Friday 29th of March 2024

the year in review: in the rubbish bin of the murdoch media...

bin

This cartoon (24-25 October 2020) by Johannes Leak, Bill's son, has been modified by Gus to remove the exclusive intents of the Murdoch media that show Scott Morrison as an exemplary god-fearing Christian who never tells a porkie and acts like the principal of a college for future advertising delinquents. 

 

The original is quite lame and demand a bit of oldy-worldy sniggering:

 

original

 

As you can see from the crumpling of the cartoon, it was actually found, by Gus, in a RUBBISH BIN...

don quixote's full name was trump...

In the Murdoch Media, the support for Don against the windmills was in full swing till the end (is it the end?) 

 

"As for me, I must esteem myself happy, to have been the first that rendered those fabulous nonsensical stories of knight-errantry, the object of the public aversion. They are already going down, and I do not doubt but they will drop and fall all together in good earnest, never to rise again. Adieu."

 

Yes, for Donald Trump, Don Quixote and Uncle Rupert, the windmills are evil... Not to mention the electric cars!... From Murdoch's The Australian:

 

electric cars

 

For Gus, electric car drivers should be given a medal for having to drive with all the electronic gizmos of the bizos that demand a degree in power station and grid management just to press the correct setting button... Mostly oldies with a bank account and young executives can afford the electric cars — and not only this, unless they make a pledge to drive on renewables, they pay their fair share in carbon polluting energy at the source...


 

And by the way, I know of Cartier watches from the 1970s, full gold casing and super thin movement that could outbid any Rolexes plus a couple of Bitcoins anyday... Not cheap...

 

pushed under the proverbial bus...

 

Scott Morrison insists former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate decided to quit but is refusing to comment on shocking allegations she was bullied out.

Ms Holgate resigned late in 2020 after it was revealed four Australia Post executives were gifted luxury watches for sealing a lucrative deal.

She has attacked Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo in a blistering submission to a Senate inquiry, accusing him of lying to Parliament and humiliating her.

 

The Prime Minister said he wanted to leave the issue between Ms Holgate and Australia Post.

“Ms Holgate decided to leave Australia Post. That’s just a matter of record,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra on Wednesday.

An independent investigation later cleared Ms Holgate of any dishonesty, fraud, corruption or intentional misuse of taxpayer funds.

But the accomplished chief executive claims she was bullied out of the company, unlawfully stood down and abandoned to a media firestorm.

“To this date, I have not received any explanation why I was forced to stand down other than the minister and Prime Minister insisted on it and that in itself, does not have legal standing,” Ms Holgate wrote.

Mr Morrison refused to address the perception he threw her under a bus during a stunning Question Time tirade where he called for her to go.

Labor communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland said the allegations in the 150-page submission were staggering.

“She is clearly very aggrieved by the actions not only by the chair of the Australia Post board but also the Prime Minister and the Minister for Communications,” she told ABC radio.

 

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg would not confirm whether the government had sought an explanation from the Australia Post chairman.

Ms Holgate says Mr Di Bartolomeo treated her “like a criminal” and blames him for being forced out of the top job.

“He lied repeatedly to the Australian people and to their parliament about his actions,” she wrote.

Her submission also featured emails, photos of handwritten cards and a letter from her lawyers to Mr Di Bartolomeo.

 

 

Read more:

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/04/07/christine-holgate-pm/

 

Read from top...

 

assangeassange

bullied by scomo and co...

 

The former Australia Post boss has told a Senate Committee she was "humiliated" and pushed out of her job as chief executive officer unwillingly by the company's chair over a decision to give Cartier watches to staff.

Key points:
  • Christine Holgate says Australia Post chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo unlawfully stood her down to please the government
  • Mr Di Bartolomeo said in a statement last week that Ms Holgate's claims were not correct
  • Ms Holgate told a Senate inquiry she thinks the chair should resign

Christine Holgate stepped aside as CEO of the company late last year after she revealed at a different hearing that she had given four staff members the luxury watches in 2018 as thanks for securing a lucrative deal.

Ms Holgate said this morning in an opening statement to the committee the choice to leave was not her own and she was illegally forced to step aside.

"The simple truth is, I was bullied out of my job," she said.

"I was humiliated and driven to despair. I was thrown under the bus so the chairman of Australia Post could curry favour with his political masters.

"But I'm still here and I'm stronger for surviving it."

Ms Holgate said the controversy that unfolded in the wake of her original evidence was "hell" and left her "suicidal" and on medication for her mental health.

If you or anyone you know needs help:

She told the inquiry she believed the chair should resign, and accused him of misleading the Parliament and lying to the government.

Board wanted her as CEO

Australia Post Chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo has rejected Ms Holgate's claims, saying in a statement last week she had agreed to stand aside.

Speaking at the inquiry this afternoon, he said neither the board nor he had sought Ms Holgate's resignation.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said he asked her to step aside for four weeks while an independent investigation was held so that the company could appoint a temporary CEO in the lead-up to the Christmas rush.

"I view the purchase of the watches as an error of judgement made in good faith by an otherwise highly effective CEO," he said.

"I also recognise the circumstances around the departure of the former CEO were difficult for Christine and everyone involved.

"All through the process, her welfare remains a priority for Australia Post and we made sure the organisation continue to support her through what has been a trying time."

He said Ms Holgate's resignation was a shock both to the organisation and to the board.

 

He said he did not believe Ms Holgate was owed an apology from Australia Post but agreed she was treated "abysmally" in the wake of the revelations by Parliament and the media.

"I understand the hurt she felt and appreciate it and we tried to do as much as possible to assist her," Mr Di Bartolomeo said.

The chairman said while the independent report found she broke no policies, it did find she did not act within certain guidelines of her role.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said Communications Minister Paul Fletcher called him before Question Time saying he wanted an independent review into the situation and for Ms Holgate to step aside.

 

The watches were worth on average just under $5,000 each.

Ms Holgate told the inquiry she was entitled, as CEO, to give the four people bonuses of up to $150,000 each which she decided against in favour of the Cartier gifts in 2018.

Asked, in hindsight, if she would have gifted the watches, Ms Holgate joked that she may have considered buying a different brand.

"Whether I probably buy them a Seiko watch in future, probably, but am I proud of the moment that I gave those people recognition for working 24 hours a day? I think that is what you would want your CEO to do," she said.

"They were actually, probably, the cheapest four watches of Cartier they had, they were just different ones. I am sorry guys [who] received them, it wasn't about the value it was about the recognition." 

Shortly after Ms Holgate spoke about the watches, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stood up in Parliament and said it did not pass the "pub test" and she should be immediately stood aside or "go".

 

"The pub test I was being judged against was handing out gold watches in the middle of a crisis, that's not what happened," she said.

She said she did not know why the Prime Minister made the comment but that she believed she was forced to stand aside because Mr Morrison "instructed" it.

Today Ms Holgate told the committee neither the Prime Minister or Communications Minister Paul Fletcher had contacted her since the incident.

"I was hung in Parliament, humiliated, not just hung, run over by a bus and reversed again," she said.

Ms Holgate said she was honoured to be at the helm of the company and "devastated" to have to leave it.

Partly a gender issue, Holgate says

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young suggested to Ms Holgate that there was a "stark difference" between the Prime Minister's response to her compared to his reaction to allegations levelled against some of his colleagues.

Ms Holgate agreed and pointed to a Four Corners report from last year that focused on Cabinet ministers Alan Tudge and Christian Porter.

"Following that program, the Prime Minister was asked about the behaviour of two of his ministers, his response was 'it was two years ago'," she told the inquiry.

"I gave four watches in reward to people who brought an incredible contribution to Australia Post two years ago, that was never shared."

Ms Holgate was also asked whether she thought the way she was treated had anything to do with her being a woman.

"So do I believe it's partially a gender issue? You're absolutely right I do," she said.

"But do I believe the real problem here is bullying and harassment and abuse of power? You're absolutely right I do."

The former CEO, as well as two other senior women supporting her and also giving evidence at the inquiry, wore white at the hearing as a nod to the suffragette movement.

 

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-13/christine-holgate-cartier-watches-dismissal-committee-hearing/100064972

 

Scomo is a lying idiot... and a champion of sports rorts ...

 

Read from top.

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!

apologies...

 

... this week Crikey has gone even further, publishing two front-page apologies – to Lachlan Murdoch and Christine Holgate – on one day. And that’s not all. So serious were the mistakes Crikey has agreed to keep the apologies to Murdoch and Holgate on the homepage for 14 days.

All social media posts and stories have been deleted and Stephen Mayne has apologised on his Twitter account.

“On 15 April 2021, Crikey published an article by Mr Mayne titled ‘Forget Australia Post. Here’s the real reason to attack Christine Holgate’,” the apology reads. “That article made certain claims about Mr Lachlan Murdoch’s tenure as a board member of Ten Network Holdings. Crikey and Mr Mayne accept that those claims were false and defamatory of Mr Murdoch. Crikey and Mr Mayne unconditionally withdraw those claims and apologise to Mr Murdoch for the hurt and offence caused to him by reason of that publication.”

The apology to Holgate is similar.

 

 

Crikey published a since deleted article by Stephen Mayne on April 15 titled “Forget Australia Post. Here’s the real reason to attack Christine Holgate”, which was accompanied by a cartoon. The article made certain claims about ... 1/2

— Stephen Mayne (@MayneReport) April 22, 2021

 

 

Crikey’s editor-in-chief, Peter Fray, told Weekly Beast the publication made a series of mistakes in the article and had agreed to “keep the current apology on the homepage for 14 days”.

 

“We compensated Mr Murdoch and Ms Holgate for their legal costs,” Fray said. “The total sum was $14,000. As Mr Mayne notes, this was his first stuff-up in 16 years of contributing to Crikey, which, of course, he founded 21 years ago. As editor-in-chief of Crikey, I am responsible for what is published on the site. Crikey will continue to be an independent, fearless and Australian-owned voice of journalism.”

Mayne was forced to sell his house in 2001 after he was sued by radio presenter Steve Price, who he eventually paid $50,000.

 

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/apr/23/crikey-kicks-off-fortnight-of-apologising-to-lachlan-murdoch-and-christine-holgate

 

 

 

Read from top

 

 

assange2assange2

the true reason for sacking holgate...

 

By Kim Carr

 

Parliamentary privilege is far more than a means of protecting politicians from being sued for what they say in parliamentary proceedings. It is a powerful tool for any Australian seeking to hold governments to account. By giving evidence under privilege to a Senate committee, former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate was able to expose the Morrison Government’s plan to cut postal services and privatise parcel deliveries.

 

As CEO, Ms Holgate had resisted that plan, and her decision to give $5000 Cartier watches as bonuses to four executives gave the government a convenient pretext to stand her down.

Ms Holgate supplied the Senate committee with copies of a secret review of Australia Post by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The BCG review, commissioned by the Government, includes proposals for the closure of up to 213 post offices and the loss of nearly 8000 jobs, leading to a reduction in services and sale of the parcel delivery business.

All of this would have happened on top of the reduced letter delivery service introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has responded to the revelations at last week’s Senate committee hearing by saying that the Government has no plans to privatise Australia Post.

Well, he would, wouldn’t he? The minister’s “nothing to see here” statement really says no more than the government has no plan until there is an official, public scheme to privatise.

Despite Mr Fletcher’s claims, a letter that he and Australia Post’s other shareholder minister, then Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, sent to the corporation’s board and management on 30 March 2020, says otherwise:

“We thank you for your assistance during the review and look forward to continuing to work closely with the board and Australia Post as you manage the effects of Covid-19 on your workforce, your customers and the business, and through the upcoming corporate plan process. As an initial step, we envisage that BCG’s finding should be taken into account as the corporate plan process is developed as we work together to support Australia Post’s ambition for transformation”.

The ministers gave themselves wriggle room. The letter does not contain a formal directive to implement the BCG proposals but makes clear that the BCG review should be used to guide Australia Post’s next strategic plan.

Ms Holgate, however, pushed back against the BCG proposals. She advocated an alternative strategy of growing Australia Post’s letter and parcel delivery business while also introducing new services, including financial services.

That made her a problem to be solved, and the Cartier watches presented the Government with an opportunity to solve the problem.

When the Prime Minister was asked about the watches during question time in November last year, he condemned the gifts as scandalous and insisted that Ms Holgate should step aside pending the outcome of an inquiry. If she did not, “she should go”.

The subsequent inquiry did not find any major fault in Ms Holgate’s actions, because it was within her remit to award bonuses of up to $150,000 to executives.

As we know, however, she eventually submitted her resignation to the Australia Post board. She believed the campaign of vilification to which she had been subjected made her position untenable, although she claims her contract is yet to be concluded.

The Government got what it wanted through a shabby exercise in the politics of distraction. Even Ms Holgate concedes, as she did in evidence to the Senate committee, that in retrospect the decision to give the watches to the four executives was unwise.

No doubt that is so, but it should be noted that the watches were not just perks. They were presented as bonuses because the executives had negotiated a deal to make banking services available through Australia Post offices.

As Ms Holgate noted in documents presented to the Senate inquiry, “Over 50 per cent of the communities in Australia do not have a bank, yet there is a post office. An extended role in financial services would help keep community post offices sustainable while providing a very important community service”.

For the present, the plan to privatise part, and perhaps eventually all, of Australia Post appears to have been shelved.

The Government has retreated in the face of the revelations of the Senate inquiry, which showed the campaign of vilification directed against Ms Holgate for what it really is: the bullying of a successful female CEO who did not bow to an ideological agenda that would hurt the most vulnerable in our community.

But we now have confirmation of what the Government’s intentions were. If they are to be resisted again in future, we are likely to need the Senate’s committee process to again hold the Government to account.

 

Read more:

https://johnmenadue.com/pipped-at-the-post-how-the-government-tried-to-sell-australia-post/

 

 

 

Read from top

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE TODAY...!!!!1