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ABC on Merri Rose: not the full story
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Merri Rose has served her time in prison and deserves to be able to get on with her life. Others, who worked for her, will always struggle to do the same because of what they endured while in her office. And some of their families went through worse than watching a relative go to gaol. Those voices weren’t heard on Australian Story last night, which continued its finest whitewashing tradition by providing half an hour for the former Minister to explain how she was a victim of the media and powerful ALP figures like Peter Beattie and Bill Ludwig. Absent from the program, for legal reasons, was any discussion by Rose of her relationship with Beattie. Also absent — for no reason other than the program makers were apparently determined to offer a hagiography — was any input from staff who were bullied by her. Crikey understands that a number of interviews with former staff — not all of them negative — were recorded by the program makers and not used, ensuring Rose’s bullying behaviour was glossed over as just another of her travails. Accordingly, there are a number of former staffers of Rose who were deeply angered by what the ABC aired. “It was it was yet another attempt by Merri to justify what she can’t,” said a relative of one of the worst-affected staff. “The program lost all credibility.” Another former staff member complained that Rose was playing the part of a casualty in something of her own making. “The big boys doing her over is all part of the dirty and particularly nasty virus known as the Queensland ALP. What did she expect?” Chris Johnson, who worked for Rose and later for Police Minister Judy Spence, said:
Journalist Madeleine Doherty worked for Rose for five months before leaving, unable to handle what she called the worst job she ever had. She made the point that Rose’s behaviour towards Beattie — threatening him when she didn’t get what she felt she was entitled to — was exactly how she treated her staff. “Her own behaviour in the end came back and bit her on the bum.” Doherty believes there is a system-wide problem of MPs with no experience of managing staff being required to manage complex and demanding workplaces.
Time and again ex-staffers make the same point — that MPs with no experience of managing people are not being provided with sufficient help from their parties or Parliaments. The cost in human terms can be seen in the scores of ex-electorate office staff who are still trying to get their lives together for years afterward. Some never work again. Perhaps Merri Rose reflects on that while she’s wandering along the beach on Moreton Island. But don’t count on it. |
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10 Comments
John Wanna must feel a right idiot after offering a highly divorced-from-reality opinion on the Merri Rose story run by the ABC. What on earth qualifies him to speculate on such nonsense statements as Rose was a ‘competent Minister’ who worked hard! John Wanna..can we let you know as her staffers she rarely showed up for much more than the glitz and glamour occasions. She was overwhelmed by international heads of state and loathed Beattie for putting her in the firing line. We binned the rewards of her socialising that certainly did no favours for Queensland. We altered her constituent schedules so she could get to the pub on time, fit in the hairdresser and the leg-waxer. Give us a break Wanna - we’ll debate this any time with you.
Quite so Bernard. I too watched the program and as fine a piece of ‘tits and bums’ hinting as I’ve ever come across. I’m not quite sure of what transpired-because I turned it off. But judging by what was not said I came to the conclusion she was a bullying monster who could have said anything about anyone. As I have a filthy mind
I imagined it was to do with S_X. Well I did say I had a filthy mind.
To the editors: I find I need to completely readjust my vision to read the text where in runs into the red band on the right. Am I the only one?
So, since when is ANYTHING on TV fact based and non biased news? It’s ENTERTAINMENT! If you want the facts …. don’t look to the media, any media, for equality and balanced opinion. Facts are not entertaining …. whereas one sided reporting, allegations and innuendos are! And when the culprit claims to be the victim, well it’s pure ratings bonanza.
I watched the programme not knowing anything about the back story and while I do not have much sympathy for Merri Rose I want to know what Peter Beattie is trying to hide. He has always struck me as the archetypal ‘nose in the trough’ politician ie a typical Queensland politician; is he trying to protect himself or somebody else, and is the person he is trying to protect innocent or guilty - I suspect guilty. The public (aka the taxpayer ) is entitled to know!
By the way. I just noticed the first bullying claim was lodged in 2001 - the second more than two years later. The woman isn’t doing herself any favours rather digging a deeper hole.
John Wanna must feel a right idiot after offering a highly divorced-from-reality opinion on the Merri Rose story run by the ABC. What on earth qualifies him to speculate on such nonsense statements as Rose was a ‘competent Minister’ who worked hard! John Wanna..can we let you know as her staffers she rarely showed up for much more than the glitz and glamour occasions. She was overwhelmed by international heads of state and loathed Beattie for putting her in the firing line. We binned the rewards of her socialising that certainly did no favours for Queensland. We altered her constituent schedules so she could get to the pub on time, fit in the hairdresser and the leg-waxer. Give us a break Wanna - we’ll debate this any time with you.
Welcome to the world of Queensland politics Merri - where suppression orders, confidentiality agreements and silence deeds reign supreme. Its how the QLA maintains a semblance of law and order when there is none. And as one of those with a gifted, unique opportunity to turn your anachronistic state around, you st**fed it. Sitting out there on Moreton Island with a life pension (that you rubbed in the face of too many staff) think about how you could have used your time as an MP more fruitfully. The only decent thing you ever did was talking to Australian Story and opening up (yet again) an episode in a lot of people’s lives they’d prefer to forget.
I think most of Queensland deserves to know what their former Premier is hiding. They deserve some consideration given the guy used their money to run his case that suppressed a personal issue that didn’t impact on state matters.
She’s the Sarah Palin of Queensland! Did we hear this so called talented Minister who starred on Australian Story last night assert the official bullying claims against her were unfair and the upshot of a frenzied personal attack by a few staff? Bullies are typified by their use of preferential and differential behavior as they pick off the vulnerable with their Jeckyll and Hyde nature - innocent in a crowd and vicious in private. She also trotted out the line that ten or more statements from current staff and others in the Party all claimed no experience of her proven intimidation antics. We assume these were the same statements being waived infront of the TV cameras by the then Premier as he also clearly misunderstood ‘bullying’ and defended the hapless Rose. Der!! If your job and future depended on him, her or the party you’d be a right idiot to challenge their unified line. Australian Story should be ridiculed for its biased program – it should have explained last night’s story was a snapshot of a much wider issue. Thumbs down to Rose, Beattie and the ABC.
I think your right Bernard. If Oz story told us what it could tell us then you can imagine what it couldn’t. It’s a bit more than a possible roll in the cot. Merri Rose is clearly a challenged individual as the ABC depicted - a victim of her own incompetence in an environment out of her league. The Premier and the Labor Party got no return on their investment and showed appalling form by installing the high school dropout into a parliament, cold turkey. She was clearly set up to fail. If Beattie’s the so-called quintessential politician most Labor luminaries like to think he is, he made a real hash of this one. Taxpayers expect our political parties to field astute, visionary and focussed performers - this lot look like the dregs of the unemployment queues. By the way…if Beattie used the resources of the parliament to extricate himself from the mess – that also needs a full explanation.