02-04-2014 12:29 PM - edited 02-04-2014 12:30 PM
Posted by: Tom Elliott | 1 April, 2014 - 4:15 PM
Last night I watched Q&A on the ABC.
I haven’t watched Q&A as much as I used to because it’s become a bit predictable, a bit boring and displays the same typical bias week-in week-out, but last night I did watch it and it made me bloody angry.
Last night it was all about human rights, so rather than get four or five Australians who might know something about human rights, Q&A got four people from overseas and one Australian.
The one Australian was Tim Wilson, our newly appointed Human Rights Commissioner.
But the other people on the program were Egyptian author Mona Eltahawy; Somali peace and human rights activist Ilwad Elman; ethics columnist with The Observer in the UK Lucy Siegle; and international director of Human Rights Watch in New York, Kenneth Roth.
That in itself isn’t bad, I think it’s great they’re getting good international guests on these sorts of programs. But then for the next hour, whenever they mentioned Australia it was always in the negative.
Honestly, if you knew nothing about Australia, if you didn’t live here or you had never encountered it before, by the end of that program I reckon you would have decided that Australia was pretty much on a par with Burma or North Korea in terms of what it was like.
- According to the various four foreigners, we are elitist because we have imperial honours that have recently been reintroduced: Yes but all honours are elitist – there is nothing wrong with that. You don’t just reward everybody, you reward the people who do a good job but ‘oh no, that sounds terrible!’
- We are all bigots because we’re having a debate about free speech: Notwithstanding the fact that in the US free speech is a constitutional right. The lone American on the panel decided there was something wrong with us because we contemplated having a debate about a particular issue.
- Apparently we’re all soon to be guilty of hate speak: Speaking out about groups that we don’t like and thereby vilifying them and making them feel bad about themselves.
- And again, when the subject of asylum seekers came up, as it does every week on this program, apparently we are a nation of human rights abusers.
Now, Tim Wilson did a reasonable job trying to stand up for Australia. But he should have done more.
LISTEN: Tim Wilson discusses his appearance on Q&A last night, says he won't be invited back anytime soon http://www.3aw.com.au/displayPopUpPlayerAction.action?&url=http://media.mytalk.com.au/3AW/AUDIO/wils...
The point is this: Australia is not such a terrible place. It is one of the best countries on earth, it really is. And I’m not just saying that as an Australian; I’m saying that because I’ve travelled to lots of places and I can tell you, you don’t have to go very far around the world to realise that we have a very good system.
We also have a very good lifestyle here; it’s a country that accepts people of all faiths and nationalities and by-and-large they get along pretty well, but you wouldn’t know it if you watched Q&A.
I think the ABC needs to have a look at itself about these sorts of things.
Simply slagging off Australia week-in week-out might appeal to a certain audience that thinks that there’s something terrible about being here and ‘we must write outraged columns about it in newspapers like The Age’, but have a look around the world.
You’d soon realise that we are not a country that massively abuses human rights; we’re not a country where people routinely engage in hate speak.
Judging by all the migrants who have made successes of themselves over here, we are not a nation of bigots otherwise why would so many people want to come here?
If you listened to the audience and more importantly, if you listened to the panellists on Q&A last night, you would think Australia was one of the most appalling places.
I think Q&A is full of bias; I think the ABC has an internal hatred of Australia and I think it was on display last night.
And just the question that these people from overseas do not seem to bother asking themselves is ‘why are people queuing up to get here if this is such a terrible place?’
Solved! Go to Solution.
02-04-2014 05:31 PM - edited 02-04-2014 05:35 PM
reply to nero:
agreed
this is why I cannot watch this Q & A BS programme they
"STACK THE PANEL" AND the audience!
STACK
STACK
e - v - e - r - y
s i n g l e
episode.
it
is
so
wretchedly
annoying,
unintelligent
and
biased..........................zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....
02-04-2014 05:47 PM - edited 02-04-2014 05:48 PM
@paintsew007 wrote:reply to nero:
agreed
this is why I cannot watch this Q & A BS programme they
"STACK THE PANEL" AND the audience!
STACK
STACK
e - v - e - r - y
s i n g l e
episode.
it
is
so
wretchedly
annoying,
unintelligent
and
biased..........................zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....
If you cannot watch it, how can you possibly know any of your above comments are true. Or do you rely unquestioningly - and selectively - on other people's opinions?
on 02-04-2014 06:01 PM
on 02-04-2014 06:02 PM
@boris1gary wrote:
@silverfaun wrote:The closed shop and groupthink is so blatant it beggars belief.
The racial vilification is rife and applauded. Turnbull has to do something, that's what he gets paid for, not slyly ridiculing people he thinks are beneath him.
"The closed shop and groupthink is so blatant it beggars belief" - and that means??????? Are you talking about the govt and its supporters treatment of asylum seekers?
"The racial vilification is rife and applauded" - this isn't the Bolt thread, is it?
Are you just verballing what you wish I said??
on 02-04-2014 06:03 PM
Q & A..high maintenance and low intelligence....lol
One day the ABC will be gutted.
on 02-04-2014 06:07 PM
If telling the truth about other people really matters.. I would expect some to actually support the statements they make against others .
or is it do as I say not as I do ?
on
02-04-2014
06:09 PM
- last edited on
02-04-2014
07:06 PM
by
underbat
to sheheffalump:
paintsew007 wrote:
reply to nero:
agreed
this is why I cannot watch this Q & A BS programme they
"STACK THE PANEL" AND the audience!
STACK
STACK
e - v - e - r - y
s i n g l e
episode.
it
is
so
wretchedly
annoying,
unintelligent
and
biased..........................zzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....
If you cannot watch it, how can you possibly know any of your above comments are true. Or do you rely unquestioningly - and selectively - on other people's opinions?
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Don't like your sanguine tone sheheffa but will respond ignoring your 'tone'.
I have tried on MANY occasions, for only minutes to watch this tragic, stacked,studio affair.....fronting as a Question and Answer Forum.......
So no, this is my own opinion.
on 02-04-2014 07:04 PM
I too have only ever watched it occasionally, so I do not consider myself qualified to comment on its content (and therefore don't presume to do so.)
Did you by any chance watch Media Watch on Monday Night - if you had you would have seen Paul Barryroundly criticise an ABC journalist for waxing indignant when John Pilgertook her to task for attempting to have a 'discussion' with him over his film Utopia, without having actually watched it. I absolutely agreed with him.
on 02-04-2014 07:06 PM
@silverfaun wrote:Q & A..high maintenance and low intelligence....lol
One day the ABC will be gutted.
What exactly do you mean by 'high maintainance - I would have thought a panel discussion, conducted in a studio owned by the ABC would be relativly cheap to put to air.
on 02-04-2014 07:25 PM