Media Watch (video) addresses Duncan Storrar issue - Writes statement to show

The ABC's Media Watch has addressed the issue of the crucifixion of Duncan Storrar by the Murdoch corporate media. Duncan has written a letter to to Media Watch about it (linked and posted in full below). Thankfully he's come through his suicide watch and is still with us, thanking those who looked after him at the weekend.

Needless to say, am thankful also we have an independent publicly funded national broadcaster that doesn't have to bow to any media mogul such as Murdoch, and therefore has the freedom to speak freely on such matters. I particularly appreciated this bit - "With the story ticking all boxes for News Corp: Bash the poor. Bash the ABC. And Bash Labor. The perfect trifecta." There's the full transcript at the site, along with links to everything.

Including Duncan's full statement as presented here. The Royal Commission is the one into child sex abuse. Again, yes Newscorp decided to go after this man despite his ongoing mental health issues.

Lessons of the last week 

Here I sit after returning from hiding from the media. I don’t know where to start this except with what are the lessons for Australia in this episode 

I think they are this 1 if a person shows the powers to be, out of touch people that they are, they will be dropped, probed and attacked in any way with no thought to the mental well being of their children. 

2 this exposing of your life and every discrepancy in it will be published ruining your job prospects (would you give me a job after a google search comes up with the headlines of last week and will be used as a example to keep people like me quiet) 

Now there has been serious consequences from the decisions that the news corp press has taken in my so called story . I told everybody I talk to that I have just been to the royal commission and have serious mental issues . Knowing this the right wing press decided to write the story’s they did without a care for me or my (now ex partner ) mental health. Now as somebody who is training to learn to be a mental health advocate I ask does News Corp have a mental health policy when it comes to dealing with people like me. Yes they do , they have thrown this out to show the world that power. Has news corp broken the mental health act by knowing I have issues, my partner has issues, and still coming in boots and all. 

Isn’t there a duty of care instilled in the mental health act. 

These are questions for lawyers not me. 

Now to the wonderful people of Australia I’d like to thank you for my support. 

To the people that I spent the week end with, thank you for your help and the go fund people thank you for making sure my girls have their school needs taken care of. The money will go in a trust fund for school and to charities. 

And final, my question is still valid and hasn’t been answered but more to the point there are a whole class of people out there, yes we might have records , yes we might not be perfect but society has forgotten us the politicians and the media use us when ever they want to show why they need to be elected but never do anything to help our plight . We are breaking down here and life hasn’t been this hard since before Whitlam for the underclass. 

Thank you Australia for all your support I didn’t want this. 

Q and A is the only place where people like me can ask questions of our leaders and policy makers and as it’s so hard to see your politicians we don’t have any other contact with these people and as such is the most important part of democracy I have available to me. 

Duncan Storrar PDF  

So after all the hoopla, the question remains, perhaps more so now than before Murdoch demonised him. Australians don't like bullies and they especially don't like seeing the powerful bullying somebody so obviously vulnerable. The fact that it happened is perhaps a metaphor about where we're heading as a society. Are the voices of the vulnerable to be shouted down by an hysterical far right media arm of the corporate Lieberals? Duncan's story shows just how easily this can happen.

The whole reason he became a hero was because finally Australians saw somebody on the telly articulating exactly what they're thinking. Finally, the 30 year Reaganomic reign of trickle down economics was being challenged live on national TV, in a very human way, and catching the powers that be completely off guard. A condescending remark and a $6,000 toaster was indeed no answer to his question.

We should still be asking Duncan's question throughout this election; why do the well off get tax cuts and us poor don't get anything in the budget? In fact we get demands for co-payments FFS.

Simple common sense tells us that if you give the poor extra money it will go 100% back into the economy. We live fortnight to fortnight. Days on end without a cent to our name. Any extra will obviously go. But give money to the well off, and it sits in the bank doing nothing.