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The Fourth Estate - AWOL

Today's Age newspaper has an article by Michelle Grattan [the newspaper's Chief Political correspondent] dealing with PM Howard's 10 years in office. How astounding then that Grattan doesn't even approach the subject of Iraq with Howard. After all the PM, against overwhelming opposition of the Australian people, committed Australia to the Iraq war as a member of the Coalition of the Willing. In return it seems to be well-recognised and accepted - certainly by those who analyse these things - that Australia is now a target of terrorism. It says something about the media in Australia that Grattan chose to ignore the subject of Iraq in her interview with Howard. How pathetic and how unfortunate for us all that the media doesn't fulfill its role of testing, challenging and probing our political leaders.

One can make the same point about the way in which the media hasn't challenged either Ministers Ruddock, Vanstone or Downer about the Alvarez and Rau affairs and the strong condemnation meted out to their respective departments by the Reports recently published. Ministerial responsibility in our supposed Westminster system is clearly dead and buried! That is shameful - and something we will all pay the price for, in many ways, now, and in the future.

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