Who Let the Flogs Out?

New Islander Old Propaganda

New Islander is a glossy new publication that is available around Tasmania.

Have a read of the headline stories – see the image above – and you’ll never guess who’s backing it.

Oh hang on, you probably can guess.

Oh, and it contains a full page ad for Huawei, the Chinese company that the US government accused last year of spying on people by exploiting telecoms ‘back doors’ intended for use by law enforcement. Wikipedia also notes that “Huawei has faced difficulties in some markets, due to claims of undue state support (and) links to the People’s Liberation Army…”

One of our readers found the magazine lying around a cafe in Hobart and decided to share this with us.

We’d certainly like to know more about it? Have you seen it around? Seen who is distributing it? Please let us know if you have any information.

There’s also the very significant question is what in Tasmania is worth so much to China that they feel the need to invest in this kind of cultural propaganda?

Whose job was it?

We know the incompetence of Federal Liberal Minister Stuart Robert is legendary, but here’s a local angle.

Last month there were jobs fairs around Tasmania. We were told via media release:

“A jobs fair showcasing employment opportunities in and around Hobart will be held on Tuesday 13 April 2021 at Princes Wharf No.1. The Morrison Government’s Hobart Jobs Fair will bring together job seekers and local businesses from across southern Tasmania.”

We’re pretty sure this was an Australian Government event, paid for by Australian Government money, so you can put that ‘Morrison Government’ tosh away please.

But the thing was, this media release was sent out – jointly in the names of Robert, Luke Howarth and Tasmanian Liberal Senator Jonathan Duniam – on the day of the event itself. Not much opportunity for the media to actually promote the event, for which prior registration was necessary.

This kind of media manipulation is simply done so that anyone considering any kind of protest action doesn’t have much of a chance to get organised. When you consider that Tasmanian senators hardly ever appear at public events here, where people might actually ask them what they have been doing, it is important that any appearances are carefully stage managed.

From Senator Duniam’s Facebook page:

“It was great to join (Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services) Luke Howarth at the Hobart Jobs Fair yesterday, where more than 400 job opportunities were on offer.”

So there you have it. The media can feed off crumbs, the only important thing being that the Senator and the Ministers get their nice taxpayer-funded photo opportunity.

Davonport

We don’t know where this is, but it might be close to Devonport. It’s certainly not in the electorate of Hobart. What?

Labor MHR for Franklin was on the ball when she spotted Stuart Robert, yes him again, waffling about things he clearly knows little about.

Whose vaccines?

As of today, World Health Organisation data shows that there are 60 countries that have vaccinated more of their population than the worldwide average. Not a bad benchmark. Australia is not among those countries. In fact it’s very difficult to get data about how many people have been fully vaccinated. We have a good idea of the number of doses administered, but not fully vaccinated.

Nevertheless Jonathan Duniam, yes him again, wants to take credit for providing the vaccines that most people still can’t get, as part of a vaccination that is a shambles by world standards.

Brave, Jonno.

Family political planning

Family Planning Tasmania sent out a media release on 15 Tasmania that contained the following wording:

Cedric Manen, CEO of Family Planning Tasmania, said the commitment from a re-elected Liberal Government announced by the Health Minister will expand the range of health options for women in Tasmania and reduce some strains on the public health system.

… This shows the Health Minister is truly committed to Tasmanian women.”

When we asked for their comments on Labor, Green and any other health policies put forward in the campaign, we received no reply.

We at TT think that as a key organisation in this health sector, it is their responsibility to help their clients and the wider community understand all policies on the table, not just those of one party.

They failed.

Let’s Change the Past!

The Australian Christian Lobby’s strange and feeble entry into the Tasmanian state election campaign came via a Tasmania Votes website.

The one page site, authorised by FC Brohier, goes through the five electorates one by one. In each case, they suggest how to vote mainly based on the candidates’ and parties’ responses to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill which went passed parliament earlier this year.

Sample:

Given that ‘assisted suicide’ – as they term it, in other words voluntary assisted dying – is going to become law, why campaign on it now?

There’s also a weird lauding of Madeleine Ogilive:

“Madeleine Ogilvie – while she voted for the Bill in the end, by then the die was cast. It was going to pass. Importantly, in the committee stages when changes could have been made, she voted in favour of key amendments which would have improved this terrible Bill.”

How do they know that other MPs didn’t vote for the Bill because ‘it was going to pass’?

As usual, the ACL don’t assess the candidates on more broad understandings of Christianity like social justice, just on one of their narrow pet peeves.

George Floyd

We now know of the tragic death of George Floyd, and the eventual conviction of a police officer for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

It’s worth looking back at what the Minneapolis Police Department said at the time. This is the statement they put out on the day of his death.

‘Dies after medical incident during police interaction’.

No. That’s not how it went down. We join many people in being thankful that justice was done.

But trust in various police departments across the USA and beyond is not going to improve much unless they start to be more honest and accurate with their communications. And stop killing people.

Ben Brown

Tasmanian Australian rules football icon Ben Brown returns to play in Hobart today, although this time he’ll be wearing a Melbourne jumper and not a North Melbourne one.

When the transfer was announced last year, there was a bit of angst from some Shinboners that one of their favourites was on his way out of the door. This punter on Twitter was right on the money:

How bad can it get?

No matter how badly your day is going, spare a thought for this poor illustrator.

Oh boy, we have questions.

This is an TT occasional column calling out public relations spin, egregious stunts and media manipulation. The ‘news’ doesn’t just magically come into being, it is created. We want to lift the lid on some of the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes. Tips are welcome! Send your information in to submit@tasmaniantimes.com.