No hard questions for Gillard on Lateline
There was a time when John Howard was Prime Minister that going on “Lateline” for an interview with Tony Jones was something of a concern for government ministers.
These days, Rudd ministers must rub their hands together with glee.
On “Lateline” last night Tony Jones did little more than spend a long interview inviting Deputy PM and media darling Julia Gillard to launch a series of attacks on the Opposition.
After Gillard had spent the best part of a minute bagging the Opposition, Jones’ next question was “Let’s go to the Opposition …” which then invited another bagging of Tony Abbott and his “flip-flopping” – even though it is very clear that Rudd’s has done the flip-flopping by backing right away from his recent “belief in a big Australia.”
Jones then raised the issue of border security and asylum seekers but only by implying that the Opposition was wrong to link immigration levels with the current flood of illegal arrivals – “Are there dangers that you see in evoking that kind of analogy.”
Jones completely glossed over the asylum seeker crisis, failed to remind Gillard that more than 100 boats have arrived since Rudd became Prime Minister, and failed to point out that the Christmas Island detention centre was full to overflowing.
Jones then invited Gillard to make what was little more than a party political broadcast on workplace relations and the Building Education debacle and wrapped up with a lame question about the auditor-general.
All in a day’s work for the taxpayer funded broadcasting arm of the ALP.
