Tony Hodges, who has worked in the Prime Minister's office since 2009, told an unnamed source that Tony Abbott would be at an awards ceremony near to the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra on Thursday. The PM's office said the information was passed to activists angry at Mr Abbott just before an ugly protest led to a dramatic police rescue of Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott.
To this humble scribe our politics is rather like a soap opera writ large and run on every channel. From day to day we see the new drama high point as rival groups of script writers try to get their message up to the public and frankly there is some wry amusement to be found in the Australia day kerfuffle that Ray so kindly reported to the Sandpit readers as events were unfolding. Now that Julia will apparently get her shoe back (according to Britain’s Daily Mail) although you would not blame her for wanting to burn it if she does get it back. However the cutest plot twist of the whole sorry incident is the fact that it was one of the PM’s own staff who started the ball rolling on the nasty event by (dog) whistling up the land rights loony tunes from the tent embassy and misrepresenting Tony Abbott’s entirely innocuous comemnts as something far more provocative.
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Of course the staffer involved has fallen on his sword, as we quite rightly expect, however you have to ask just what sort of judgement led to him being engaged in the position in the first place if he was so lacking in good sense to have done something so stupid. His lack of judgement has exposed the PM to global ridicule and set of a course of events which has set back the cause of indigenous people, destroying a huge amount of good will that they enjoyed form the general public.
Hmm it seems to me that instead of employing young lefty ideologues in her press office Gillard needs to have some wise and cautious heads who don’t actaully believe the propaganda that they sprout about the opposition leader. but then again at this point in the government’s fortunes what wise head would want to work for a PM who has the ignoble prospect of being our worst Prime Minster since federation?
Cheers Comrades
Tony Hodges, who has worked in the Prime Minister’s office since 2009, told an unnamed source that Tony Abbott would be at an awards ceremony near to the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra on Thursday.
The PM’s office said the information was passed to activists angry at Mr Abbott just before an ugly protest led to a dramatic police rescue of Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott.
Of course the staffer involved has fallen on his sword, as we quite rightly expect, however you have to ask just what sort of judgement led to him being engaged in the position in the first place if he was so lacking in good sense to have done something so stupid.
Are you really so naive as to think that political staffers don’t routinely engage in this sort of thing Iain? That is what they do: dirty work. They exist on both sides of politics. They rally support for their employer and organise opposition to the other side of politics. I follow some of these staffers on Twitter. It is patently obvious what their role is. The only difference with this joker who lost his job is that it all went sour and humiliated the PM. Otherwise we’d probably have never heard of him.
What wise head would want to work for a PM who has the ignoble prospect of being our worst Prime Minster since federation?
Yes, the country is falling apart. Personally I yearn for the glory days of 1982, when we had Mal Fraser as PM, treasurer John Howard, slumping exports, 10% unemployment, 21% interest rates, etc. Gillard should take a leaf out of their book.
What’s your Twitter name, TOI? I think we’d all like to see what you tweet.
I don’t make any tweets myself Ray. I just have an account so I can read other people’s tweets. I don’t have the time or interest to be tweeting myself.
So you just have a Twitter account to keep tabs on others? A sort of stalking tool?
No, I only read other people’s open twitter streams. I don’t invent personalities and ask to access private streams..
If reading Twitter is st**king Ray then so is reading blogs. Which we are obviously all guilty of.
Anyway I don’t think I have many private individuals or bloggers in my stream. I follow mainly politicians, political journalists, advisors and celebrities. If I want to hear what bloggers have to say then I prefer to read their blogs. I find the lack of depth in twitter pretty frustrating.
Take it easy, TOI, I wasn’t accusing you of anything. Hmmm … guilty conscience there?
No, of course you weren’t. It was just a coincidence that you mentioned “s***king”.
Iain, why am I not surprised that you equate these recent, politically significant events with a “soap opera”? I know you are probably a big fan of such white, suburban, middle class dross as Neighbours and Packed to the Rafters, but you must understand that protest and activism against colonialism and racist oppression do not exist solely — or even partially — for your amusement.
Really, Iain, you should get away from the television, out of your McMansion, and really have a look at the world around you — and with a fresh and non-judgemental perspective, for a change. You might be very surprised at what you’ll find …
Derek
If the facts be known I don’t actaully watch much broadcast TV quite simply because our reception here is so crap
It may be my antenna but at present we can get only two of the free to air stations clearly enough to watch on the primary TV and on my own personal set I don’t have an antenna at all.Thus I am deprived of watching the actual Soapies on the box and the only way that I can get my frothy fix is to follow Australian politics and isn’t this plot twist a beauty?
Some good thoughts on the topic here form Bob Carr
Yes, it’s a good article by Carr, Iain. Although he goes too far in my opinion. I’ve put this comment on his blog (it’s still in moderation):
Yes, the events in Canberra on Australia Day are turning into a soap opera. But what all this has done is yet again reveal Tony Abbott to lack sensitivity, an inability to raise political discussion above the divisive and mundane – how hard would it have been for him to say ‘To some extent the country has progressed on this issue, but there’s much more work to be done, and it’s complex work, but we should all band together to improve the lot of the Indigenous community? – and, once more, it has revealed Australia to have this horrible sore of racism on its heart.
Iain, it’s revealing that even though you deny being an avid watcher of the soaps and (rather unconvincingly) cite reception problems, you still admit to needing your “frothy fix”.
Also, you admit to having at least two television sets.
I pity you for your sad addiction to materialist consumerism and banal, corporatist televisual “entertainment”.