Perhaps realising that Australian voters have had enough of show-boating media tarts – Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Malcolm Turnbull – in the Lodge, the Morrison government has chosen to adopt a low-profile strategy since its May election victory. Gone are the days of Rudd/Gillard stunts like gathering the media to watch them ceremoniously torch Howard government policy leaflets, or the endless door-stoppers. And an almost-complete ban on taxpayer-funded lefty gabfest, QandA.
Which doesn’t mean that the government is sitting on its backside. Immediately after the election, the coalition moved to immediately pass its tax reforms. The government currently has 86 bills before parliament. Besides its legislative agenda, the government is also quietly setting its sights on some political foes.
Scott Morrison will today launch a scathing attack on GetUp, threatening to investigate the left-wing activist group’s claims it is “politically independent” and describing it as a “shady group that operates in the shadows”.
While GetUp presents a very public face – its orange-shirted army of nosey-nannas and unemployables – that public face is its greatest deception. GetUp markets itself as a “grassroots” organisation, but not only misleads about its supposed membership, apparently claiming anyone who’s ever got on its mailing list as “members”, but also does its best to obscure the sources of its rivers of gold. GetUp also tries to obscure its activities. Apparently its merely a coincidence that so many grubby, bullying and sometimes violent attacks occur precisely where GetUp is running its campaigns.
Mr Morrison will say GetUp’s campaign against Coalition MP Nicolle Flint at the May 18 election exposed its true intent and allegiances […]“It was in Boothby that the soul of GetUp was exposed to Australians. You know, GetUp works on the principle of ‘plausible deniability’. They deny they aren’t Labor when we all know they are,” Mr Morrison will say.
“They deny they have anything to do with the vile, personal attacks on our candidates that only occur in seats where GetUp are running campaigns. They should be ashamed of what they did in Boothby. Ashamed of what they did to Nicolle Flint. It was misogyny. It was bullying.”
Nicolle Flint was virtually besieged in her own office, which was also egged and defaced with graffiti implying she was a prostitute. Flint says that the campaign of abuse, harassment, and even stalking, left her scared and considering her political future.
Sending a warning to GetUp, which failed in its high-profile bids to oust Ms Flint, Peter Dutton, Greg Hunt, Christian Porter and Kevin Andrews, Mr Morrison will confirm his government will target the activist group.
“In this term, we will revisit GetUp’s claim they are politically independent — because we need to shine a bright light on this shady group that operates in the shadows away from full disclosure,” he will say. “And my message to GetUp is your plausible deniability won’t work this term. Australians are on to you.”
[…]The government ramp-up against GetUp comes after The Australian revealed the group could become the subject of an investigation into party-political bias by the Australian Electoral Commission over its activities during the election campaign.
theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-takes-thefight-to-getup-lurking-in-the-shadows
It remains to be seen if the AEC will actually get serious this time. It’s previous finding that GetUp is an independent entity stretched credulity even at the time. To promote the same absurd fiction today would simply beggar belief.