Today Nova Peris has had excruciatingly personal correspondence splashed across the media. The NT News claims the Labor Senator used taxpayer funds to help her carry out an extra-marital affair with Olympic medalist Ato Boldon in 2010. To help tell the story, the News Corp-owned scat sheet thought it necessary to publish deeply personal and sexual messages between the alleged lovebirds.
This is not surprising from a tabloid that relies on salacious journalism to sell its papers (think quality yarns such as “Why I stuck a cracker up my clacker”, “Best man left bleeding after being hit in head by flying dildo” and “Catnappers shaved my pussy”). But details of Peris’ personal emails have also been picked up by Fairfax — with both The Age and Sydney Morning Herald featuring this as their top story online this morning:
The story leads with Peris’ alleged unfavourable opinion of fellow Olympian Cathy Freeman, and also includes sexually explicit quotes from the original NT News story.
If Peris did indeed use public funds for personal gain, voters deserve to know about it. But the finer details of her alleged sex life add absolutely nothing to the story. To their credit, the ABC and Guardian Australia have carried the story without the sexual details.
Yes, Nova Peris is an elected representative. No, her personal opinions on Freeman, or the details of her private life, are not in the public interest. It’s the kind of grubby journalism you’d expect from the tabloids. It’s a sad day for journalism when Fairfax follows suit.
23 thoughts on “Crikey says: Senator’s sex life not in the public interest”
zut alors
October 29, 2014 at 2:07 pmThe usual Murdoch mud sling, ho hum.
Fairfax appear hellbent on shooting themselves in the foot by taking a similar course.
Norman Hanscombe
October 29, 2014 at 2:22 pmFor me what’s more worrying is how Labor’s Powerbrokers once again parachuted a politically inept media star in to replace a hard working M.P. who had done more for genuine indigenous causes than most.
I accept zut alors et al concentrate on trifles ahead of serious issues, but surely Crikey could be setting a higher standard re what are genuinely important problems?
Di Keller
October 29, 2014 at 2:55 pmNorman , I think the problem may be that she is not a politically inept media star. She has been doing a great job. A lot of people didn’t want that. If it is typical of anything it is typical white anting Kevin Rudd style !!
And definitely not in the public interest. !!!!
scot mcphee
October 29, 2014 at 3:01 pmWhere did these emails come from? How do we know they are obtained legitimately? We all know News Ltd’s track record with this sort of stuff.
Norman Hanscombe
October 29, 2014 at 3:03 pmDi, even many Labor supporters who don’t want the Coalition gaining more support are wincing over her record. Time will tell.
klewso
October 29, 2014 at 3:24 pmIf only we could hack and publish the details of the private lives of these hacks and their employers?
CML
October 29, 2014 at 3:27 pmAll this allegedly took place over four years ago, and before Peris became a Senator.
By all means let those organisations who provided the money for this event investigate what happened. But it has NOTHING to do with the Labor Party or politics generally. Nova does not appear to have used public donations/electoral funding for this gig, like some other pollies I could mention!!
Usual low-life media trying to beat this up – anti-Labor idealogues strike again!!!
Brad Sprigg
October 29, 2014 at 4:03 pmThere have been rumours of infidelity of other Federal politicians for years, none of those have been deemed newsworthy by these organisations. It seems they are selective over whose details are in the public interest and whose aren’t.
The Pav
October 29, 2014 at 4:15 pmIs this the same media outlet that railed against Wikileaks and the recent emails leaked for that “bloke wot done the edmacation revue”?
Gratton Wilson
October 29, 2014 at 4:55 pmIs this the same media that didn’t tell us that Bob Menzies was having an affair with the wife of the Newspaper that had given him such splendid support (until her husband found out)?
Is this spite because Nova is a woman and shouldn’t have an affair or because she is Aboriginal and having an affair with an Olympic hero is a bit uppity.