Mr Austin,

Is it true that Prime Minister Gillard has offered the position of Foreign Minister to Bob Carr ?

"Completely untrue."

"Completely untrue."

"Completely untrue."

Prime Minister Gillard appoints Bob Carr to the position of Foreign Minister.

Hi Loudmouth,

Yes, that was old news from a day and half before. That story was broken by Phillip Coorey in the SMH. That was true.

There were seven fresh elements in the 'scoop' by Shanahan and his sidekick Franklin. They were all false:

These were:
1. The Prime Minister had withdrawn her offer to Bob Carr. (headline and paragraphs 1, 14)
2. A mutiny had occurred: the PM had been defeated by her colleagues. (headline and paragraphs 1, 2, 4)
3. Senior ministers had forced the PM to accept either Smith or Crean as Foreign Minister. (paragraphs 1, 5)
4. Internal Labor Party stability had broken down. (paragraph 2)
5. The PM’s authority had also broken down. (paragraphs 2, 12)
6. The PM had first offered a ministry to Bob Carr in the previous week, before Senator Arbib announced his resignation from the Senate. (paragraph 3)
7. Carr said publicly he was no longer interested in a position in the Senate. (paragraph 15)

No evidence for these was presented in the article. They have now been disproven. (Regarding point 7, Carr said he “was not pursuing” the Senate seat. Big difference.)

Most of the background information was accurate. Including:
a) Kevin Rudd had gone to the back bench.
b) Arbib had resigned creating a Senate vacancy.
c) Bob Carr had been approached by ALP figures to assess his availability.
d) Some ministers preferred cabinet posts to go to current federal MPs.

But all elements of the fresh news in The Australian on Wednesday were indeed completely false.

Cheers. AA

Alan, nice try - but, it's obvious people will only see and hear what they want to see and hear.

By all means, keep plugging though.

oh dear

Hi Alan,

How's this for a hypothetical:

"GUTTER PRESS: 'Is there any truth in the completely unsubstantiated rumour that the NSW Labour Right establishment put any pressure whatsoever on your government to appoint Bob Carr to the position of Foreign Minister ?'

"PRIME MINISTER GILLARD: 'Completely untrue.' "

I guess all we have to do is wait for the leaks :)

Cheers,

Joe

Why aren't members of the press more accountable for what they write.
The govt should sue the press for writing unchecked falsehoods.
One paper in particular are constantly getting away with unchecked literature. This is misleading to the public, and should be held to account. The same should apply to shock jock's.