The Drum (and the ABC): just an outlet for Labor

Last week, the ABC was forced to apologise to Shadow Immigration Minister Scott Morrison after ABC journalist Stephen Long accused Mr Morrison of being 'racist'. Mr Long also declared that the Coalition's border protection policy was ''a cynical manipulation of an underlying prejudice in the Australian community and that it has very little policy merit''. As Gerard Henderson pointed out in Media Watch Dog, other panelists on The Drum on Monday 11 June all agreed with Mr Long. Antony Loewenstein a left-wing blogger and Jessie Taylor, a lawyer supported Long, while Adam Creighton from The Australian bizarrely dismissed the whole debate surrounding illegal immigration 'just politics'. As Mr Henderson point out ''In other words, not one of the guests on the program was prepared to defend the Coalition’s policy on border protection''. I can now reveal that the host of The Drum Steve Cannane would also likely be sympathetic to the statements of Long and his criticism of the Coalition policies. Mr Cannane contested Warringah (now Tony Abbott's seat) at the1993 Federal election for Labor. Mr Cannane admitted as such to me on Twitter. How can it be that taxpayers fund a programme in which only one position on such a contentious public policy issue is put? This isn't North Korea.

What this means is all panelists and the host essentially agreed with the Greens position on border protection, in stark contrast to popular public opinion. This is in contrast to the ABC Code of Practice which says:

• ''Present a diversity of persepctives''
• ''Do not unduly favour one perspective over another''

A breach of the ABC Code of Practice warrants a complaint to the ABC.
Left: Stephen Long