The no doubt over-hyped “town hall meeting” at the Broncos Leagues Club at 6pm, featuring Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and 200 “swinging voters” picked by Galaxy will be televised live by ABC News 24 this time; and the online stream can be viewed here.
I think there’s little value in a format where the leaders don’t get to actively challenge each other. I also think there’s probably little likely to be of interest – now that both leaders are pretty practiced in dealing with either softball or hardball questions (and let’s hope there’s nothing like what Mr Rabbit got on Q&A the other night – which was something along the lines of “Mr Abbott, please comment on how teh evil socialist Labor gubbermint has wrecked the country”…)
Still, it’s happening, surreal or populated by “real Australians”, whoever they are.
Just a footnote – those who want to claim this sort of thing replicates the open election campaigns of yore have short memories, or are ignorant of history. “Town hall meetings” are derived from a tradition of direct democracy in small New England towns in America. Australian election meetings tended to be partisan events, enlivened by heckling from other partisans, not question and answer sessions (which are also not what town hall meetings were, but there you have it).
The implication being spread around that this form of campaigning is somehow a form of direct democracy and “authentic” is rubbish.
Update: For those wanting to follow the Twitter chat, the hashtag is apparently #rootyq. Though those who actually live in Brisbane, or know anything about it, would realise that the suburb the forum is taking place in – Red Hill – is a very different kettle of fish from Rooty Hill. Think fifteen minutes walk from the city, stunning views, beautiful old gentrified houses, adjacent to the fashionista/cafe strip in Paddington. The Broncos Leagues Club is getting out towards Ashgrove, but it’s still leafy-ville, not the outer burbs.
Update: For those wanting to follow the Twitter chat, the hashtag is apparently #rootyq. Though those who actually live in Brisbane, or know anything about it, would realise that the suburb the forum is taking place in – Red Hill – is a very different kettle of fish from Rooty Hill. Think fifteen minutes walk from the city, stunning views, beautiful old gentrified houses, adjacent to the fashionista/cafe strip in Paddington. The Broncos Leagues Club is getting out towards Ashgrove, but it’s still leafy-ville, not the outer burbs.
Abbott’s just turned up and is walking around the audience shaking people’s hands.
“They love me, they really do love me”
I feel sick.
Would it be too much to expect a virtual town hall meeting online? Questions could be sent by IM and real time responses given via webcam. If done properly, it would be very hard to rig participation, and the inevitable inclusion of some crazy people would give nice insights into the leaders’ characters.
Someone should ask TONY what is the connection between one Tony Howarth AWB board member Wesfarmers board member(no groceries price rise?)also has Rio Tinto connection perth based as is WHK Howarth the Libs costings people wherever there is smoke?????? Lots of info re Tony Howarth online
Total non-answer to question on Peak Oil. Just equivocation about “finite resourses not being that finite”. Looks like there was disgust on the questioner’s face; there certainly was disgust on mine.
I had more important things to do afterwards than watch TA in action. I knew how I was going to vote, and it wasn’t for him.
Astonishing line from Tony: “”Fibre-to-the-home is great, but what about all the people who don’t want to use their computer at home? I don’t want to chain them to the wall.”*
(*Typing from memory, but very close).
My god. Am I watching Yes Minister or real television?
I recommend that anyone interested in the outcome to this election tune into ABC24 from 7:30pm. I think TA performed well enough from 6pm to put the pressure onto JG. Let’s see how well she really works under pressure.
Does anyone know how many people are meant to be watching this? I would guess that the TV audience is heavily slanted towards Labor/Green voters because:
1. ABC listeners tend to the left;
2. Labor/Green voters tend to be politics tragics; and
3. ABC24 is not generally available in the country.
Info Tony Howarth try these Google Howarth bhp billiton,howarth Rio Tinto, Howarth commiteefor perth,howarth viburnum,howarth mermaidmarine,howarth wabusinesnews (extensive), numerous others.inc FMW
@PeterTB, it’s on Sky as well, isn’t it? How does that change your perceived audience composition?
Brian62 @4 @11
Why not just spell out your conspiracy theory for us? Surely you are not afraid of the legal implications?
tigtog: Hard for me to judge, Sky has almost not presence here in Canberra – does it anywhere else?
Fun fact: In NZ major sporting events like Rugby tests and RL games involving even the Warriors are not available live on free to air. Sky has managed to securte those broadcast rights.
Who do we have to thank for our enlightened free to air sport arrangements? (I’m guessing Bob Hawke but I’m too lazy to check).
Julia’s coming on – gotta go……..
I asked the ? your welcome to finding the answers
Gillard still full steam ahead on mandatory internet filter, what a surprise. At least she dropped some of the charade and admitted it’s really about trying to ban pornography (and not child porn which is already illegal) with her “we want to bring the internet into line with what you are able to view at cinemas” statement.
I still don’t know when she last spoke to Kevin. Looked evasive at the end.
Is that important?
no but it does emphasise how unwilling she is to speak to him and how much bad blood exists and how unwilling she is to actually say a straight answer.
does this matter ? I simply don’t know.
Is that important?
No, it’s not. So why didn’t she just say “‘chusday” or whatever the correct answer is? Instead we were led on a meander all around the question.
Sometimes a simple answer is all that is required. As I said – looked evasive at the end.
My wife & I were really impressed with Julia Gillard tonight. She was confident, relaxed, highly articulate and really reached out to the people of Brisbane in the audience at the Bronco’s Club.
She looked like a PM on her way to a 2nd term. I think many in the audience warmed to her, plenty of pics with Julia requested…and apparently she won the strawpoll vote. Quite impressive considering the bluntness and oft interrogating nature of some of the questions she received.
Tho, she did not get the vote of the commentators & hosts on ABC 24 who acted like they were on another planet. They seem to think it was “a draw”. As did some on SKY. All I can say is, thank gawd that lot aren’t judging student’s speeches in schools. I think they need to keep to their day job.
Tony Abbott got some of his points across…but generally came across as flat. He didn’t pull it out when he needed to…a mediocre performance I thought considering the many “underarm lobbed” questions.
More at the Cafe:
Gillard Nailed It…Hits It For Six (People’s Forum in The Murdochracy)
http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/gillard-nailed-it-hits-it-for-six-peoples-forum-in-the-murdochracy/
N’
Anyone got an idea behind what this ‘continuous campaign’that the meeja is talking about regarding rabbott campaign?
Another cheap trick from a one trick pony?
@6
Tony’s grasp of the technology explains their broadband policy.
I think after tonights reportage on The Australian’s Broadcasting Network I am part way into Ken and Adrian’s camp on the ABC.
I’m not for flogging off the whole thing, but I think they should get out of local news and current affairs. I see only negative public utility in laundering the views of the Murdochracy as journalism. If Murdoch really needs another outlet, let him fund it out of his own skyrocket.
Tonight, I sat through the coverage and when they’d finished they had Burchill and some other toad on who contibuted exactly nothiung to analysis that someone unfamiliar with the Oz couldn’t have worked out themself. They were then followed by Annabel Crabbe who looked like the Cheshire Cat but was really the village idiot and had even less to say than the toads in the studio. Cue Chris Uhlmann who came on to give Scott Morrison first go at determining what it was all about.
Time to lance this boil and drain it into something suitably secure from humanity, or failing that, into one of Murdoch’s pus buckets.
Instead, we ought to have a National Public News Network, funded by the parliament, perhaps under the leadership of the Speaker and administered perhaps by a committee of persons drawn from the various Schools of Communication in our major universities. Let nobody who has worked as a journalist for the ABC or the Murdochracy in the last five years be employed as frontline staff. That’s what I’d do.
If he’d wanted right wingers, Abbott should really have gone to Ipswich or the Gold Coast. Not to a Leagues club in a seat that’s had the same Labor member since 1980.
Sorry guys I often look at this site to see what the supposed intellectual left are thinking because I think Mark is a real talent (because of his Drum columns). Does it not get a bit boring just rabbiting on how bad Abbott is and how good whoever is leading Labor is no matter what they say or do. There does not seem to be much intelligent analysis on this site at all apart from Mark and Kim who seem to be somewhat considered.
You cannot win an argument unless you see the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. Pure partisan bias and invective is just “bullshit” and convinces nobody.
It seems the Gillard won 83 to 75 of those who voted on the way out.
Reading through the comments, it’s clear that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder.
I think it means that no-one lost.
Tony has mastered the Whisper Campaign as spelt out by the political Blitzman.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
Joseph Goebbels
Anothter underwhelming performance from Abbott and Gillard, IMHO.
Now, I know they’ve got to pitch to the lowest common denominator, but do we really have to swallow this guff?
I suppose that with most of the marginals being located in Bogansville, most of the answers provided have to be aimed at the sensibilities of the good people li inving such places, with all the mind-numbing banality, waffle and repetition that that sort of thing usually involves.
The most impressive performance I’ve seen all week was Bob Brown at the National Press Club. And me a Labor voter too, not some lentil-munching long hair sweating over my thesis.
At least he answered the questions put to him. And didn’t shy away from dishing it-up to a couple of Murdoch lackeys, either .
Next time fellas, how about ditching the town hall shindig and duking it-out in the Press Club? If you can stomp a couple of Murdock propagandists in the process, so much the better.
Fixed that for you.
So Gillard won. You bleww it, Mr, Rabbit. (A bit of anti-coalition invective. Its an election campaign, FFS.)
Fran@21
I had the same frustration at ABC’s post event coverage. David Burchell from UNSW seemed reasonable enough but the other PR guy is plainly a Liberal. Then Scott Morrison got air time. Where is the balance?
Both Gillard and Abbott are terrible public speakers I have to say. While Gillard is sharp and fluent, her monotone delivery is a big negative. Abbott’s non-stop “hmm–ahha” just drives me nuts. Kevin Rudd was good at informal occasions like press conferences but terrible at formal speeches.
I am disappointed at JG’s answer on gay marriage. She essentially said this is Labor Party’s policy and that’s it. No explanation. No personal beliefs. a pity no one asked her why not have a conscience vote?
If Turnbull is still around I will probably vote Green then Liberal.
Simon@23
I do see the weaknesses of both sides. I spend almost no time praising the ALP, as there is almost nothing to praise them for that a Liberal ought not to endorse, were she or he honest.
And for the record, I do like Abbott’s idea of dropping funding to CC&S, so I’ll give him that. I’m against clean feed. But it is not enough, in the grand scheme of things, when you are beating up asylum seekers to get votes, surrendering to the rule of mining thugs, opposing gay marriage, occupying Afghanistan, and doing nothing of substance on climate change.
“The most impressive performance I’ve seen all week was Bob Brown at the National Press Club. And me a Labor voter too, not some lentil-munching long hair sweating over my thesis.”
I agree, but according to Peter Hartcher in the SMH, the Greens are tomatoes not watermelons or something, because they’re red right through! Oh my god, those are damn scary tomatoes.
This example of searing analysis is followed by a Devine anti-green rant.
Fran @ 21. Yes, what is the point of most of the ABC?
We had some guy from Media Monitors telling us that their extensive survey of the press during this election revealed no discernable bias.
I guess we are all imagining it then.
well Adrian, most iof the ABC as nothing to do with local news and current affairs, so I do see a point to it. It would be terrible to cast all that aside.
Right now however, news and current affairs contaminates the rest. It should go.
One other thing too …
In his interview with Uhlmann, Morrison claimed that Gillard was ‘attacking Abbott in every answer’. Now this claim jarred, so I went back through the answers to the 24 questions and this will surprise LPs — Abbott or the Coalition got mentioned in four separate answers (and One of the mentions of the coalition was in response to Rudd’s desire that workchoices not be brought back and that his reforms would endure, so it was not gratuitous) The rest were pretty much stock answers on the good things the ALP would do for families, people with disabilities, the usefulness of the NBN, their position on gay marriage and their legal reforms, etc …
Of course, in his commentary on the community forum, Morrison did not see it as ironic that his evaluation was that Julia Gillard was bad for attacking the opposition and for backstabbing Kevin Rudd. Uhlmann missed both the irony and the fact that Morrison was wrong.
I might have had my desire for a whimsical gaffe out of Julia satisfied with her comment on hating Collingwood, but it hasn’t received a lot of coverage. Interestingly, Julie Bishop has bitten on the hook saying: “I have no principles: I’m for Collingwood”. We knew that after she did that silly staring competition on The Chaser.