Like a secret rendezvous with ICAC superstar Daryl Maguire, it promised so much but delivered so little.
The handful of viewers on Sky News were promised something that was going to rock politics. Peta Credlin was going to “expose everything”.
Before I go any further, it's necessary to point out that given I would rather have a nasty rash than any kind of Murdoch subscription, I watched "Deadly Decisions" on YouTube.
Credlin’s target was, of course, Daniel Andrews and her timing was the day after another popular Labor Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk wiped the floor with the best the Liberal National Party (LNP) could put up in Deb Frecklington. The day after promising to stay on as LNP leader she quit the role, likely before being dumped by her colleagues.
Still, it’s not all bad news for Frecklington, this will give her the opportunity to go fruit picking. Apparently, it pays a motza.
Unfortunately for Credlin, the only thing proven on the night was News Corps' desperation to derail Andrews and the only thing exposed was the complete lack of Credlin’s credibility.
She clearly isn't content with being made to look a fool at Daniel Andrews' press conference by attempting to make up new facts. Credlin put together a mishmash of lies, what we already know, the views of a few other News Corp colleagues, a disgruntle security firm executive and an "expert", former Premier Jeff Kennett.
The show started with Credlin talking to the camera and straight away stating a blatant lie.
Victoria’s lockdown had been the “longest and hardest in the world". It is neither. If Credlin wanted to be taken seriously she did not need to open her show with a blatant lie.
If she didn’t know it was a lie there is this new research tool called Google, where a simple search would have shown her that several countries had longer and harder COVID-19 lockdowns. Argentina, South Korea and the Philippines for example. In the industry, it is called "research".
What she failed to mention is that even though it wasn’t the "longest and hardest" it was certainly one of the most effective and successful lockdowns. The Victorian method has been praised in the U.S. by both the media and their top COVID-19 expert, Dr Anthony Fauci.
If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then Credlin need look no further than her old employer's new boss, Conservative UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who has recently announced a new tough lockdown in England.
Thankfully it wasn’t all blatant lies, some of it was just insinuated mistruths. This includes Credlin’s claim that Victoria decided to “go it alone" in relation to security guards.
The intent here seems to be reinforcing the urban myth that Victoria was the only state to use private security firms for hotel quarantine. The program then showed images of security guards asleep on the floor in hotels, in scenes that were reminiscent of those we saw in NSW at their Sydney hotel quarantine sites that were reported by Nine News, A Current Affair as well as News Corp.
Lo and behold the sleeping security guards in Sydney were also from private firms. Victoria wasn’t so alone after all.
Interviews with political relics and security executives and personnel with clear grudges aren't news. They aren't a scoop and won’t raise a drop of sweat on the brow of an extremely popular Premier.
With the “Deadly Decision" to air this rubbish, Credlin has shown herself to be as skilled in journalism as Georgina Downer is in being a politician.
On the subject of popular premiers and News Corp, the decisive Palaszczuk victory last weekend is not only a kick in the guts to the LNP, it is also a sharp knee in the groin for the Murdoch press.
News Corp has the printed press in Queensland largely to themselves. Yet, for all their propaganda they only succeeded in sending the conservative vote backwards. Frecklington’s failure was only overshadowed by their own.
Despite all their pitiful efforts, News Corp will likely achieve the same failure in Victoria.
Probably worse.
Peter Wicks is an Independent Australia columnist and a former Federal Labor Party staffer. You can follow him on Twitter @MadWixxy.
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