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Forget about the facts, play the man

Ministers in the Australian Government have, disgracefully, frequently attacked the messenger when a Report issued on a particular topic has "attacked" the this or that Government policy.

The recent outbursts by Ministers Hockey and Costello are no exception. It's a matter taken up by Michael Bachelard, of The Age, in a piece "Attack is no substitute for argument":

"When I rang the office of Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey on Monday night for his comments on a new survey by academics on WorkChoices, the response was, unfortunately, predictable.

After a brief discussion about the facts of the survey, Hockey's media adviser asked who had written it. I spelled out the name of the lead researcher, Dr Brigid van Wanrooy. Twenty minutes later, the minister emailed an official response.

"This report is not credible. It is the same old flawed research from the same old union accedemics (sic). It contradicts far more reliable findings from the ABS. It has (sic) hardly surprising that acdemics (sic) such as John Buchanan and Brigid van Wanrooy, who has previously authored ACTU research, would come up with such a flawed report."

Hockey was at it again on radio first thing next morning, but he upgraded Van Wanrooy and Buchanan, her boss, from union academics to "former trade union officials who are parading as academics".

Peter Costello also got into the game, saying the report had been "contaminated" by Unions NSW's half-funding of it."

Read the full piece here - and reflect on the appalling standard of literacy [and intelligence?] of the Minister's minions. Your taxes at work!

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