Thread: Neville Wran RIP

Yes, an interesting time in politics. And an interesting man. Bit of an enigma, from running a business with Malcolm Turnbull after retiring from politics, to fish & chips with his brother in his workers cottage in Balmain on Sundays. Some interesting characters, as well. Rex Jackson, Lionel Murphy, & Murray Farquhar, guess some things don't change in politics, & business. Thanks for that, a blast from the past, Bob

Originally Posted by Debacle

Interesting read.
Nifty Nev showed Labor how to win again - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

What a biased ABC story. Saying he was good because he was a lefty, but he would have been better if he was even more left. Typical ABC.

They used to call him 'stainless steel', because nothing would stick to him.

Jeff

The abc are so left they walk in circles

Yes, and 2GB will go in the opposite direction

He was nicknamed 'Nifty' because he was a very smart operator who got a lot of good things done by getting around the entrenched opposition on all sides of politics.
After his throat surgery they called him "Teflon' because of what was done to his throat.
I met him a couple of times in another career and he was an impressive character, whatever your politics. He also knew when to quit and left on his own terms, rather than being dragged out.

As a past employee of the ABC, I'm going to take issue with the myth that the ABC is a breeding ground for "leftie" types.
Sure "Aunty" has its fair share of characters who support the left side of politics, but it also has a good sprinkling of folks who support the right side.

For example, ex ABC Rural Reporter, Grant Woodhams was the state National Party Member for Greenough (WA) and in fact was the speaker of the Lower House in WA for a number of years.

Another ABC Rural Reporter called Barry Featherstone stood for the Liberals in the SA state seat of Hammond and in the current Conservative NSW government, ex ABC staffer Pru Goward is the Member for Goulbourn.

I also happen to know that a reasonable number of ex ABC people have worked (or are still working) as staffers for conservative politicians.

In my experience (admittedly working mainly in regional areas), most ABC people are pretty open minded in their attitude to politics, happy to be critical of both sides, depending on the issue or the person involved.

In fact the need to be seen to be politically neutral is constantly drummed into you as part of the ABC culture. If you're any good at your job, the listeners/viewers should not be able to guess how you may vote just by listening to what you say or do on-air.

I suspect most ABC bods would be swinging voters (BTW I have no empirical evidence for this). In my opinion, it's a healthy thing for democracy if as many people as possible ARE prepared to "sell" their vote to whichever party or candidate offers the best policies and leadership.

Die hard, "welded on" of voters (and commentators!) of any colour do not contribute to a healthy democracy or to considered debate on issues.

Originally Posted by Rurover

As a past employee of the ABC, I'm going to take issue with the myth that the ABC is a breeding ground for "leftie" types.
Sure "Aunty" has its fair share of characters who support the left side of politics, but it also has a good sprinkling of folks who support the right side.

For example, ex ABC Rural Reporter, Grant Woodhams was the state National Party Member for Greenough (WA) and in fact was the speaker of the Lower House in WA for a number of years.

Another ABC Rural Reporter called Barry Featherstone stood for the Liberals in the SA state seat of Hammond and in the current Conservative NSW government, ex ABC staffer Pru Goward is the Member for Goulbourn.

I also happen to know that a reasonable number of ex ABC people have worked (or are still working) as staffers for conservative politicians.

In my experience (admittedly working mainly in regional areas), most ABC people are pretty open minded in their attitude to politics, happy to be critical of both sides, depending on the issue or the person involved.

In fact the need to be seen to be politically neutral is constantly drummed into you as part of the ABC culture. If you're any good at your job, the listeners/viewers should not be able to guess how you may vote just by listening to what you say or do on-air.

I suspect most ABC bods would be swinging voters (BTW I have no empirical evidence for this). In my opinion, it's a healthy thing for democracy if as many people as possible ARE prepared to "sell" their vote to whichever party or candidate offers the best policies and leadership.

Die hard, "welded on" of voters (and commentators!) of any colour do not contribute to a healthy democracy or to considered debate on issues.

Here Here, Well said!

Originally Posted by 460cixy

The abc are so left they walk in circles

Maybe it just looks that way if you're used to the big right hand circles the privately owned media does?