Putting aside the fact that Gillard was treated as a back-stabbing-murderess after she replaced Kevin Rudd as PM. Putting aside that she was labelled ‘the illegitimate PM’ even after she went straight to an election to let the ‘people decide’ and then won, but for some reason was then even more ‘illegitimate’ presumably because she led a minority government and it suited Abbott’s Liberals and their mates in the media to paint this as unstable when really it was the most productive government Australia has ever had. Putting aside the grand hypocrisy of none of these labels ever being assigned to Malcolm Turnbull when he plotted and schemed and white anted and undermined and destabilized and finally got what we all knew he wanted because he was quite openly campaigning for it: Abbott’s job. Putting aside that he hasn’t gone straight to an election and is instead intent of pretending he was legitimately chosen by the people to be PM when he quite clearly was not. Putting aside all these things which really make me so mad I could lose my mind, except that I won’t because it’s all so predictable that the Liberals would have their own leadership spill and it goes completely unnoticed by the mainstream media like a massive ‘meh’, when Labor’s leadership spill was the only thing the media wanted to talk about. For 5 years. What I really want to discuss today is the fascinating situation of Turnbull’s Prime Ministership where he can do NO WRONG, according to the mainstream media, and anything that does go wrong in his government is, incredibly, coincidentally, conveniently, somehow painted as still the last guy’s problem. Still Abbott’s fault. Except Abbott isn’t the PM anymore. Turnbull is. How the hell does Turnbull get away with this bullshit? He reminds me of the classic quote from the classic movie, Shawshank Redemption, but replace ‘Andy Dufresne’ with ‘Malcolm Turnbull’: Malcolm Turnbull – who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. How? How is Turnbull squeaky clean after all the crawling through shit he’s been up to?
Take, for instance, the horrific and tragic case of rape victim and asylum seeker, ‘Abyan’. Dutton is in a bit of hot water over this. That’s not to say Dutton is in as much hot water as an Immigration Minister should be who has denied an asylum seeker, a frightened young woman, the dignity and human rights any human being deserves, for political gain. But there is some criticism of the way Dutton has handled this situation, such as here, here and here. And you will notice in this Dutton-criticism, Turnbull is either given a cursory mention, or not mentioned at all. As if he’s somehow not involved in this situation. As if he’s floating situation, detached, uninvolved, an innocent bystander. As if somehow Dutton wasn’t chosen to continue in his evil role of Immigration Minister in the new Turnbull government, and therefore doesn’t report to Turnbull like an employee reports to an employer, where the employer is ultimately responsible for the decisions made by that employee and liable for any damage done by that employee. Why is Turnbull not being held liable? How is he coming out of this squeaky clean?
Another example is the news this week that the rolling ball which Abbott started rolling in his ideological quest to eat away at the public’s ownership of Medicare by privatising some parts of it, with the ultimate goal of privatising all of it, is still rolling forward. I’m really glad there are news outlets letting us know about this treachery because it’s a really seriously important news story that all Australians would be interested in. But I don’t understand why articles about this news story, such as this one, fail to even mention the word ‘Turnbull’. Turnbull, who we all knows likes to talk, and likes to explain, and is even well known for his particularly patronising ‘mansplaining’ tone, which he no doubt uses because he looks down on all of us since we’re all poorer than he is, is completely silent on this issue. He’s had plenty of time to comment and as far as I can tell he’s made no comment. It’s really not hard to guess why he’s made no comment. There are two reasons: a) because he doesn’t want to be splattered in the dirt of this issue, having to explain why his government is considering turning our universal health sector into a profit making machine for potentially international companies who would then ‘own’ our health records and eventually may own our entire health system. And b) Turnbull loves this idea, and hopes if he keeps his mouth shut it will more likely slip through unscrutinised. Which it possibly will. Turnbull loves this idea both for ideological reasons and perhaps because he has money invested in the companies who will make billions out of taking over Australia’s Medicare system, money which will be filtered through the Cayman Islands, un-taxed and back into Malcolm’s pocket which is bulging with cash. Of course there is a class-war, and Malcolm’s pocket is winning.
Long-time readers of my blog will recognise that the longer my sentences, the angrier I am. My keyboard will also tell you that the intensity of my fingers hitting the keyboard is a fair indication of the level of blood boil going on. So yes, I’m angry about this ‘Turnbull getting away with swimming in shit, yet still being treated like the beloved-shiny-sparkling-glistening-in-the-sun-squeeky-clean-brand-new Prime Minister who can do no wrong’. I’m terrified the squeaky cleanliness will get Turnbull another Liberal term of government and all the horrors of his political agenda will come about, unabated by any real scrutiny, just like the media did when they betrayed the country by giving Abbott such a free pass. It’s not just News Ltd this time either. It’s also Fairfax, the ABC and even, inexplicably, the Guardian. I’m not asking for these media outlets to do anything except their job and their job is not to let Turnbull get away with zero scrutiny on issues damaging to Australians. Just do your jobs people. For the love of dog, just do your jobs.
Media Inequality 
Great article again, Victoria. The MSM in this country are as big a threat to our democracy and way of life as the LNP scum. Turnbull tells us he is a ” innovator”, what bullshit. He is giving us Fraudband using 19th century technology. Some fucking innovator.He is no different then the lying idiot abbott. And he will go the same way as him.
How is Shorten crucified for his imagined misdemeanors uncovered by TURC(no suggestion even there that he benefitted financially) but any attempt to discuss Turnbull’s financial arrangements are met with shock horror?
How does MT get away with smearing with a smile and a smirk while gaining brownie points for saying he wants to end smearing?
Why are his pale imitations of Labor’s well researched policies met with such accolades.Especially as the real policies ,being currently enacted or still on the agenda are so different. etc etc.
Thank you Victoria.
Yes, your lengthy (yet lucid) sentences in this plea for a scintilla of Mainstream Media maturity instead of their phony memes about our current PM are indicative of the deep frustration that so many progressives share with you. So, here’s a few more long sentences in line with your perspective ….. albeit not within cooee of your perspicacity:
It is staggering that the same Canberra press gallery who haughtily demanded detailed policy alternatives from Bill Shorten immediately after he became LOTO are now as content to accept any old weasel-worded waffle spewed by Turnbull as being priceless political pearls. Then again, our MSM’s penchant for peddling fairytales worked out brilliantly for their faux-folkhero, Bambi Baird, last year.
As for The Guardian, when the Australian edition commenced shortly before last Federal Election many dozens of voters begged in Guardian’s Comments for them to provide in depth analyses of serious issues and the soundness of the leaders’ arguments. On the contrary, Guardian journos served up the usual feckless trivia which emphasised horserace calling, gaffe mongering and personality/body language nitpicking. They topped it off by commissioning and spruiking an egregiously inaccurate Robopoll (Rudd and Swan were dead certs to lose their seats, the Guardian’s headline bellowed).
After the 2014 Hockey/Cormann toxic budget, the Guardian editorials switched to pontificating how unpredictable such evildoings being perpetrated by Abbott’s boys right out of the gate were. Not worth mentioning, however, those hundreds of comments on their very own website which had indeed warned that trickle-down Neo-Thatcherite attacks would be the inevitable consequence of the free passes which the MSM was gifting Abbott’s mob. The Guardian’s blindness to their epic failures during the Abbott/Murdoch march to a 90 seat landslide makes it clear that they will persist with dumbass Turnbull bulldust reportage all the way through to the LNP’s triumphant reelection.
Thank goodness the AIMN will be here to provide one of the few havens for those us desperate to hear rational analysts speaking truth to power, in particular the singularly cogent arguments Ms Rollison puts forth column after column after column.
Appreciate your flagging of the Medicare issue …. it has been very low on the MSM radar …. the move to attempt to emulate the American “way of health care” (even in parts) is nightmarish to contemplate.
TURC work very hard to put forwarded the proposition, that somehow anything that benefits union doesn’t benefit them. Ignores fact that deals are between boss/worker. Perused, signed by FWC after being on voted on by members,
TURC has great problems with concept that union/developers can work together, even like one another. Can’t buy concept that unions provide service to industry. That industry is willing to pay.
What is put aside completely that agreements they are criticising deliver win win to both sides.
Some better that others. Yes, one or two was the best one could get at the time. Not perfect, but best deal available.
What is under microscope, is EBAs, back in times of Workchoices.
WorkChoice that was intended to undermine union movement, moving all workers to AWAs with no union involvement.
Yes, at no time have they accused Shorten personal gains. Yes, he is guilty of growing income for unions. Guilty of raising productivity of workers on the sites.
Today workers can’t down tools to put pressure on the boss. Will quickly find themselves facing big fines, maybe even jail.
All IR ation takes place in the courts. All cost money. Money that members can’t afford to pay.
(How many millions will union members pockets have to find for TURC)
Unions are not a separate identity to workers. Unions are no more than collection workers.
Agreements for developers to but training, safety oversight etc are not nor should be part of any EBA.
It is the assumptions and misconstruction that Stoljar puts on his so called evidence that makes one wonder where he is coming from.
PS PM is far from squeaky clean. If so, he would be pulling Dutton into line. In fact would never appointed him in the first place.
Hasn’t the nous to realise Nauru and Manus has become toxic. If left to fester, will become septic, even bringing down his government, If Labor doesn’t take up the cudgel, not to fight the policy but to condemn in the strongest way the implementation of the policy.
In fact the government has only put in place part of Labor’s policy formed from Houston’s Expert Panel recommendations. Turn back the boats was not recommended. Nor was Sovereign Borders or Border Farce.
The PM would be playing down TURC, instead of building it up this weekend. Yes, it is unions, workers he is going after.
PM has stated, he is a neoliberal. Don’t fall for the myth he isn’t. Is willing to still lie bare faced about NBN. PM is probably further right than Abbott.
Coming out Thursday, saying the money spent during the GFC was wasted, that we got NOTHING in return tells one what he thinks of the public. That they are stupid, will beleive anything he says.
Much was achieved through stimulus package. A great lot more than $900 cheques. Cheques by the way stop downward fall in economy, prevent a recession.
I greatly fear that another long spell of extremist right-wing LNP governments and Senators will drive our sunburnt country into the sociopathic dysfunctions which America’s Republican Congress has brought upon its legislative processes, spawning now a ruefully unfit bunch of candidates for the Republicans’ presidential nomination.
The following lines from J. R. Lowell’s poem ‘Ode to France’ crystallise for me the woeful condition of American society, and who knows how quickly this could eventuate under the reign of our LNP/Murdoch/Rinehart Coalition:
“So grew and gathered
through the silent years,
The madness of a people,
wrong by wrong.”
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