Page 675 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 2018
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In terms of where the Greens are coming from, we fundamentally support freedom of the press, the right of journalists to express their views and their important role in our democracy. I do not believe that is in dispute in this chamber. That is something we hold very dearly. We have certainly had our share over the years of being attacked and unfairly reported at times, but that is the way it goes. Certainly there is an important robustness to the relationship between politics and journalism in Australia on the whole, probably with some noble exceptions, but each will have their different views on what those are.
I think the Chief Minister was right in expressing the necessity of communicating through a range of different fora and mediums; that is something on which we share the view of the Chief Minister. I do not think that is a matter of diminishing those already there or detracting from the role they play; rather, it is a matter of acknowledging that people communicate through an increasing range of channels and that to get to some demographics in our community the government needs to participate in those channels. That is something I certainly support, and I think all members of this place are trying to make sure we are present in all of those places where our community is getting their information.
In chatting about this particular issue to some younger people I know, they had not seen the comments of the Chief Minister because they had not appeared in their Facebook feed or their Instagram account or any of the things they use to communicate. They did not even know about the story, and that illustrates one of the important points the Chief Minister was trying to make—that is, we need to communicate through different channels. If he had expressed that without some of the other comments, I think we would be having a very different discussion. It is incumbent upon government and political parties to make sure that we are going where the people are, and I note that the people are in different places.
In terms of the analysis that has been made of the Chief Minister’s take on older Canberrans, as I said on radio this morning, there is no doubt that this city is changing, and for some people that is very challenging. The one truth we know is that Canberra will be different in the future; it necessarily must be as our population grows rapidly and as technology changes. It is incumbent upon us to seek to build a community consensus about what that different future looks like, to take on board the different needs of our community and to build people’s understanding of why some of these changes are occurring or perhaps have to occur.
The Greens are very committed to working with all members of our community across all the age, racial and religious groups and the many different perspectives that people hold in explaining some of these things and debating the propositions we have to address some of the challenges that our coming our way.
My remarks are reflected in our amendment this morning. The amendment notes with concern the comments made by the Chief Minister regarding the communication strategy and the role of the media. It notes the apology offered by the Chief Minister in both the media and here in the Assembly today. The amendment proposes that the Assembly collectively affirm its support for the freedom of the press and the
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