Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"I think the public's got a sense that it's a bit artificial. I think in modern politics we've got too much reliance on polling, spin doctors, professionals telling people what to say, and not enough straight talking and straight shooting... My opposite number, Peter Costello, the other day said that in politics you shouldn't reflect too much because you might say what you think. But from my point of view, I think it's part of the problem. From my point of view, why be in politics, why spend all that time — and a lot of it away from family — unless you're going to say what you think?" Mark Latham to Andrew Denton, July 28, 2003

As Webdiarists know, I've always liked Mark, and I've always liked the fact that he was a thinker, a dreamer. I still do. I know he's blokey and that he's dished it out a lot over the years yet is super-sensitive to criticism himself, but he's REAL. I don't like some of the things he's said in his book about others, and one day I think he'll regret saying some of those things. But as he so rightly pointed out tonight, at least he's had the guts to put his name to what he says.

STOP PRESS AGAIN: Craig Rowley reports: "News just to air on ABC. NSW Supreme Court lifts injunction on Lateline interview going ahead." (The Enough Rope one ran in place of Lateline)

STOP PRESS: Interview pulled at last minute for legal reasons after Murdoch injunction, ABC reverts to normal programming.

Urgent and interesting news. The Andrew Denton Enough Rope interview with Mark Latham has been brought forward to 8.30 pm tonight Thursday 15 September.

Why is this? Margo suggests this is because "the Murdoch papers broke their contract with MUP re when they'd run extracts. Supposed to be Monday morning, I think - Crikey stories today will confirm."

It is breaking news on the Enough Rope website.

Webdiarists. Watch the interview. Write a < 500 word review on Latham's interview. Or make a comment. Tell us what you think the future holds for Labor and the Labor leadership. The mike is open. More information and links will be published during the evening.

"The debauched process used to railroad this legislation through the Senate - from when the five Bills were first made public last week (3 of them on Wednesday 7th Sept and 2 of them on Thursday 8th), to when they were forced to a final vote on Wednesday 14th  - signals a major step towards gutting the role of the Senate as a serious House for reviewing legislation and scrutinising the actions and decisions of Government, and going down the path of becoming just a mindless and arrogant giant rubber stamp for the Government, as the House of Representatives has long been." Senator Andrew Bartlett

G'day. While Parliamentary Democracy crumbles around him, Howard's handpicked Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Hawker, worries about dress codes. Perception and reality. And it looks like he's cracking down hard and making up new rules. I tended to wear jeans and T-Shirts in Parliament House, as a statement was I was not in the club. I thought most journos in the place looked like politicians or big business lobbyists. My male colleagues were peeved - once a Parliamentary attendant tapped me on the shoulder when I was in the reporters section of the House of Reps gallery to ask me to leave because of what I was wearing, and apologised when he realised I was female. But for the boys, jackets and ties are compulsory. Here is Hawker's statement to the People's House on Tuesday.

"Open and deliberate measures to deter and intimidate public comment by public servants clearly fly in the face of principles of open government and robust public discourse. In the landmark Bennett  case Justice Finn warned that unqualified sanctions on public service employees contravened the implied constitutional freedom of political communication." Helen Ester

"To ask whether judges deserve their independence is like asking whether parliamentarians deserve their freedom of speech. It should not be difficult to explain to the public, and to those in the political branches of government, why they need, benefit from, and have a right to, an independent judiciary. Providing and reinforcing that explanation is a responsibility of the modern judiciary. It is not enough to justify our independence to one another. There is an educational role for us to take up. Legal practitioners, and law teachers, are our allies in that task, but we should not assume that we are facing a hostile audience. In Australia, and in many other parts of the Commonwealth, it is unlikely that there would be a direct challenge to the concept of judicial independence. What is more likely is that some people, not understanding why it exists, or what it involves, will make well-intentioned demands, in the name of accountability, which are inconsistent with independence." Murray Gleeson

"After hearing the rationale for making this world into a happy home for us all, and after having objections answered, what if we say that it is a good goal and that it is possible? What if we just say yes? And what if we ask the next person to experiment with saying yes? By saying yes, we can see how the world looks from that viewpoint. It is a creative step that opens the door to further creativity. Then arguing becomes part of the co-creative process of life. We start using our minds for exploring how worldwide happiness might be possible, rather than for guarding the door. We might even discover a better goal." by Martin Gifford

"It is time that Australians woke up and realised what’s going on. We are losing the freedoms our parents and grandparents fought so hard for. We aren’t losing them to make us safer from the threat of terrorism. As the Scott Parkins case shows, we need those freedoms more than ever. If Scott Parkin, Cornelia Rau, Vivian Alvarez, Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks are anything to go by, we don’t need the protection of the Government, we need protection from it!" Julian Burnside, QC.

"What message is sent to Australian activists by Parkin's incarceration? As someone who has sensed unethicality in the company's activities both abroad and within Australia I feel vindicated in my beliefs.  To remove a person who might promote information implies a desire of the democratic actor, in this case Australia's Federal Government, to obscure and conceal what this man could portray and reveal, and what he could make us think." Richard Tonkin

"In 1975 as in 1964 I thought I had some things to say that many people believed, and that putting all this together in a book might encourage them. In the mid-1960s they had to speak up. In the mid-1970s they had to remember. I think that hundreds of thousands of Australians now have convictions about lack of leadership in Australia in general and the Howard years in particular. There should be a continued discussion well beyond the trivialities of parliamentary question time and the revolving news cycles. I hope this book will help concentration on what might really be going wrong with Australia and how, as it turned out after the mid-sixties and the mid-seventies, we might again get the chance to set things right." Donald Horne on his 2001 book Looking for leadership.

"We, the undersigned, believe that the Government’s policies abuse the human rights of the weak and needy, and contravene several international treaties to which Australia is a party. The policies are anathema to the concepts of basic decency and a fair go. We therefore call on you to ensure that Australia's refugee policy adheres, in all respects, to the terms of the international treaties to which our nation is a signatory and to provide permanent protection to all refugees." Tampa Anniversary Remembrance Committee's open letter to the Prime Minister

"As everyone working in the media knows, unless the defamation is beyond dispute, media organisations are often willing to gamble on the notion that the other party will blink first. It's only when you get them to the courthouse steps that they'll often back down. It's a policy which can cut both ways. Sometimes plaintiffs get settlements they don't really deserve because the lawyers figure it's cheaper to avoid the gamble of court. At other times, plaintiffs feel obliged to back down because their pockets aren't deep enough." Catharine Lumby

"There is no need to despair about the changes to cross-media ownership proposed by the Howard government. Whilst media diversity is a good thing for democracy, we are living in a time that is saturated with diversity of opinion, and problems in the future are likely to be caused by over-diversity, rather than a lack of diversity. The greatest challenge for democracy in the next century is for us to actively seek out opposing points of view, rather than simply trying to confirm our own existing beliefs.": Solomon Wakeling

Margo will be out of contact for the next few days in meetings and discussions with advisors to move forward on the longer term plans for Webdiary, including travelling interstate, and will not be able to respond personally to messages, questions or comments. In most cases, Hamish, Kerri or I will be able to deal, but if things really do need Margo to look at them personally, they may have to wait until Monday. Thanks for your patience if this affects you. Meantime, here's some updates on what's happening. David Roffey, GM Webdiary

"The Government will grant increased powers to law enforcement and security agencies to enhance their capacity to prevent attacks. Importantly, control orders will be available to our law enforcement agencies in circumstances where a person might pose a risk to the community but cannot be contained or detained under existing legislation." Prime Minister John Howard

"I did not trust what I heard before T2 and did not get tricked into tying up money in what was talked up then. More tempted this time? Not on your life. With Telstra's track record and the turmoil turned up in the rush to T3 you'd have to question whether you'd tip a toe in the water, let alone make a plunge. I wonder what the Treasurer is thinking today. Terrible timing? Terrific timing? Time to try some other tack?" Craig Rowley

G'day. Here is the transcript of the discussion between Fran Kelly, Glenn Milne and I which started to explore the multi-faceted and fundamental ethical issues confronting journalists in the wake of the Brogden matter. It aired last Friday on RN Breakfast. Thank you to the mysterious Webdiarist who transcribed the audio.

"Recently Australia's Minister for Education, Brendan Nelson, gave his qualified support for Intelligent Design (ID) to be taught in school science classes alongside neo-Darwinian evolutionary origins theory. The debate that has been occurring in the U.S. looks set to come to Australia. The fundamental question seems to be - is Christian doctrine forcing its way into the science classroom at the expense of scientific teaching? But is this the appropriate question? Ignoring those who contribute nothing more than mindless disparagement of religion, there are interesting ethical issues underlying this controversy." Phil Uebergang

G'day all you journos. I offer the position of Webdiary journalist for one year, all up payment $50,000 for an all-up payment to you of $50,000. In return, you get the freedom to showcase the best you can do as a journalist, with support from Webdiary experts, researchers, designers and all sorts of other talented Webdiarists. In other words, you would be the director of your work from beginning to end, including choice of headline! You'd report to me, of course, and we'd be answerable to each other and to Webdiarists for your work published on Webdiary. I'd take care of the legals. All applications will be totally confidential to me. I will email or speak with applicants if I am interested in their expression of interest, queries, jokes or other correspondence. If you'd like to engage in some preliminary banter, contact me here. Only I will read emails at this address.

"If New Orleans is starting to look like a Third World landscape, it is because this IS a strip of the Third World in America’s own backyard. Mississippi, with over 20% of its people living in poverty, is one of the poorest states in the Union. While many of the wealthy have been able to slip out under their own power, the poor have been left to fend for themselves. George W Bush’s response has been described as pathetic and cowardly; it is My Pet Goat II. It is now emerging that Federal funding to repair and improve levees and other emergency services was cut because of priority given to the Iraq war." Stephen Smith

"Most media groups are extremely loathe to print corrections. They're by nature defensive, partly because they don't want to undermine confidence in them, partly because there's effectively no accountability for their breach, and partly because they fear getting bogged down with complaints from relentlessly partisan players. Who do you complain to? What's the process for resolution? Suggest setting up and publicising a process for accountability, and everyone runs a mile. Apart from defamation law, we're not used to accountability, and we don't like it... As ethical questions have been raised and debated on Webdiary, I've realised that ethics - when laid on the table for open discussion between writer and reader - can be a tool of empowerment, not constraint, and a confidence builder, not destroyer." Margo Kingston in Remote Control: New Media, New Ethics

"The idea expressed by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 that police are not merely tools of government but rather are the people's police endures in Australia today, as does the theory of constabulary independence. The idea that police exercise a degree of independence in operational matters rests on the belief by judicial authorities that police in democratic societies should not be subject to arbitrary and capricious interference by the executive. While the theory is contested, the common and statute law has bestowed a degree of discretion and operational independence on police." Colleen Lewis

"Margo Kingston has a unique position in Australian journalism. She's one of our most senior reporters but over the last three years her focus has been a weblog on public affairs - Webdiary. Until last week, Webdiary was the property of Fairfax but no longer. After spending most of her career at the company, Margo Kingston is unplugged. We find out why she left and what she plans for Webdiary." ABC Radio National's 'Media Report'.

"Modern election campaigns involve research, preparation and long term planning that have created the sense of a ‘permanent campaign’. As part of this shift to constant and centralised campaigning, in office, governments are increasingly drawing on incumbency advantages to boost their re-election prospects. This includes increasing benefits such as postal, printing and communication allowances, electoral databases, media advisers, government communications units, and MPs’ office equipment and staff. But in particular, government advertising has been taken to new and extraordinary levels by the Howard government since it came to office in 1996." Sally Young

After the entrance of the Corby affair onto the national media and collective interest, which is still being played out in the appeals courts in Indonesia, it would be almost inexcusable for anyone not to know the severity of the sentences that could be handed (and usually are handed) out in Asia for drug smuggling offences. ... Thus when the story of the Bali Nine came out, caught with heroin, I immediately thought of the stupidity of running drugs through Asia, and the fact that they deserve whatever they get when found guilty.

"My own family is not untypical these days, and is a kind of New Zealand story: we are Pakeha, Maori, Asian, even African American. Some of us have been here 1000 years, some 150, some are newly arrived. But we can't remember which because we are together, we love each other, and we love where we live. We are all New Zealanders. And when people, as in this election, start Maori bashing, and Asian bashing, and treaty bashing, and Muslim bashing, and bashing single mums and so on: they're bashing my family, and they're bashing my friends, and my neighbours, and my society. They are bashing New Zealand and I won't have it." Sam Neill

There has been a view among political reporters that the private can be separated from the political. It’s the same as the view – once dominant and still prevalent - among sports reporters that what happens on tour stays on tour. As various cases of the past two or three years have shown in sport, that’s not really tenable. Perhaps it was the remorseful recognition that they had failed which prompted Sydney’s media to respond with the throttles wide open when they were upstaged from Canberra. It’s a question worth further examination because our democracy depends not only on the behaviour of politicians. The media have a proper role, too.

"The Islamic leader’s summit was established to make the very tentative first step in greater co-operation between federal authorities and the various Muslim communities. With thirteen hand-picked Islamic leaders showing up (Sheikh al Din Hilaly was a noticeable absentee), this small goal was achieved... The summit was a PR coup for all concerned but when it comes to the Muslims, especially young Muslims, living in Preston, Auburn, and Lakemba nothing much has changed. When it comes to feelings of resentment on Australia’s ‘Arab street’, the dramatic upsurge in dog whistle politics and feral journalism during the last two weeks has widened the divide in Australian society." Iain Lygo

"Australia's harsh measures of keeping people locked up 'forever' have permanently damaged hundreds of people and broken their trust in what Australia has to offer and the confidence in a belief in their own ability to engage with and in society on the deepest level of their being. Demand for life-long psychiatric and psycho-social support services for the long-term detainees was not a part of the Georgiou deals. Just like Australia ignores life-long support for those in the Aboriginal community whose broken personal cultures and lifestyles - damage entirely due to the encroachment of white culture in their regional areas and its violent superimposition on Aboriginal culture - have driven them into alcoholism, Australia ignores that the policies themselves are to blame for the fact that we owe it to the political prisoners of Howard's attempt to win the 2001 election to have a full program of restorative justice, no matter what it costs to the budget." Jack H Smit