, in this case, a facial deformity. The reporter then described 60 Minutes as follows, "Mr Packer's '38 minutes' is the fat and salt of franchised fast journalism".
The story led into the apparent up-coming take over of Fairfax by Packer.
Again I quote from the presenter, "Nine's alter ego, Mr Kerry Packer, who's been up in Canberra enjoying the priviliges of his position".... and then leads into a story by Fairfax's Sydney Morning Herald:
"Australia's richest man, Mr Kerry Packer, has personally lobbied the Prime Minister to change the law so that he can take over the Fairfax newspaper group..... The Prime Minister has given his clearest signal yet that Mr Packer would be permitted to take over the Fairfax newspaper empire."
As Mr Packer emerged from that meeting a few days ago and got into the wrong car, he said, "If you've got any questions for the government, I suggest you go and ask them."
The Media Watch presenter continues, "The move (by Packer to take over Fairfax) is already, we suspect, being anticipated by Fairfax staff." Then uses the following example of what he means.
Extracts from three seperate Fairfax articles by three different journalists were presented:
The first by Michael Sharp in the Sydney Morning Herald under the heading "Most companies fail":
"Australian companies fall short of international best practice when it comes to the quality and the level of disclosure about the handling of corporate governance."
The second by Leonie Wood in the Age under the heading, "Firms fall short of reporting":
"Brambles, Santos and Brickworks were among several companies sited for poor disclosure."
The third by Alan Deans in The Australian financial Review under the heading "Institutions blast big company board ethics":
"Ashton Mining, Soul Pattison, Brickworks, and Davids were among the poor performers."
The Media Watch reporter continues, "What I can't tell you is whether those journalists chose to omitt a certain major corporation from the role of corporate dishonour or whether that happened at a higher level. But it happened."
The source of the journalists report was an issue of the Australian Investment Management Association publication which named Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited as one of those who "fell short of international best practice when it comes to the quality of disclosure about the handling of corporate governance"....
The Media Watch reporter continues, "The pre-emptive censorship at Fairfax of a story that might embarrass Packer is something John Howard and Richard Alston should seriously consider before they put those rivers of gold in Packer's direction. But who am I kidding?"
The story closes with this extract from the Sydney Morning Herald which sums up the situation rather nicely:
"The chairman of the Fairfax journalists house committee, Mr Alan Kennedy, said yesterday he was "very disturbed" by the revelation that the Sydney Morning Herald's editor in chief, Mr John Alexander, had spent a weekend as a guest aboard Mr Kerry Packer's luxury cruiser in Fiji."
Now let us remember that the (Fairfax owned) BRW on-line page of Australia's 200 Richest citizens is still the only place that you will read about the over Au$140 million outstanding taxes that the Australian Tax Office are having problems collecting from one Kerry Packer. You haven't seen that story on 60 (38?) Minutes now have you... I wonder how long that page will stay on-line now?
Two interesting links for further background.... BIL buys Black's shares in Fairfax and BIL's role in the Asia Pacific region.
The new class elite:
The Courier Mail has once again demostrated its ability to distort the truth. A half page article on page three under the heading "New Governor blasts 'divisive' Hanson" refers to a comment by the incoming governor who, while responding to a question by a journalist, said "....it is divisive what she is doing".
What was conveniently left out by all the commercial television stations who showed the comment on prime time television last night was what the journalist's question was that prompted the statement... one can only speculate. It could, for example, have been "What do you think about the comment in Pauline Hanson's book The Truth that some Aboriginals once had cannibalistic tendencies?"
No, the whole statement is now extracted and clinically assessed without the lead-up to the statement being explained or the context in which it was given.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the coverage on television last night which could not be covered-up was the very apparent unease of the governor-elect who had obviously been put on the spot by a question which he was having difficulty answering. But as is the want of "ethical" journalism today the truth will now be clouded and distorted to continue the illusion that Pauline Hanson is a racist and divisive.
Pretty amazing when you recall this extract from Pauline Hanson's maiden speech:
In the context of what is happening today with Fairfax and the report in the ABC's Media Watch how can one feel secure about the issue of our children's freedom of speech in days to come?
On the issue of freedom of speech, I found it quite astounding that although the story about the University of Melbourne hacker altering information on the official home page of a registered political party made the headlines in the Queensland Times no follow up was attempted by any of the mainstream media to date on the story.
I know, because I would have been contacted.... one can only wonder how many journalists would have been hanging around my office like little flies on the wall if the story had portrayed an opposite position where Pauline Hanson's One Nation had somehow been a perpetrator in an issue related to stifling "freedom of speech".
Indigenous woman to seek refugee status overseas - Tuesday 29 April, 1997 (9:37am AEST) - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
"An Aboriginal woman from Perth says the acceptance of tremendous racism by the wider community this year has finally forced her decision to seek refugee status overseas.
"Mingli Wanjurri, aged 55, says recent public debate over the High Court's Wik ruling and the political clout of Independent M-P Pauline Hanson are just two of the factors prompting the move.
"Ms Wanjurri says she believes she'l qualify as a political refugee, given the deep level of institutional racism in Australia.
"Ms Wanjurri says, once overseas, she'll continue to keep in contact with what is happening in Australia and advocate for the rights of indigenous people."
The meeting of state premiers and the Prime Minister put a final stamp on the ten point plan which effectively nullifies the original agreement that pastoral leases would not be effected by native title. In the words of Borbidge on entering the meeting, "A deal is a deal is a deal".
Not when it embraces native title it would appear.
The ground has shifted but even under the circumstances the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Commission (ATSIC) is not happy. ATSIC called for Mr Howard to make the plan public to ensure that it was not a backdoor method of extinguishing native title on pastoral leases.
"We appreciate the Prime Minister's efforts to asure us that he won't extinguish native title on pastoral leases outright, said ATSIC native title commissioner Geoff Clark.
"But we cannot be sure that the plan will not amount to de-facto extinguishment."
Borbidge told the media last night that "Queensland isn't in the deal. We have reserved our position.
"We have secured some fairly substantial concessions from the Prime Minister. It is a lot better package than the mess that was presented to us last week."
Extensive political commentary and links can be found on Palmer's Australian Politics page.
I was aghast at the vehemence of the attack on Pauline Hanson by your wordsmiths Paul Kelly and Robert Manne. I have read what Hanson has said in her maiden speech. I have attended her meeting in Rockhampton. I can find nothing at all odious with what she actually says. I do find odious with what she s reported to have said. She needs some instruction on the dangers of protectionism and the necessity of maintaining a program of migrants who can contribute to Australia’s production. This will happen in due course as she gains experience and wisdom.
I wish her lots of luck and hope that her persistence will bring a radical change of direction in the way in which this country has been run. People have for a long time been heartily fed up with the major parties that seem to be continually trying to outdo one another with implementation of their particular brand of socialism.
As long a go as the 1680s, the father of modern liberty, John Locke, wrote: Whenever the legislators endeavour to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves in a state of war with the people who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience, and are left to the common Refuge, which God hath provided for all men, against force and violence. The Refuge being revolution.
Thomas Jefferson thought that regular revolutions would be a good thing if they were instituted to contain the excesses of government. So do I
Ronald Kitching
I felt the paper was dominated by Pauline Hanson Material, with most of it one-sided in the extreme. The editorial, six letters to the editor and three prominent writers all wrote against her. An awful caricature, and awful painting and intense journalism by the big guns of these respected paper smacked of an international campaign.
At the very last the paper should air many responses from the people in return for the return for the huge amount of space given to the criticism.
some comments on the Paul Kelly article begging to be made included:
George Wakelin
Aaron Gardiner
To me, it appears that had these principles been constitutionally in practice many of Pauline’s targets - land rights, special laws for Aborigines under the Racial Discrimination Act, assisted immigration - would not be an issue because being in direct conflict with those principles, they would have been ruled unconstitutional
D J Michell
Frenchville QLD
With such a vitriolic example of a newspaper going to press as we saw in The Weekend Australian, I wonder if the people will be given a fair go to put their response regarding Pauline Hanson?
Gympie Co-ordinator
Pauline Hanson Support Movement Qld
Seven articles and two cartoons denigrating Pauline Hanson, but I had to wait until page 25 to read: “is undertaking an inquiry into weather legislation should provide for dedicated Aboriginal seats in the Parliament of NSW”. All I want is equality.
Student ANU
Your Pauline Hanson Focus almost convinced me that she was indeed 100 percent wrong until Paul Kelly’s recommendation that the principle of “the right of all people to equality before the law regardless of race, colour, creed or origin ect” be incorporated into our constitution.
Mudgeeraba Qld
An extract from a disturbing report received today:
"Virtually unreported, the latest and potentially most dangerous of
these agreements is now under negotiation at the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The purpose of the
Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), as the proposed pact is
known, is to grant transnational investors the unrestricted "right" to
buy, sell, and move businesses and other assets wherever they want,
whenever they want. To achieve this goal, the MAI would ban a wide
range of regulatory laws now in force around the globe and preempt
future efforts to hold transnational corporations and investors
accountable to the public. The agreement's backers (the United States
and the European Union) intend to seek assent from the 29 industrial
countries that comprise the OECD and then push the new accord on the
developing world.
"Negotiations are already at an advanced stage. Yet few Americans
have even heard of the agreement. Trade officials are treating MAI
information like nuclear secrets; the mainstream media is oblivious.
Whether the MAI is adopted, and if so, just how far its deregulatory
tentacles will extend, depends on whether opponents can force the
proposal from its present obscurity into the light of public debate.
"As proposed, the MAI would force countries to treat foreign investors
as favorably as domestic companies; laws violating this principle
would be prohibited. Under these conditions, transnational
corporations would find it easier and more profitable to move
investments, including production facilities, to low-wage countries.
At the same time, these countries would be denied the tools necessary
to wrest benefits from such investment--like laws mandating the
employment of local managers. Efforts to promote local development by
earmarking subsidies for home-grown businesses and limiting foreign
ownership of local resources would also be barred. If adopted, the
MAI will mean foreclosure of Third World development strategies,
increased job flight from industrial nations, and new pressures on
countries, rich and poor, to compete for increasingly mobile
investment capital by lowering environmental and labor standards. A
key MAI provision could also threaten corporate accountability laws
championed by progressives in the US. The MAI takes aim at statutes
in any nation that link subsidies, tax breaks, and other public
benefits, to corporate behavior. This ban could be used to challenge a
host of local, state, and federal measures, including laws requiring
subsidized firms to meet job-creation goals, community reinvestment
rules that require banks to invest in underserved areas, and the
"living wage" laws that are the focus of activist campaigns across
the country."
His defence council, David Grace QC, described his action as a "desperate, ill-judged and misconceived attempt" to save the Bond empire.
Mitchell returned from the USA to face the courts. He pleaded guilty to the four charges of making improper use of his position as a director of Freehold Pty Ltd but not guilty to charges of conspiring with Alan Bond, Tony Oates, Peter Beckwith and others to defraud Bell Resources.
Have a good one.
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