Posts Tagged ‘Tony Abbott’

1. Inclusive politics … your local Tui billboard has the answer

   Published on Thursday, August 26th, 2010
   

   Australia's version of the psychic "Paul" the World Cup Octopus

   As Australia inches forward to deciding who won last Saturday’s election, for diversion media commentators across the ditch are pouring over the tea leaves trying to analyse why the electorate voted the way it did.

   One recurring theme is ‘the electorate is sick and tired of the adversarial politics served up by the two main parties’. The claim is voters either deliberately spoilt their compulsory vote (put at some 6 percent) or voted for anyone but the Labour or Coalition candidate.

   Given Australia’s complex voting system (our perception) this results in laborious recounts before a winner is eventually declared.

   Another intriguing outcome is that regardless of the outcome in Australia, it will almost certainly mean three of the world’s leading proponents of Westminster style government (Britain, Australia and New Zealand) being governed by coalitions, even though all three countries use different voting systems.

   In railing against adversarial politics, what we shouldn’t lose sight of is Westminster style government (and each of our legal systems) is designed to be adversarial.

   If you ever want an example of it at its ‘best’, listen to the exchanges between Annette King and Stephen Joyce on Mike Hosking’s breakfast radio show on a Wednesday morning. It’s a brawl from start to finish, with the rules being: never concede, score points, undermine, talk over the top and always have the last word.

   Each country has always practiced this form of brutal politics (and law), even if each side keeps quiet while the other has a go. The difference between now and yesteryear is that modern communications – electronic and social media – makes us more aware of what takes place.

   At the same time society has become more cosmopolitan, better educated, more opinionated, and we too through social media have the ability to share our views with a wide audience.

   Immediately after the elections in Australia and Britain the politicians promised a more inclusive form of government. I seem to remember similar promises being made when National came to power in New Zealand.

   Will it happen? For an answer refer to a Tui billboard near you.

   

2. Fair Play or Out Of Bounds

   Published on Thursday, January 28th, 2010

   The ability of the media to ‘spark’ a controversy, and that of social media to ‘fuel it’ has rarely been better illustrated than the histrionics raging in Australian over the comments made by the new Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, when asked the question:  what advice would you give your daughters about sex before marriage.

   The question was posed by The Australian Women’s Weekly when doing a personality piece on Abbott. His response [not to give away their virginity lightly] is, I would have thought on face value, acceptable enough fatherly wisdom.

   However, when you are a politician, nothing is taken on face value.

   As would be anticipated, the reaction to his comments has been as diverse as ‘a brilliant answer’ to ‘yet another self-acknowledged one-time drug-taking, Vatican roulette-playing, shagabout, white, middle-aged male telling young women not to do what he did when he was their age’ (an Australian comedian).

   Now Abbott is an experienced politician, and his media minders are hardly likely to be lightweights, so it’s not unreasonable to assume he knew what sort of reaction he was likely to generate. The decision to answer the question the way he did had to be deliberate, and was designed to achieve a specific result.

   Post coverage analysis will tell him whether he obtained what he set out to achieve.

   By and large, New Zealand politicians have steadfastly refused to allow or inject their families into media coverage to raise their profile. In Australia, some at least are obviously not so reticent.

   I think the Kiwi approach is the wiser.

   What is of real interest to those of us who work in the media world is the power social media has to take the initial story, and fragment it into stories about politics, parenting, morality, religion, feminism, manipulation (of the media), hypocrisy and personal choice, to name a few.

   For those who have doubts about the power of social media, have a read.

   One only hopes that the media does not seek to prolong the controversy by asking Mrs Abbott and her three daughters as to their views on Mr Abbott’s musing. Enough is enough!