Murdoch Royal Commission Petition

UPDATE!

The official launch of Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission was held on Thursday 28th October 2021.

We can ALL get involved by sharing personal stories about the impact divisive, undermining articles have on ourselves, our families, friends, neighbours and communities.

Real people. Real Stories.

Whether it's covid minsiformation, conspiracy theories, the normalisation & acceptance of lies, denigration of the unemployed, religious and ethnic diversity, First Nations people, science, or climate denial, we've seen the negative impact of News Corp here and overseas.

If you have a personal story of being impacted by bullying, vilification and disinformation in the Murdoch media, please tell us: https://murdochroyalcommission.org.au/

It's similar to collating evidence to present to HR in instances of workplace bullying. However this is much broader, inviting those targeted and affected throughout Australia, to document and submit via the above website, the personal impact of articles, cartoons and photos.

There's also a tool to help you to streamline making a complaint to News Corp and the media watchdog.

"AFMRC supporters reporting what they read and hear through the regulatory processes will mean that this evidence will have official records and independent authority."

It's easy to feel defeated in the face of the murdoch juggernaut, yet attending the launch felt empowering. The comments from Malcolm Turnbull including his statement that he was "awestruck" by the campaign, and reading the positive, enthusiastic comments from attendees was extremely encouraging!

In my years of career counselling and working with unemployed people and unhappy employees, it's always struck me that most say they're keen to be part of something bigger, they want to be involved and work towards a healthier society. 

No matter where or who you are, here's a way to work together for positive change! 

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Why sign the Murdoch Royal Commission Petition when it's unlikely any action will be taken by the current Liberal National Coalition Government?

We know the government won't act in good faith on this petition despite it gaining over 360,000 thousand signatures in just over 2 weeks and not closing till 4th November.

It's pointless, right?

Not really:

International reports

What the Murdoch Royal Commission petition has already done is create news in and of itself. Some from the mainstream media in Australia, Murdoch's Sway on Politics warrants a Royal Commission - and also internationally (New York Times & Straits Times) and amongst many of our Independent Media outlets including articles by highly regarded former NewsCorp journalists

According to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the Murdoch media empire has become "... a protection racket" (2 min video here)

You know that News Corp is no longer interested in reporting facts. It operates like a mafia syndicate with a well-funded protection racket for politicians who back its commercial interests and espouse hard-right ideology on issues like climate change.

You also know that many of Murdoch’s critics, while roaring in private, have been bullied into public silence. They live in fear of joining the mounting number in business, politics and media who have been subjected to an onslaught of lies, innuendo and personal smear. Crikey & here 

has NewsCorp evolved into something new, something we don’t have a name for yet, more like a propaganda outlet camouflaged .... weaponising freedom of the press to defend the corporation.

The Murdoch Royal Commission Petition has promoted discussion amongst diverse groups from across the political spectrum from the disinterested to the passionate. Many may not have been aware of News Corp's reach across Australia and the impact this ONE media empire has by owning the bulk of the print media in Australia.

It's created a sense of togetherness against a common adversary. One who's hell bent on undermining not just our society by creating doubt, insecurity & division, but that erodes trust in science, and supports increasingly right wing views:

Rupert and his minions get to reshape the narrative with relentless far-right monotony, drowning out climate science, crushing progress and stomping on compassion. Independent Australia

Is News Corp really that bad?

Eric Beecher a former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and editor-in-chief of Herald and Weekly Times (owned by News Corp) has this to say:

When I once asked a senior cabinet minister in a recent federal government to explain how media power in Australia operates in the world of politics, this is how he answered: “A cabinet colleague of mine recently told me he’d had a call from [the head of a large media company] who said that one of his editors had put together all this personal information on him, but he was calling the minister just to let him know that he had instructed the editor under no circumstances was the personal information ever to be published.”

That’s how freedom of the press works in Australia, the politician explained, without a hint of joy. 

 ...

Media power lurks like a prowler in the dark. You can sense its danger, feel its presence, identify its victims. But rarely if ever does it show its full face in the light.

That’s because media power is a weapon built primarily on fear. 

The petition helps shine a light on the power, and on the danger it presents to those who stand against it, and how it debases our country.

One voice may seem weak, but banded together, our voices join together and reach others via new media like TikTok

Signing petitions such as the Murdoch Royal Commission - and seeing that others have too helps us feel we are part of something bigger, a group working together to shape and improve our world.

News Corp’s other major markets — the US and the UK — have long moved on. Early last year, The Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan, speaking of News’ sister organisation Fox, spelled out what has since become the orthodoxy:

… everyone ought to see [Fox] for what it is: not a normal news organisation with inevitable screw-ups, flaws and commercial interests, which sometimes fail to serve the public interest. Instead, it’s a shameless propaganda outfit, which makes billions of dollars a year as it chips away at the core democratic values we ought to hold dear: truth, accountability and the rule of law.

Earlier this year, James Murdoch resigned from the News Corp board citing “disagreements over certain editorial content.” This past weekend, in an interview with The New York Times, he went further talking of hidden agendas and disinformation.

Not surprisingly, News Corp hasn't mentioned that James Murdoch left the board, leaving those who rely on NC in the dark.

This is especially relevant given the reach of News Corp in Australia. Even if you don't purchase any of their media, it's sending messages of disinformation & framing events in favour of their chosen narrative. This is seen at news-stands, servos, supermarket checkouts & cafes. It's next to impossible to avoid.

So, apart from Kevin Rudd, and a few hundred thousand Australians, who else has signed the petition?

What next?

Remember to confirm the link in the email you receive after signing!

Support Independent media (we've got a great variety!) learn about Media Manipulation Tactics and share both the petition and independent media alternatives with community groups.

Petitioning Parliament House

In Australia the right of petitioning Parliament remains a fundamental right of the citizen. It is the only means by which the individual can directly place grievances before the Parliament. 

An important effect of the petitioning process is that Members and the Government are informed, in a formal and public way, of the views of sections of the community on public issues. Even if no action is immediately taken on a petition, it and others like it may assist in the creation of a climate of opinion which can influence or result in action. (my italics)

https://www.sydneytimes.net.au/official-launch-of-australians-for-a-murdoch-royal-commission/

Interesting articles:

Who's funding Bad Science?

Is News Corp a news company?

Murdoch's sway on politics warrants royal commission

Info from The Lancet about Covid_19.

Melbourne Lockdown, ocean exploration & mutineers

What's it like to be a marine technician?

This isn't a question you'd expect to be relevant to being in lockdown in Melbourne during the global covid pandemic.

Or is it?

Bear with me.

Colleen Peters is a Marine Technician on the RV Ocean Explorer. She recently spoke with  *Amelia, not only about pathways to become a Marine Technician but also about the role of the captain, morale of crew & passengers, the importance of collaboration, working together, skills, dealing with people's needs and wants, as well as many fascinating aspects of her varied role.

She also spoke about the vital role the captain of a ship plays, where the crew rely on their skills as far more than a navigator to bring everyone home safely.

You can listen to Avid Research STEM interviews here & on Apple & Spotify 

Listening to this episode made me realise there are similarities between being at sea during a massive storm, and Melbourne Lockdown during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC.

"the responsibility that the captain has in not just to get the job done, but it's to bring everybody home safe, it's a much different responsibility and it's to be very well respected"

Being in lockdown feels a bit like it sounds like after being too long at sea. You tend to go a bit stir crazy. We're confined to a limited radius from home, and while we can definitely venture further than our 'cabin' - we can walk, shop, post letters and go out for coffee and order take-away foods - many of us are missing family and friends who live further away. Others are antsy, frustrated and bored.

Our captain (Victoria's Premier, Daniel Andrews) is in some ways similar to the captain of a ship in a violently raging sea, and along with other countries around the globe, our ship has been blown off course.

Waaaaay off course.

There are no charts for this expedition and we rely on the skill of the captain, navigator, and crew to find the safest course to a new and different harbour to what was anticipated in 2019. This takes resolve and courage in the face of dissenting voices far away. 

There are rocks ahead.

We see other ships, far larger than ours foundering on jagged rocks during this frightening storm. 

Bodies pile up on a rocky island, while others swirl in the maelstrom, decomposing as we watch, helpless to assist. Desperate crew and passengers struggle to keep ships afloat while some captains shout indistinct or conflicting commands.

One captain & crew are carousing in his goldleaf cabin, denying there's anything amis while we watch in horror at the imminent wreckage. Will some of it create hazards for others at sea?

Meanwhile the violent storm rages on.

Focused on the job at hand, our captain commands "Heave to" to reduce the potential to join the devastation he sees around.

To weather a storm of such global magnitude takes nerves of steel, a calm demeanour, clear directions and responsible crew and passengers. It's incumbent on all to pull together in our response to this global covid crisis.

"We don't see the complexity of what's going on out of our sight."

Finding a relatively safe course through this uncharted territory is like deciphering a massive puzzle that's written in a different language, where unknowns are slowly revealed over MONTHS. Mistakes are made before new, more accurate information comes to hand.

The storm rages on with increased violence.

Over many weeks of Melbourne Lockdown, the encouraging result of the decision to heave to become clear. We appear to be safe!

However, while the captain has been focused on our collective safety, and found a relatively safe place to drop anchor while the storm increases with violence overhead, a dangerous plot has been hatched.

A mutiny is planned.

Poisonous letters are distributed to tired & vulnerable passengers. The easily led, the confused, the overly trusting, are encouraged to defy the captain's orders.

Far from making these saboteurs walk the plank, the captain treats them with civility and patience. Questions: repetitive, distracting questions which are unhelpful to fellow passengers, and increase their fear and distress, are fired at the captain daily & for MONTHS.

Draining questions. Pointless questions. Gotcha Questions. Questions that distract, deflect, obstruct, undermine & confuse the messages of safety which bring security & the sense of  "We're in this together, We can do it!" 

The storm rages on.

Thousands upon thousands of deaths. Untold numbers of young and previously healthy young people with life changing health problems due to #LongCovid . Overwhelmed medical facilities. Bodies piled on decks waiting for burial. Families, watching, waiting, grief-struck.

Passengers on other ships look to our captain & the difficult decisions he's made with envy. Other captains look here for direction.

The storm increases with ferocity.

Far from making sure everyone is doing their bit to ensure survival & encouraging passengers to doing do their part for everyone's benefit, the mutineers continue to undermine with destructive glee.

They DEMAND that the captain resigns.

Our mutineers have no chart. No idea how to read the language of the storm. No experience with GLOBAL storms of this magnitude, which come with terrifying gusts, then appear to abate. (No experience either with landlubber Australian bushfires which this captain prepared for and steered us through, saving countless lives, stock & property) These hints of abating are presented with supreme confidence as "The threat is over! Heaving to and dropping anchor were an overreaction by an incompetent, wimpy captain."

'Weigh anchor NOW' the mutineers command. 'We've had enough. We want our old life back. Take us back to the past!' little realising, or not prepared to acknowledge, that the whole world has changed. The dusty old charts, preserving the structure & order of their privileged past are redundant.

Missives are printed, funded by a foreign media mogul who's been involved with the foundering of other notable ships & resulting in the installation of his preferred captain.

Yet reputable people are expressing increased concern about the impact such power & influence has on our countries, our communities, families and environment; about what we're encouraged to believe & what's ignored or dismissed:

Here, here and here and an excellent article from Independent Australia as well as James Murdoch speaking out against News Corp which former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd discusses in this 2 minute video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4E6Ssvrocw&t=61s&ab_channel=KevinRudd

Yet midst the fear of the still frighteningly raging storm, our sorrow for what's been lost and fear of an unpredictable future, as well as anger at the mutineers, a tiny glimmer of light shines across the turbulent waters, there's something we CAN do. Former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd explains some of the issues and why we need a #MurdochRoyalCommission 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BPLBIgKjN8&ab_channel=KevinRudd

                                 

Murdoch Royal Commission link: https://www.aph.gov.au/petition_sign?id=EN1938

Remember to look at the list of Independent Media and perhaps choose a couple to subscribe to and become familiar with Media Manipulation Tactics to cut through the bs.

The storm rages on, and our safety looks promising ...

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(*disclaimer - Amelia is my daughter. I spent 10 years as a secondary school Career Counsellor and much of the rest of my working life in tertiary education and as a private career counsellor. I'm incredibly proud of her interviews & podcasts, not only from the professional aspect, but for the wealth of valuable career & life information they contain.)