Page 685 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 2018
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people by their colour, creed, religion, sexuality or gender, but he can judge an entire profession because they dare to disagree with his vision. How dare the Chief Minister declare not only that he hates journalists but that this vindictiveness towards them is so strong that he wishes with all of his heart that their major employer, for a great chunk of these journalists, would go belly up so that they can be unemployed! Wouldn’t we have a party then? Wouldn’t we celebrate that? These people would be unemployed and we would not have to worry about them doing their job. What a charming message from the Chief Minister: “I hate you and all of your work colleagues, and I cannot wait for the day that you are unemployed.” Wow!
The Chief Minister would be surprised—maybe he would not be—by the number of calls that I received personally from journalists in the 48 hours after his infamous comments were made public. People were ropeable. A couple of them were in tears as to their unfair public humiliation at the hands of the political leader of the ACT. How could a man who had never even met them, such a high-ranking political official, hate them with such a passion that he was prepared to stand in a room of people and say, “I hate journalists?” How could a man who preaches inclusion be so hateful and full of bitterness to an entire profession?
The main reason, as we all know, is that the Chief Minister sees himself as the king in this town. He won the election, so he believes he has the divine right to do and say whatever he pleases—and how dare anyone question him. Indeed, anyone who is courageous enough to question him will find themselves on the outer, bullied into silence, because nobody can question the Chief Minister.
A free and independent press is a cornerstone of democracy. It helps promote political debate. It keeps government accountable to the people. A free press is also crucial for credible elections. It fosters the free exchange of ideas and provides information on the election process. The strength of a democracy is often determined by the strength of its media.
When dictators take hold, the very first thing they do is shut down the media. I am going to quote American Senator John McCain from only a few months ago. He said:
If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press.
He went on to say:
… without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.
He could have been talking about our Chief Minister. Of course, he was talking about Donald Trump. But that is how dictators get started. It is “My way or the highway. I have my vision, and everyone else can”—I cannot really say that.
To all of the journalists who are listening or reading these words, my message to you is simple: don’t take the Chief Minister’s words personally; his outburst was much more a reflection of his personality than of you and your work. In fact, I think you
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