There were many noteworthy elements to the back-and-forth between Peter Dutton and the ABC’s Lee Robinson during the opposition leader’s visit to Alice Springs this week. Much of it was contained in the following volley, unleashed when Robinson tried to draw Dutton on what statistics he was using to back his claims around “rampant child sexual abuse” in the area:
“Do you live locally?” Dutton retorted. “I mean, do you speak to people on the streets? Do you hear what it is they’re saying to you?”
There was of course the irony of Dutton, a professional politician of more than 20 years, who doesn’t live in the area, interrogating a local reporter as though they’re the out-of-towner elitist.
Then there’s the suggestive choice of one of the local voices Dutton platformed: local baker Darren Clarke, who was behind the influential Alice Springs crime Facebook page, Action for Alice 2020. The page predominantly posted about alleged crimes committed by Indigenous peoples, fuelling racist commentary and calls for vigilante justice from its 60,000 followers. It was eventually suspended for “bullying and harassment”.
But there’s also the fact he prefaced all this with “that is such an ABC question”. As such, Dutton joins a long line of hard-right conservatives who actively try to undermine trust in the ABC.
Going back to Robert Menzies’ contention that “I have never been persona grata with the ABC, nor the ABC with me” and peaking absurdly with Tony Abbott’s argument the ABC is “taking everyone’s side but Australia’s”, it seems based on a fantasy there’s a majority of voters anywhere in Australia who buy into this idea that the ABC is a hotbed of leftie sedition.
Crikey never shies away from criticising the ABC when it’s warranted, but the simple fact remains: time after time, poll after poll, the most trusted news source in Australia is the ABC. It’s a sign that Dutton, whatever rebranding he does, seems to see the Abbott option as the quickest way out of opposition. Which, let’s face it, doesn’t bode well for the next three years.
Blow-in Dutton challenged the ABC journalist about whether or not the journo lives locally to which the journo answered in the affirmative. Even though, in asking that question Dutton’s implication is that local opinions are more valid, Dutton then ignores a local’s question!
It is interesting to contrast the visit by “Blow-in Dutton” with that of the “Don’t close your eyes or you will miss him” visit of Prime Minister Albanese. But look, in all fairness, Albo did have another extremely important engagement to get to after his visit to this central Australian Hell Hole. I mean nobody was going to hold up the tennis for anything, now were they?
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/prime-minister-anthony-albanese-under-fire-for-spending-more-time-at-the-australian-open-than-in-alice-springs-amid-crime-crisis/news-story/d87a98b37a8d4aed2b133b0c674492dc
Thanks for providing the reference.
Sky News, Sky News? That’d be an Australian operation of the American billionaire who bought Fox News then decided that if he could get people to believe Cheney’s lies about Iraq then there’d be a US invasion – and if Fox News was the embedded network with the invasion forces then it’d get the same boost as the 1991 invasion of Iraq did for CNN?
Whatabout whatabout whatabout??????
This morning on RN Breakfast we learnt that Dutton should have reported these sexual abuse claims made by shoppers because it is required by NT law.
I wonder if we can go any lower than politicising the sexual abuse of children? This morning I was weeping into my Weeties 🙁
Reporting of cases of sexual abuse against children indicate it mostly happens in the major cities. Dutton is stirring up a rewrite of the children overboard fake news. Using tiny tots as cannon fodder. Sleaze personified.
Not to mention the NTER (NT Emergency Response). Dutton’s got a lot to thank Mal Brough for.
Dutton is the one politicising this. People are right to call on him for facts – that’s not politicising the issue. It’s attempting to put him in a position where he has to stop making these unsubstantiated claims.
… and rely on his position to be believed? It always worked when he was Constable Dutton, one of the Qld Police’s finest.
Verballing is a long-established in the Qld Police Farce, where Constable Dutton learned the technique.
Politics 101: when you are being called upon to substantiate your “claims”, go on the ad-hominem attack.
I doubt that Dutton ever progressed to lesson number two………………………..
In Queensland, answering back to a cop can get you shot.
or convicted of an offence that you did not commit!
The evidence is that the overwhelming majority of Australians put more trust in the ABC than they do Dutton & his current crew.
If only the ABC reporter had the opportunity to respond ‘That’s such a Liberal opposition answer.’
🙂
Conducted in May 2018 by Roy Morgan, the MEDIA Net Trust Survey reveals that while Facebook – and Social Media generally – is deeply distrusted in Australia, the ABC is by far the nation’s most trusted media organisation.
Half of all Australians (47 per cent) distrust social media, compared to only 9 per cent who distrust the ABC.
According to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, trust is now firmly on corporate Australia’s agenda, “But distrust is the critical measure everyone’s ignoring,” she said.
“The absence of the voices of distrust should be alarming every CEO and company director.
“Distrust is where our deepest fears, pain, and betrayal surface – the shock of discovering we were foolish to trust too much.
“And nowhere is that sense of betrayal more profound than in our media brands.
“When we subtract distrust from trust to achieve a Net Trust Score or NTS, we reveal a minus NTS for the Australian media industry,” she said.
“The banking industry has an NTS of minus 18 percent, compared to the media industry with an NTS of minus 7 per cent. So, while media industry is less toxic than banks, it is still in negative territory.
Media category Net Trust Scores or NTS (distrust score subtracted from trust score):
After the ABC, SBS is Australia’s second most trusted media brand.
Fairfax comes in third as the only other media brand with a positive NTS*.
SBS is also Australia’s most trusted commercial television network with an NTS of +5 per cent – well ahead of the other three commercial networks, all with an NTS of between minus 6 and minus 10 per cent.
“Australians told us that their trust of the ABC is driven by its lack of bias and impartiality, quality journalism and ethics. While their distrust of Facebook and Social Media is driven by fake news, manipulated truth, false statistics and fake audience measurement.”
According to survey respondents, their top-5 drivers of distrust in commercial television are:
…“The banking industry has an NTS of minus 18 percent, compared to the media industry with an NTS of minus seven per cent. So, while media industry is less toxic than banks, it is still in negative territory,” she said.
After the ABC, SBS is Australia’s second most trusted media brand. Fairfax comes in third as the only other media brand with a positive NTS ( That was prior to its takeover by 9)
SBS is also Australia’s most trusted commercial television network with an NTS of plus-five per cent – well ahead of the other three commercial networks, all with an NTS of between minus-six and minus-10 per cent.
“Australians told us that their trust of the ABC is driven by its lack of bias and impartiality, quality journalism and ethics. While their distrust of Facebook and social media is driven by fake news, manipulated truth, false statistics and fake audience measurement,” Levine said.
*It would be interesting to see where the now Channel 9, ex Fairfax mastheads would sit in any survey done recently?
Journalist 1
Dutton 0