Media
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John Menadue. The Carbon Tax and Flat-Earthers.
Despite all the political rhetoric and hysteria, the evidence is mounting almost daily that the carbon tax is largely working as planned and that its impact on electricity prices is quite small, particularly compared with the ‘network costs’, the poles and wires, which have been the main drivers of increased electricity prices. But the flat-earthers Continue reading »
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Mark Gregory. NBN – ageing copper network and structural separation.
The Australian telecommunication industry is in crisis and centre stage is an ageing copper network that some would have you believe is good for another hundred years and others argue it is time to move to an all fibre access network. But the problems extend far beyond copper versus fibre and go to the heart Continue reading »
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Chris Geraghty. The ABC and Scott Morrison
The ABC has been much criticised, by our Prime Minister no less, and by the silly bullies on some commercial radio stations, for not being patriotic enough, for not barracking for the home team. Disloyal journalists published a story that some wounded, unwelcome refugees who had been intercepted on the high seas by our navy Continue reading »
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Walter Hamilton. The ABC and its Japanese Cousin.
If the board and management of the ABC need to firm up their ideas about the proper relationship between a public broadcaster and the government of the day they might consider what is happening in Japan. NHK, that nation’s public broadcaster, is a $7bn enterprise largely funded from television licence fees, with a board of Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Alcohol and violence on the streets — the tip of the iceberg.
In recent weeks public attention has been focused on alcohol fuelled violence in Sydney streets and the very slow response of the NSW government. But the response when it did come really only addressed the ugly tip of the iceberg. the violence on the streets. The government response was superficial – minimum mandatory sentencing, greater Continue reading »
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Pearls and Irritations – one year on. John Menadue
I launched this blog in January last year. To date there have been 285 posts, just over 5 a week. I hope you have found some ‘pearls’ and been ‘irritated’ from time to time. Thank you for your support. I have enjoyed putting together stories that I believe are important for Australia’s future. I now Continue reading »
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Journalists are not welcome in Nauru. Elaine Pearson
Dramatically increasing the cost of visas to enter Nauru places severe restrictions from the ability of journalists and others to let us know the truth about asylum seekers being held there. John Menadue Here’s an innovative way to discourage foreign media scrutiny of a touchy human rights issue: jack-up the cost of a journalist visa Continue reading »
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Repost: Pink Batts – facts and fiction. John Menadue
The following is a repost from July 11, 2013. I wonder if it is necessary for the Abbott Government to rake over the past rather than concentrate on the future! The fiction is continuing in the uncritical media that only the Commonwealth Government should bear responsibility for the problems of the Home Insulation Scheme. We Continue reading »
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Repost: Are most asylum seekers and refugees Muslims? John Menadue
Repost for holiday reading. Well, as a matter of fact, they are not. But I am sure that many commentators and a lot of the community believe that most are Muslim. The dog-whistlers like Scott Morrison feed on this assumption .According to Jane Cadzow in the Sun Herald he urged the Coalition parties “to ramp Continue reading »
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The cost of healthcare in Australia and remuneration of doctors. Guest blogger: Professor Kerry Goulston
The cost of healthcare is unsustainable here and in many other countries. In Australia it is 9.5% of GDP, estimated to rise to 16-25% by 2025. There are obvious reasons for this—population ageing, end of life heroics, increased technology and increased use of procedures. A rapidly increasing contributor to the cost of healthcare in Australia comes from Continue reading »
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Climate change as portrayed in ten major Australian newspapers. John Menadue
Last week the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism at the University of Technology, Sydney released a report on the above subject. It highlighted, amongst other things the unprofessional performance and influence of News Ltd publications in shaping the public debate in favour of the sceptics of climate change. This is despite the overwhelming consensus by Continue reading »
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A somersault – back to business as usual. Guest blogger: Arja Keski-Nummi
While in opposition Tony Abbot conducted a robust and aggressive policy on boats that effected Indonesia. But now he has done a somersault in order to put the Australian-Indonesian relationship back on a more even footing. As his speech at the official dinner portrays he has gone to the other extreme and engaged in rather Continue reading »
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How the Australian media frames North Korea and impedes constructive relations. Guest blogger: Dr Bronwen Dalton
An analysis of the last three years of coverage of North Korea in the Australian media shows a tendency in Australian coverage to uncritically reproduce certain metaphors that linguistically frame North Korea in ways that imply North Korea is dangerous and provocative; irrational; secretive; impoverished and totalitarian. This frame acts to delegitimize, marginalise and demonise Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott’s debt to Rupert Murdoch. John Menadue
Media Watch of 9 September gave us a snap shot of what Rupert Murdoch did for Tony Abbott. It said “the final tally of (the Daily Telegraph’s) coverage in the election campaign stacks up like this.Out of a total of 293 political stories we scored only six as pro Labor. While 43 were pro Continue reading »
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The aftermath of Saturday’s election. Guest Blogger: David Combe
David Combe was ALP National Secretary from 1973 until 1981 Just over a month ago, I received an email from an old friend – an ALP Life Member who belongs to the ‘my party right or wrong’ school of loyalists – asking my thoughts on the likely outcome of the election which Prime Minister Rudd Continue reading »
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The election – punishing bad behaviour. John Menadue
One thing the election did was to explode the perceived wisdom that if the economy was doing well, governments are seldom voted out. But the Rudd Government was. As I have written in earlier blogs. The Australian economy, by almost any measure is one of the best performing and managed in the world. Our material Continue reading »
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Boat arrivals are down. John Menadue
You would hardly know it if you read the Murdoch papers or listened to the Canberra bureau of the ABC but boat arrivals are dramatically down in recent weeks. How ironic it would be if even before Tony Abbott becomes Prime Minister, that asylum seekers arriving by boat have been reduced to a trickle. It Continue reading »
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Excluding the ABC. John Menadue
It is disappointing, at least to me that the ABC has not been the host of the election debates between Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott. Instead it is has been left to Fox News, 50% owned by Rupert Murdoch, who is keen to buy the other 50% from Telstra. When will the Murdoch monopoly end? Continue reading »
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Japanese amnesia and the contrast with Germany. Guest blogger: Susan Menadue Chun
Our four Australian/Korean children were educated in Japanese primary schools. Every summer holiday we struggled through the prescribed homework text- Natsu no Tomo (Summer’s friend). In the early August segment, there were assignments regarding WWII. They stated, “talk to your parents about WWII and write a composition about the importance of peace”. So, we talked Continue reading »
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Foxing with the News, Japan style. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
On Wednesday 7 August 2013, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged that the clean up of the devastated Fukushima nuclear power reactors was beyond the capacity of the operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). It followed the revelation that heavily contaminated groundwater is flowing into the Pacific Ocean at an estimated rate of 300 Continue reading »
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One Minus One Equals Nothing – Also True in Journalism. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
As an executive journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation I was concerned on a daily basis with balance and fairness in news and current affairs coverage. I often heard it said, ‘if both sides of politics are criticising us, we’re probably doing a good job’, though I never embraced this mantra. In journalism, as Continue reading »
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Galahs and princes. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
What was that about Australia and the Asian Century? The umbilical cords still tie us to the past. John Menadue From Walter Hamilton: I had a choice today on the ABC Online News website of reading a story about a galah plague in a Queensland outback town or viewing the ‘first pictures’ (breathless pause) of Continue reading »
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Joining the dots on Asia. John Menadue
The advocates of stronger ties with Asia spend a great deal of time with seminars and press statements about the importance of the region to our future. They are correct but they refuse to join the dots and advocate the changes on the really important issues impeding our relations with our region. Some of those Continue reading »
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The Miners’ Lament. John Menadue
It is only a matter of time before the miners start lamenting that they did not seriously negotiate with Kevin Rudd over his Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). The mining industry has always favoured rent/profit taxes instead of royalties. What the mining industry really disagreed with was the rate of the Resources Super Profits Tax. Continue reading »
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Truth, Trust and the Media. John Menadue
Our mainstream media is in a downward spiral. Its decline is driven by new technology and a growing sense by readers that we can no longer trust the media. We have a lot of spin, but very little well-informed debate. Ken Henry has commented that he can’t recall a time when public debate was so Continue reading »
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What the Subtitles Say. Guest blogger Greg from Cottesloe
Here’s a popular generalisation. Subtitles or dubbing? Americans prefer dubbing of foreign films because it demonstrates that even Shaolin monks can speak English with a Bronx accent if they try hard enough. The fact that the lips keep on moving seconds after the voice stops merely adds to the mystery and allure of these foreigners. Continue reading »
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The asylum seekers that we don’t talk about
In the last ten years, 65,000 asylum seekers have come to Australia. 47,000 or 72% of those came by air. Only 28% came by boat. In the last five years, we received 47,000 asylum seekers, of whom 28,000 or 62% came by air. Only 38% came by boat. In only one year, in the last Continue reading »
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Federal Election bits and pieces
There was nothing new in the timing of the next election announced by Julia Gillard. There wasn’t much doubt that it would be some time in August or September. There may be a marginal benefit for the government in the early announcement. It has some major policy issues to outline – Gonski reforms, national disability Continue reading »
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Australian media and President Park Geun-Hye of ROK
If we want to be serious about our future in the ‘Asian Century’ we will need to start with our media. The election of President Park Geun-Hye in ROK in December last year was a very significant event, but it passed in the Australian media with only the briefest of mentions. (The same could be Continue reading »
