As I spend 6 months in Australia-6 in the UK I now find so little difference in how the law and media work-possible because the "Sun King" Rupert Murdoch controls so much of it.

Here is one example of one politician who found out the hard way how destructive the media can be with the truth ( no prizes for guessing which media organisation were the main offendors)

some background: John Della Bosca & his wife Belinda Neal are both MPs-one state and one federal. They aren't the most attractive couple-considered abrasive but they have reputations for honesty and obviously-their electorates chose them over other candidates.

One night about 3 months ago they were celebrating a birthday with friends at a nightclub called Iguanas and then the scandal Iguanagate came along.

Asked to move tables they supposedly abused staff and claimed "do you know who I am ?" etc.
The tabloids went crazy-waiters signed Stat Decs ( some later withdrew them when their stories didn't stack up). Some Iguanas staff went on TV ( for $30,000 cash) and made similar claims-they appeared on front pages of Murdoch tabloids as "heroes" standing up to these 2 powerful MPs pushing their weight around. Murdoch's press went for the throat especially over Belinda Neal-a new MP in the new Labor government of Kevin Rudd (whose offence is that he wasn't Rupert Murdoch's personal choice and had convindly booted out Murdoch's beloved PM John Howard)

Finally police were called in about false Statuary Declarations and the tablods speculated when these 2 would be sacked and possibly jailed.

3 months later-the whole thing fell apart -no charges-the 2 MP's completely cleared of any wrong doing...needless to say..you have to go to about page 22 to find this info.

Belinda Neal finally puts her own view on a rampant media and it's destructive element..but she had some power and recourses. For others-they simply get crucified.
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Media chip away at a cornerstone of our rights
by Belinda Neal

"The right to silence is under threat in Australia. The Howard government attempted to legislate the right to silence out of existence. Under threat of severe personal punishment, workers and union officials in the building and construction industry were compelled to appear before the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner, facing fines and long jail terms if they chose not to answer the tribunal's questions.

Human rights - including the right to silence in legal proceedings - were once the valued cornerstone of Australia's judicial process. An individual's choice not to answer, or to answer in the manner they chose, was an accepted and legitimate human right.

The right to silence is fundamental to the concept that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. The obligation of proof rests absolutely with the state or the accuser. To erode the right to silence is to erode the presumption of innocence."

cont-

www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/media-chip-a...0/1220857635069.html