ABC is Political

[DocK]

+1.

Even one of the ABC hosts, Rodd Quinn, said about two months ago, in a candid moment "We all know you have to vote Labor to get a job with the ABC".

And to expect a fifty/fifty gender balance in parliament, simply because that's representative of the population overall, is unrealistic and simplistic. Given all the long hours and travel, time away from home and family, most women are not going to be attracted to politics as a career, especially when the job requires a thicker skin and a greater capacity to absorb pure nastiness than many women would want to cope with.

I do, however, admit to a bias in favour of the new government, a huge sense of relief that the Labor circus has gone, so am undoubtedly more prepared than those on the Left to give Tony Abbott's judgement a chance.

I can't recall any on this thread expressing an expectation to see a fifty/fifty gender balance, simply a desire to see more women in parliament. I believe a government should "represent" the people - and women make up 50% or more of the people. One of my earlier posts touched on some of the barriers to entering politics that you have repeated above - namely the travel, time away from family and the viciousness involved in politics, particularly in recent years. I, too, am biased favourably towards the present government. That doesn't stop me from hoping that some of the present barriers may prove to be less surmountable in the future, and that Abbott may do all in his power to encourage more active female participation in the field. Our society is making strides towards more equitable sharing of child-rearing and household duties, and an improvement in child-care facilities would certainly help in this regard. Why does nobody think twice about male politicians leaving their wives and children to fend for themselves for long periods to be perfectly normal, yet if a woman does likewise it's often viewed as aberrant behaviour? Are not men able to care for their children and homes just as well as women? In this day and age do we still cling to outdated views that only mothers are able to provide a nurturing environment for children and fathers exist purely to provide funding and the odd bit of discipline? Tony Abbott seems to be on the right course to deny the media the constant feeding frenzy they've become used to - let us hope our current politicians on all sides have learnt that the general population is tired of the nastiness and personal attacks.

My personal hope is for a greater balance. That doesn't necessarily mean a 50/50 split, but it also would be a far cry from the dearth of females we now have. Today's young women often have far thicker skins than their mothers' generation, and have been educated to believe they deserve the same opportunities in life as men. I'd like to see more of them enter, and thrive, in all the major political parties. I don't consider that hope to be at all unrealistic or simplistic, but it will take both time and a real willingness to foster equality from the coalition's current leadership.

 

[dutchie]

Are not men able to care for their children and homes just as well as women? In this day and age do we still cling to outdated views that only mothers are able to provide a nurturing environment for children and fathers exist purely to provide funding and the odd bit of discipline?

A bit off topic I know, but ask the Family Court that question.

 

[sails]

A bit off topic I know, but ask the Family Court that question.

Too true, Dutchie. It cost my son many thousands of dollars to spend regular time with his kids. Ended up costing him his job as well. It seems even good dads dedicated to their kids have costly court battles if the mother chooses to deny him his kids.

 

[IFocus]

The ABC is not nearly as biased as biased people think it is.

The ABC is a shocker for left wing bias Barry Cassidy should hang his head in shame

Kevin Rudd entrenched smart-alec politics right from the start. He and his minders set about trying to manage the 24-hour news cycle.

So much useless information was collected and disseminated. Interviews were arranged for the sake of it. Junior staff would arrive at work at 4.30am to prepare media breakdowns for the more senior staff who would be on deck by 6am.

Eventually trite political lines would be force fed to chosen senior ministers, and they in turn acted as spruikers, snake oil salesmen, for a government obsessed with spin.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-20/cassidy-abbott-wise-to-pull-back-but-not-too-far/4969208

 

[drsmith]

The ABC is a shocker for left wing bias Barry Cassidy should hang his head in shame

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-20/cassidy-abbott-wise-to-pull-back-but-not-too-far/4969208

Wasn't it Barrie Cassidy that ultimately lit the flame under Julia Gillard leadership on behalf of Kevin Rudd ?

Kevin Rudd though in the end was a loser and a loser is nobody's hero.

 

[IFocus]

Wasn't it Barrie Cassidy that ultimately lit the flame under Julia Gillard leadership on behalf of Kevin Rudd ?

Kevin Rudd though in the end was a loser and a loser is nobody's hero.

I don't believe so he just reported what he had heard no different than Laurie Oakes.

 

[drsmith]

I don't believe so he just reported what he had heard no different than Laurie Oakes.

I remember watching Insiders that morning. It was the big announcement from Barrie Cassidy from which Julia Gillard was dead PM walking.

 

[Julia]

I can't recall any on this thread expressing an expectation to see a fifty/fifty gender balance,

This is what I was responding to:

Preferring to see a gender representation that roughly reflect the population, which it would do naturally if MERIT was the only thing at play in an organisation

And you yourself seem to be saying something similar.

I believe a government should "represent" the people - and women make up 50% or more of the people.

Of course, in an ideal world I'd also like to see equal representation in the parliament. But if the experience and talent simply isn't there right now for the Coalition, I'm happy to give the nominated front bench a chance to show what they can do. At the same time, hopefully the less experienced but potentially capable women in the party will in a few years' time be ready for promotion.

One of my earlier posts touched on some of the barriers to entering politics that you have repeated above - namely the travel, time away from family and the viciousness involved in politics, particularly in recent years. I, too, am biased favourably towards the present government. That doesn't stop me from hoping that some of the present barriers may prove to be less surmountable in the future, and that Abbott may do all in his power to encourage more active female participation in the field.

Of course. But it's still up to women to put themselves forward if that's the career they want. Having had a job which involved a lot of time away from home and a lot of travel, I found it difficult enough without worrying about the home situation. I'd never have done it when my stepdaughters were young.

Our society is making strides towards more equitable sharing of child-rearing and household duties, and an improvement in child-care facilities would certainly help in this regard. Why does nobody think twice about male politicians leaving their wives and children to fend for themselves for long periods to be perfectly normal, yet if a woman does likewise it's often viewed as aberrant behaviour?

I don't think anyone is suggesting it's aberrant behaviour. But neither do I think you can entirely dismiss the fundamental strong nurturing instinct that often will mean a woman will choose a career path which doesn't take her away from her family for extended periods of time.

Are not men able to care for their children and homes just as well as women?

If they want to, yes, of course they are. The numbers of men actually doing this, however, across our society seem to indicate that they are still in a minority.

In this day and age do we still cling to outdated views that only mothers are able to provide a nurturing environment for children and fathers exist purely to provide funding and the odd bit of discipline?

I don't think so, by and large. But it still comes down to the individual woman's choice. I think women can do whatever they want to, and certainly they don't have to fight for recognition and equality nearly as hard these days as when I was 20 or even 30.

Now the pendulum sometimes seems to have swung far in the other direction with some women becoming so precious that they declare themselves insulted if a bloke holds a door open for them!

Tony Abbott seems to be on the right course to deny the media the constant feeding frenzy they've become used to - let us hope our current politicians on all sides have learnt that the general population is tired of the nastiness and personal attacks.

I won't be holding my breath in that regard, but fervently share your hope. A good deal of it is, in fact, media provoked, in order to give themselves something to talk and write about.

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

It will be interesting to see how the Prime Minister approaches any reform of the ABC.

It certainly needs a shakeup.

It excludes those in the Centre and on the Right, in it's programming and commentators.

The Left will be bereft, losing all that unearned media power, and I doubt if anyone in the ALP or LNP will be in mourning.

Perhaps the Greens might be upset, then again they are few and far between.

The ABC needs to represent all Australians from all regions, cultures and demographics, instead of the Left Elites in the cities.

gg

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

It will be interesting to see how the Prime Minister approaches any reform of the ABC.

It certainly needs a shakeup.

It excludes those in the Centre and on the Right, in it's programming and commentators.

The Left will be bereft, losing all that unearned media power, and I doubt if anyone in the ALP or LNP will be in mourning.

Perhaps the Greens might be upset, then again they are few and far between.

The ABC needs to represent all Australians from all regions, cultures and demographics, instead of the Left Elites in the cities.

gg

Should anyone be in any doubt about the above, I timed the content on Insiders this morning run by former Whitlam staffer Barrie Cassidy. Just a few days after the swearing in of a Coalition Government this was the content in minutes.

ALP 42 minutes
Coalition 7 minutes
Australia Future 3 minutes
Leftie Cartoon 3 minutes
Greens 0 minutes
Barrie getting lost or cutting off Piers Akerman 4 minutes

At least they got the Greens correct.

gg

 

[drsmith]

I timed the content on Insiders this morning run by former Whitlam staffer Barrie Cassidy.

ALP 42 minutes
Coalition 7 minutes

Obviously a good week for the Coalition.

 

[Logique]

Posted by: Julia

...Of course, in an ideal world I'd also like to see equal representation in the parliament. But if the experience and talent simply isn't there right now for the Coalition, I'm happy to give the nominated front bench a chance to show what they can do...

Here here!

These days, talented women have better opportunities than to be in politics. Political parties ought to be to be getting in early - capture the talented women before, or as, they head off to law, medicine, business, academia, teaching etc.

An example I often use, how good would Gail Kelly have been as a national leader - but why should she take a pay cut?

You don't get the best people via some arbitrary quota...ask any head hunter or HR manager. Look at what happened in the Gillard/Rudd government. Australians voted them out, resoundingly.

Although with Julia Gillard, I think it showed that she was thrust into the PM role too early in her career.

 

[drsmith]

David Suzuki is the lone panellist on tonight's Q&A.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/

A sample of what to expect,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-20/david-suzuki-questions-abbot-governments-stance/4970500

The ABC has obviously granted his wish on how he likes to conduct a debate as he outlined in the last minute of the video link above.

 

[Ijustnewit]

Why does the ABC now find it necessary to open up a "Have Your Say" comments page on every Coalition related story on their News website ? I can't remember this happening as frequently when Labor was in power and stuffing up on a daily basis. It is also not surprising the comments are nearly all anti Coalition and are all voted up. I like others have tried to "Have Your Say" but alas never seem to get past the editor...funny that.

 

[noco]

David Suzuki is the lone panellist on tonight's Q&A.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/

A sample of what to expect,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-20/david-suzuki-questions-abbot-governments-stance/4970500

The ABC has obviously granted his wish on how he likes to conduct a debate as he outlined in the last minute of the video link above.

I watched the David Suzuki show on qanda last night and I have not seen a man make such a fool of himself in answering question. It got to the point of total embarrasment whereby he often admiitted he did not know or admitted he may have made a mistake.

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/...te_know_nothing_by_very_first_question_on_qa/

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/...proves_hes_pig_ignorant_about_global_warming/

 

[MrBurns]

I watched the David Suzuki show on qanda last night and I have seen a man make such a fool of himself in answering question. It got to the point of total embarrasment whereby he often admiitted he did not know or admitted he may have made a mistake.

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/...proves_hes_pig_ignorant_about_global_warming/

Yes he seemed more like an observer than an expert"
He did light up when he bagged Abbott much to the delight of the audience.

 

[drsmith]

Yes he seemed more like an observer than an expert"

And one who is obviously not too keen on free speech, a point that was not lost on Greg Hunt in the Lateline interview that followed.

 

[Logique]

Miranda Devine neatly skewers an eco-poseur: http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/mirandadevine/

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/mirandadevine/
...DAVID Suzuki’s appearance on the ABC flagship program Q&A spelled the death of any credibility left in the fag end of the climate alarm movement.

The affable climate alarmist is described by his acolytes in the Australian media as “iconic scientist and thinker”. He is really the Canadian Tim Flannery, with an expertise in insects rather than mammals...

...He is an environmental extremist, a relic of the 1970s. He may not wear the bandana and John Lennon glasses of his youth but inside still beats the heart of an anti-capitalist hippy.

A piece of footage doing the rounds of social media this week shows a young Suzuki in 1972 sitting cross legged on the ground, describing humans as “maggots” that “defecate all over the environment”.

Almost half a century later, nothing much has changed...

 

[Ijustnewit]

Well they are at it again today , this time on University places . Christopher Pyne says he is not changing the election promise of not capping places . But the ABC continues to skewer the story and again opens up a comments page so the Leftist nutters can vent and call him a liar. The ABC is clearly out of control and determined to undermine the new Government a every chance.

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-25/pyne-education-university-fees-student-unions/4979282

 

[MrBurns]

Well they are at it again today , this time on University places . Christopher Pyne says he is not changing the election promise of not capping places . But the ABC continues to skewer the story and again opens up a comments page so the Leftist nutters can vent and call him a liar. The ABC is clearly out of control and determined to undermine the new Government a every chance.

www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-25/pyne-education-university-fees-student-unions/4979282

I saw that, I'm sick of it, I hope someone does something about these people and on public money too.