Saturday 21 March 2009

Now there are lies,

damned lies, statistics and 'research'.
The 'Tiser published a 'research' survey of 552 voters this morning and made firm pronouncements about the state of the two major parties. They may be right. They may also be wrong. 552 is not a lot of people in the overall election scene but the number was well hidden. The headline was large - the Opposition is, according to this research, going to lose the next election.
They may well lose the election - and some of the blame will have to lie with the media. The media manipulates, especially when one of their own has moved on to become Premier. He knows how the media works. He is always there for the good news. He allows his team to deliver bad news - but only when they cannot get away from it. He will deliver bad news only if he can blame it on something outside his control, preferably 'the previous government'. Accuracy does not matter. Much the same is occurring at Federal level. And yes, of course things like that happened with previous governments.
Things are a little different now however. The Premier of Queensland, with an enormous war chest behind her, was able to (ab)use the internetfor today's election there. The present Federal government had an enormous war chest too - much of it from the union movement.
All this allows the spread of other lies - the political promise sort and those about politicians themselves.
Lies about speeding and a desire to somehow wriggle out of a $77 fine and three demerit points have landed Marcus Einfeld inside for at least two years. The question going through everyone's mind must be why a former QC, Federal Court Judge and head of the Human Rights Commission did not simply pay the fine?

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