Tony Abbott 'thumbing his nose' at voters, says Laurie Oakes

Date
    November 6, 2013


Canberra press gallery veteran Laurie Oakes says the Abbott government is "thumbing its nose at voters" through a lack of transparency and communication.

    You can’t thumb your nose at the voters’ right to know and you can’t arrogantly say ‘we’ll let the voters be misinformed and we won’t help journalists get it right'. That’s just a disgusting attitude.      

The respected Channel Nine reporter and political commentator told Fairfax Media that Prime Minister Tony Abbott and senior ministers were breaking their election promise of greater accountability for voters.




"They’re busily trying to avoid the media as much as possible and to control the media and so far they’re getting away with it but I don’t think they will get away with it for too long," he said ahead of the release of his new book Remarkable Times: Australian Politics 2010-13.


"You can see the way the story of the expenses rorts is gathering speed, and that horse bolted because Tony Abbott and his Special Minister of State Michael Ronaldson didn’t move to nip it in the bud.





The criticism follows disquiet from journalists and commentators at the lack of access to Mr Abbott and senior ministers including Attorney-General George Brandis and Treasurer Joe Hockey.      

Mr Oakes said the government should learn from the experience of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who sought to control media reporting more tightly after his 2010 election, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Mr Abbott has held just eight formal press conferences since his September 7 election win and requests for information from minister's offices are frequently left unanswered. 


A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Abbott had held an additional nine doorstop interviews.

Mr Oakes said, "David Cameron was determined to tame the news cycle but he went before the Leveson inquiry two years after he won office and had to admit it hadn’t succeeded.

"Basically it is too hard letting damaging stories go past without dealing with them."

Singling out Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, Mr Oakes said arrogance and disregard for truth would ultimately backfire.

Since implementing the Operation Sovereign Borders policy, Mr Morrison has moved to hold just weekly briefings in Sydney for journalists and frequently declines to answer questions.    

The former government allowed Immigration Department staff to provide information on boat arrivals in real time.

"What’s particularly not acceptable is Scott Morrison’s arrogant attitude. He sees it as getting at the press but it’s not. It’s getting at the voters and eventually I think the voters will wake up.          

"[Mr Morrison's] last effort was as bad as any. It even looked like the Prime Minister might have said ‘Good on you Scott’. If that’s the attitude then I think Tony Abbott’s got a bit to learn.

"You can’t thumb your nose at the voters’ right to know and you can’t arrogantly say ‘we’ll let the voters be misinformed and we won’t help journalists get it right'. That’s just a disgusting attitude."      

Mr Oakes, who has reported from Canberra since the 1960s, said the current crop of press gallery reporters were faced with fewer resources and constant demand for news.

He highlighted Assistant Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs and NSW Labor MP Ed Husic as potential leaders of their respective parties.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-thumbing-his-nose-at-voters-says-laurie-oakes-20131106-2x0p8.html#ixzz2jqEg2dRx

Yes....we (well some of us) have been saying the same thing here.  Often enough in the lead up to the last election, the conga line cited Oakes as their Guru.  I do hope they are consistent.

So, Laurie, you'd rather have the PM regurgitate old announcements/policies just for the sake of having some time in front of the press gallery, as was the case with the previous Labor government? Is that what it takes to get the press on-side? I doubt Abbott cares what the media thinks of him - he'll let his actions be judged by the people, not the media.

Poor old laury oaks is feeling a bit irrelevant now the adults are in charge. No more labor crack addict media frenzies.

Armchair_Politician wrote on Nov 6^th, 2013 at 4:11pm:


no, he wants the government to answer questions about todays issues/policies . What is Abbott hiding from?

John Smith wrote on Nov 6^th, 2013 at 5:44pm:



What are you hiding from?, your mental health nurse. 

Innocent bystander wrote on Nov 6^th, 2013 at 5:53pm:


Have you ever considered leaving this forum? It is actually depressing knowing that we voted for the same government considering how stupid you are. Either that or you're a terrible troll.

As I've always said, wait until the 100 day mark for them to show us what they're all about, my opinion so far is mixed in some areas, I'm usually always am disappointed with what happens in government regardless of who is leading.

Aussie wrote on Nov 6^th, 2013 at 4:00pm:



As we can see, there is nothing consistent in the approach of the congas.

When he criticised Labor, Laurie was king. Now he has turned his guns on to the Libs, he has suddenly transformed himself into a slimy turd.

If Abbott thinks he can govern by keeping the voters in the dark then he is a bigger fool than I thought he was.

Making enemies of the media is a very stupid move.