Free Speech Takes another dive in Australia

While the federal government is desperately trying to give “free Speech” to brain dead Red necks to racially vilify others, another drama is unfolding.

Recently Gina Rinehart took offence to Channel Nine’s mini series about her family and sought an injunction to have it kept off television. Unlike the rest of us who must simply bear what the free press prints or publishes about us accepting that that is what democracy is about, Rinehart used her billions to put a spanner in the works in court.

Its important to note that her injunction didn’t actually say the mini series was in majority untrue, just that it made her and her family look bad. This is one of the major problems with people saying something defames them, it only means it subjects them to public ridicule or scrutiny; often its still the absolute truth and as a democracy we should be entitled to that truth.

What is appalling is that one person can decide with their money what the press (in this case the TV) say with their high priced lawyers.

This is a signal to Australian governments that its high time for laws to protect the freedom of the press in this country. Every other civilized Western democracy has such laws, we are trailing far behind.

Of course the upshot for “House of Hancock” will be that more people will watch it than previously would have (even in altered form) due to the controversy this has created, Gina’s attempts to impede free speech will have backfired on her.

Rinehart is also often outspoken about the wealthy somehow having the responsibility to better manage things: recently she was on her soap box speaking out against “socialist-type” governments being the real enemy of working Australians! Saying we have to get through the “class warfare smokescreen” – yes after all how can the rich continue to just get richer otherwise. It seems we all just need to “work harder” and harder to help fill the coffers of people like her and somehow trust them to look after us with a trickle downwards to live at subsistence levels. Sounds completely rational to me..well maybe if I was a billionaire who inherited everything I have!