Kat wrote on Nov 28^th, 2015 at 10:11am:



Don't argue Kat ... Maria wrote reports for a living, she knows

and she doesn't speak to poor people.

mariacostel wrote on Nov 28^th, 2015 at 2:17pm:


The only legal problem that MIGHT follow is private litigation. This is not control. It’s not an independent press council with the power to issue penalties, it’s not a criminal law, and there’s no umpire. The DT can say whatever it likes with no state-sanctioned control, just like every other newspaper or website.

TV and radio are different - they come under the Broadcast Act and the Ministry of Communications. Newspapers, and the new medium of websites, are completely unregulated.

Karnal wrote on Nov 28^th, 2015 at 2:43pm:



Tell that to the SMH and their 'hockey for sale' story fiasco.

mariacostel wrote on Nov 28^th, 2015 at 5:45pm:


If so I wonder how he could have possibly beaten you..... no you win.

mariacostel wrote on Nov 28^th, 2015 at 5:44pm:


Oh, I see. You think a politician suing a newspaper is a form of press control.

Jolly good.

The Levesen inquiry helped to establish an independent press council in the UK in the wake of the News of the World fiasco. Prior to that, there was a "watchdog" made up of ex-tabloid editors. This council ignored and covered up the phone-tapping scandal at every turn, along with the London Met. This was an operation that had almost every celebrity, politician and royal in the UK, along with thousands of ordinary citizens, under illegal surveillance. Anything they did - private phone calls, bank transactions, business deals, affairs - could be (and was) published in the Tabloids.

It was in this light, the Finklestein review recommended an independent press council in Australia. News Ltd, of course, didn't like it. Their response was the infamous Tele front-page with Labor ministers photoshopped as communist dictators. Piers, Bolt and Divine took the lead. The shockjocks followed suit.

Newspapers are still among the biggest agenda setters in the nation. The furore of the Tele alone saw the Finklestein report shelved. Just imagine, a newspaper can still say whatever it likes with no censure whatsoever. The press council can only make recommendations, and those recommendations are made by appointees of the newspapers.

Self regulation has given us News Ltd, and there's a reason self regulation (no regulation) still exists: no politician in the English-speaking world wants to go against Rupert Murdoch.

Kat wrote on Nov 28^th, 2015 at 8:46pm:




Yes, the deranged laugh of the mentally deficient.

Kiron22 wrote on Nov 27^th, 2015 at 9:07pm:


What does the political agenda of 'progressives' have to do with higher education? İf they want to play politics then there's The Greens and the Labor party to join. Higher education is far too important to be the play thing of a bunch of rebels with a burning hatred of everything Western. 'Progressives' are only selling students short of a proper education with their one-eyed view of the world.