Remember a week or so ago when the Liberal Party was alleging that the ACTU was running an illegal political campaign? In what is surely going to come as a massive surprise to everyone, the Australian Electoral Commission has cleared the ACTU and the Labor Party of any wrongdoing.
Could it be that the government was just “playing politics” by referring the ACTU to the AEC?
Coming to an election campaign near you: If the ALP win, TeH EVIL unions will eat your firstborn (or something along those lines anyway).
Why am I not surprised this was released on Friday night in time for the weekend news death zone?
Actually the AEC released their report on Thursday, but was caught up in the Govt’s
Bash A BoongProtecting Children from Booze & PrtOn by sending in the SAS Announcement.You’re kidding. This is the first I’ve heard of it. Didn’t see any hard copies of the daily blatherings but don’t think anything was reported online.
Yep, the AEC Media Release is here.
Thanks Frank, I only noticed it through the Oz and then the ABC news site on Friday. I thought I’d mention it seeing as in all likelihood it won’t get mentioned again in the MSM.
Par for the course.
The act of publicly referring a complaint to the AEC is mostly designed to garner media space and implant the idea of possible illegality. A compliant and lazy media does its bit by splashing the alleged offence all over the airwaves and newsprint, announcing ominously that an “investigation” is underway. But when the AEC finally decides that there is no illegality, no-one is listening any more.
The damage to public perceptions has been done, and that’s the point.
During the six weeks or so of the real election campaign both major parties lodge hundreds of these complaints against each other with the AEC, most of them frivolous or just plain ridiculous, apparently in the hope that one of them might stick. But each party has its own trained electoral lawyers so they know in advance the likely answer will be “bugger off”.
Its become a formalised dance macabre, and the time-wasting and huge expense to the AEC of dealing with this cumbersome scattershot complaints system is nothing short of disgraceful.
But hey, that’s democracy.
It was in the AFR Friday, in a smallish story that noted the AEC again cleared Howard’s Kirribilli shenanigans as not being a ‘gift’ to the Libs.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) fully admits it is trying to persuade migrant workers to become citizens so that they can vote.
Geez, Shrek is against people enrolling to vote to exercise their right to vote.
I noticed that too, Frank. Encouraging citizenship is a dirty trick now?
For the life of me I cannot understand why the Libs think a union scare campaign will be a winner. As much as I loathe the phrase, let’s unpack this.
1. The only bad things I know about trade-unions are from history or just general knowledge. I know that in the 1970s, during the stagflation of the crisis of Late Capitalism (see, I can do proper Leftist!), trade-unions were very active in Australia and the UK. Lots of strikes, no electricity, etc.
Margaret Thatcher went to war with them very bitterly and won. The miner’s strike will probably go down in history as the Socialism’s last hoo-roo in the West.
Bob Hawke neutered them with his charm (and his CIA connections if you believe John Pilger).
So that basically puts the close date on evil trader unions at 1985 at the latest.
1. For people under the age of 35, none of this history would resonate, except perhaps through family lore;
2. Since 1985, the number of immigrants has been huge, so they would have no clue.
3. This leaves only people aged 35-65 (or so) who were either born in Australia or moved here over 25 years ago. I suppose that might be a much greater % than I originally thought, but are they really scared after all these years?
I think the Libs are dreamin’
People are happy to diminish the serious and important decision to become a citizen to just another way to obtain votes for the ALP, are they? It’s about as cynical as it gets.
I wonder what the reaction would be if the Howard government went around canvassing migrants, pushing them to get citizenship and vote for the Coalition? What if the line were: ‘you know, the new WorkChoices laws are job creating and increase job security for low-skilled workers, so get citizenship and then vote for us, will you.’?
BBB
Not really. The CFMEU’s had members who are permanent residents complaining about the new laws along with everyone else. All it’s saying is if you want to get rid of ‘em become a citizen and exercise your right to vote.
The problem is?
Wow, I agree with John. Well said. I gather that the Liberal pollster Mark Textor came to the same conclusions as well, that is, the younger folk out there don’t see unions as being some great boogey man.
What John said. And given the way Crodent and The Coonan have taken a baseball bat to any understanding of broadband this week, I’d say they’ve given up on anyone under 40.
I think it is time the Union movement attempted a membership drive with a few TV ads. Which reminds me I should rejoin after changing professions.