Reporting on the ruckus
News coverage of Bush’s visit has been bizarre. Here’s a few things I noticed.
Some simple facts were mucked up. For example, Xavier La Canna wrote, “As senator Nettle left the building, Mr Bush said: ‘I love free speech.’” However, Senator Nettle didn’t leave the building.
The blogosphere’s favourite Canberra correspondent, Margo Kingston, didn’t know who she was writing about: “As President Bush left the chamber Liberal Senator Ross Lightfoot (Western Australia) and two other unidentifed Coalition MPs, jostled the Green Senators…” Why were they unidentified? There’s a large photo (popup) at the top of the story. It clearly shows Stephen Ciobo helping Lightfoot, while Nigel Scullion stands ready. Alby Schulz is at the back having a joke with Bob Brown, while Michael Johnson is trying to squeeze past to meet Bush. It looks like Jim Lloyd (at the back, possibly holding Nettle’s arm) has had a haircut.* If I can work all those out, why couldn’t a member of the Canberra press gallery?
At the end of that article, Margo reported that “After Mr Bush left the chamber, health minister Tony Abbott demanded that Senators Brown and Nettle be suspended from Parliament. … When Senator Brown called for a ‘division’ so the matter could be voted on the government dropped its demand.” The thing is, the vote actually went ahead, and Brown and Nettle have been suspended.
CNN didn’t know what was going on, either. “The son of Australian terror suspect Mamdouh Habib — who is being held at Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of training with al Qaeda — was removed from parliament’s public gallery,” it reported. However, “It was not clear what the son, Ahmed, who was an invited guest of the Green Party, did to get thrown out.” Actually, it was quite clear. He stood up and called out to Bush, reminding him that Mamdouh has not been charged with committing a crime and is being held in breach of international law and natural justice.
Sky News made perhaps the strangest comment: “Australia’s federal parliament building in Canberra is renowned for its sometimes raucous debates.” If you ask most Australians, you’ll probably find that parliament is actually renowned for boredom and members sleeping on the back benches (when they bother to turn up).
But perhaps we can forgive the journos for their confusion, because even the Speaker, Neil Andrew, got confused. First he told Kerry Nettle to excuse herself from the chamber, then he told her to resume her seat. Then he gave her a warning, and finally he asked the Sergeant to remove her.
Still, it’s a lot of fuss for what was ultimately a very ordinary speech.
* I’m wrong about Lloyd. I wondered why I couldn’t easily pick the dude at the back: he’s a parliamentary attendant, but his uniform is not visible in the photo. It was far more obvious on the TV footage, and anyone sitting in the public galleries couldn’t have missed it. He might be in serious trouble for manhandling a Senator.
UPDATE: On Ten’s late news, Paul Bongiorno referred to the American national anthem as “the Stars and Stripes”. It is, of course, the Star-spangled Banner.
As someone who was a callow Melb uni student when LBJ dropped down by the colonies during the Vietnam adventure, I have to say this visit by the latest Emperor seems nowhere near as interesting, divisive or enthusiastic.
Seemed awfully surgical and sanitized. Maybe I’m just getting old and nostalgic.
For chrissakes Corr, what the damn hell happened in that building??
I was first out of the blocks in the blogosphere and posted a News Limited text saying the Greens had been thrown out. Then I corrected myself with some SMH material saying they hadn’t. Then you rock up to my website and tell me I was wrong.
And not one single news agency has been capable of reporting what actually happened in Parliament today. They all contradict each other. Is this a dream? Am I having a nightmare? Is this really happening? Do any of these people exist?
Nice round-up, Rob, I too wondered about the conflicting re Habib and Nettle’s ejection (or not). I also caught Bongiorno on Ten … what a shabby bulletin it was all-round. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it.
i caught Bongiorno too, but it was his comment about vocal opposition in Parliament being inappropriate that caught my ear. Has he paid attention to what goes on in a normal day in the House??
No-one has mentioned the Howard interview from The 7:30 report. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s973888.htm
But why would they? Having promised progress on the FTA talks and the detention of Aust. sustpects all Howard could offer was:
-i like George Bush
-we reminded each other we were having FTA talks and that the talks are scheduled to end. Oh, and that there were points to be made before they did end; and
-we asked that there be a process (re: Hicks & Habib) and GWB assured us there was a process and we hope that process will start.
Howard went on to add:
“But you’ve got to understand that they were over there training with the Taliban.” Which begs the question – have GWB and Howard already come to an agreement that they’re guilty? Besides, i thought AQ was the enemy of America, not the Taliban.
and
“If foreigners come to this country and do something we regard as wrong we don’t feel obligated to return them to the country from which they came.” -Which seems to me to be hardly the same thing as going to someone else’s country and removing people who might threaten them.
returning them to the Afghan authorities might be an effective alternative; provided always that your main interest isn’t protecting people who egage in terrorist acts. I don’t recall anyone in the Australian left being concerned about the welfare of the Australian residents who were sent into Jugoslavia to try to bring down Tito. at the time, we were all of the opinion that the Liberals were too soft on such adventurers. Menzies would be pleased to know some of the left are now supporting the sort of approach he adopted.
He’d no doubt be surprised to find them criticising Howard for implementing the sorts of policies the left once supported so enthusiasticly.
And yes, I am aware the details aren’t exactly the same in both cases — it’s merely the underlying philosophies which cause my amusement.
PING:
TITLE: Bush capital appearance
BLOG NAME: The Road to Surfdom
Sounds like a good time was had by all. The President got to make his address to the Australian Parliament,…