‘Trust me’propaganda

Joan Dehle-Emberg

OLD Uncle Bob once told me ‘don’t trust a man who says trust me’. A few slips in 68 years of life’s experience have certainly taught me Uncle Bob was right. I’ve learned the hard way that those fatal words are a crude form of propaganda, a device by any medium to present ‘facts’ with the intention of furthering one’s cause and to discredit opponents (‘Webster’s Third International Dictionary’).

John Gay’s latest ‘trust me’ propaganda is appropriately titled The Facts, facts carefully chosen to further his own cause and to discredit those who are fighting it. John Gay wants his mill and he is determined to get his mill by whatever means it takes.

John Gay’s trust-me propaganda begins on the front cover. He says ‘the Bell Bay Mill provides an unprecedented opportunity to grow the Tasmanian economy in a sustainable way, to benefit all Tasmanians’. First, John Gay’s use of the present tense assumes the mill is already a fact, which it is not. Second, John Gay claims that the mill will benefit all Tasmanians, ignoring the effects on the health and welfare of the people of the Tamar Valley. In disregarding the warnings of the AMA John Gay shows contempt for the opinions of medical experts in the field of respiratory disease. Third, John Gay makes no reference to the opinions of reputable economists that the mill will have detrimental consequences on the tourist industry.

John Gay’s trust-me propaganda appears on page 3. He says ‘the majority of the wood requirement for the mill is transported to bell Bay already’. First, John Gay does not say whether the ‘majority of the requirement’ is 51% or 99% or somewhere in between. Second, John Gay says ‘Gunns’ preferred transport strategy is to utilise rail, particularly for any additional resource originating from outside the North-East region’. By omission he seems to think that the North-East is of little importance and ignores the added pressure on dangerous roads which are already over-utilised. Third, John Gay says ‘85 per cent of the pulp mill wood requirement will come from this region (the North-East)’. He does not say where the remaining 25 per cent will come from and by omission shows disdain for the fact that native forests in the North-East are already heavily devastated.

John Gay’s trust-me propaganda continues on page 7. He says ‘Gunns engaged one of Australia’s leading experts in meteorology and air quality’ (Mr Ormerod of Pacific Air and Environment). First, John Gay does not give Mr Ormerod’s credentials. Second, John Gay does not explain why Mr Ormerod was chosen or who made the choice. Third, John Gay does not give a reason why only one ‘of Australia’s leading experts’ was engaged.

John Gay’s trust-me propaganda repeats itself on page 7. He says ‘emissions of particulate matter (PM10) are expected to have an insignificant impact on Launceston’. First, John Gay’s word ‘expected’ infers lack of confidence in his own claim. Second, John Gay’s word ‘insignificant’ obfuscates what is ‘significant’. Third, John Gay goes on to say ‘any exceeding of the … national guidelines in Launceston will be due to existing local sources rather than any influence of the mill’. By ignoring the frequent atmospheric inversions of the valley (a climactic factor over which there is no control) he avoids responsibility and shifts blame from himself to geographical factors and local residents.

John Gay chooses facts to further his own cause. John Gay chooses his own experts to further his mill. John Gay ignores other qualified experts to discredit his opponents. By Webster’s definition, John Gay’s The Facts is a crude piece of trust-me propaganda.

Old Uncle Bob was more than just old … Old Uncle Bob was wise.

Don’t trust ‘trust me’!