Update:
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has announced her party would abolish Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country practices at public schools.
It should be outlawed everywhere. Permanently
Augusto Zimmermann:
Rita Panahi: The Leftist media has abandoned even the pretence of impartiality when it comes to Pauline Hanson and One Nation
Of course the very people who have no respect for the concept of “free speech” will pretend this is a free-speech issue when it is simply an access issue.
One of the admirable things about Pauline Hanson is her refusal to bend the knee to the media class.
While Coalition MPs try desperately to appease activist journalists who loathe them, Hanson treats them with equal disdain.
That was clear when she addressed the National Press Club in June and vowed to axe taxpayer-funded SBS and turn the taxpayer-funded ABC – which she slammed for its “profoundly transparent political bias”– into a subscription service.
She also took aim at the far Left Guardian website.
On Monday in Melbourne, she denied entry to the ABC, The Age and The Guardian from a press conference where Warren Pickering was named Victorian leader, along with six candidates contesting Victoria’s upper house regions in the November election.
If you want to understand why she has disdain for the media then take note of the coverage she has received over the past 30 years.
For decades the Leftist media, not limited to the above outlets, has abandoned even the pretence of impartiality when it comes to Hanson and One Nation.
Of course the very people who have no respect for the concept of “free speech” will pretend this is a free-speech issue when it is simply an access issue.
We’re full: immigration must be cut
Mark Latham is right – immigration must be cut.
The Big Australia mentality that sustains the nation’s 200,000-plus annual immigration program is the ultimate act of selfishness.
The business lobbyists, economists and MPs pushing for big migration numbers do so safe in the knowledge that overcrowding and congestion will never affect the gentrified, inner-city boroughs in which they live.
They use immigration as a giant Ponzi scheme: artificially pumping up economic growth at a cost to urban efficiency, housing affordability and wages growth.
It is a lazy way to generate national growth, and actually does little to raise growth per head of population. Meanwhile we pay in declining social amenity.
Japan, on the other hand, would rather stay Japan than import lots of people just for the economic stimulus. They seem to be happy with the results, not least the social cohesion.
Continued:
These outlets will continue to report on Hanson, will continue to question her and One Nation’s candidates, and will continue to report in a universally negative fashion about the party and its policies.
“ABC were denied entry, and The Guardian,” Senator Hanson said.
“I am not putting up with their rubbish, I’m not putting up with their spin, their lies, whatsoever.
“I want truth and honesty. You get it from me, I expect it back from the media.”
Opinion belongs in the opinion pages and programs; not masquerading as news by activists pretending to be impartial purveyors of truth.
Colleen Harkin, who has been labelled One Nation’s “trophy candidate”, has called for media outlets to stop promoting a narrow ideological agenda.
“The ABC is funded by the public, and with that comes an obligation to respect the public it serves, not to show contempt for those who disagree,” she told me.
“This is not about silencing debate.
“It is about demanding accountability, balance, fairness and respect for all Australians.”