The bovver boys at Trades Hall might represent less than one in five Australian workers, but they sure know how to keep themselves in the headlines. Whether it’s the CFMEU’s John Setka going the biffo with his missus or former Labor leader Bill Shorten selling out low-paid cleaners in exchange for political kickbacks from the bosses, the bruvvas sure do ‘ave ‘em.
The teachers union has issued a humiliating apology after its South Australian branch was denounced by both sides of politics for releasing a political smear sheet personally attacking the state’s respected Chief Medical Officer Dr Nicola Spurrier.
In a genuine PR disaster for the union, the SA branch of the Australian Education Union posted a mocked-up information sheet on social media on Thursday night headed “SERIOUSLY SPURRIER?’ and smeared with grubby hand prints, ridiculing the Associate Professor’s advice over COVID-19.
The smear sheet was part of the union’s #keepthemhome campaign urging parents to ignore the scientifically-based advice of the Chief Medical Officer and to keep their children away from school when classes resume for Term Two on Monday.
Furore erupted on both sides of the political fence as the state’s Premier and Opposition Leader quickly attacked the AEU over the smear.
The AEU sheepishly deleted the post late on Thursday, and in a torrid radio interview, the newly-elected AEU president Lara Golding apologised for the post.
“It wasn’t meant to be targeting a public servant,” Ms Golding told Radio FiveAA on Friday.
Ms Golding also revealed that she didn’t even know the post had been written and had not seen it or authorised it herself before it blew up on social media.
She also disputed that the handprints on the smear sheet were meant to suggest COVID-19 infection but were “just painting”.
Yeah, I don’t think anyone’s buying that one any more than if one of the AEU member’s students tried to claim their dog ate their homework.
The admission that she was unaware of the post is an early blow to the authority of Ms Golding, who was regarded as a more level-headed and moderate voice when elected president last December against her more hardline predecessor Howard Spreadbury.
[….S]everal people on Twitter not[ed] that the SA branch of the AEU had supported the right of students to protest in Extinction Rebellion rallies, saying the science was clear on climate change, yet was now questioning the science as outlined by the Chief Medical Officer.
Well, the science of climate change is anything but clear, but this does illustrate nicely how the left will cherry-pick when and when not to “believe the science”.
There have been no cases of student to student transmission in SA schools and just one case of teacher to student transmission, with the student making a swift and full recovery. On three days this week SA recorded zero cases of new infections.
Dr Spurrier also moved quickly to close down six schools where teachers and or students had been infected as a result of overseas travel.
So there is no evidence that re-opening schools poses any particular risk to teachers – who, unlike most workers, will keep being paid even if their workplace is shut down. This also looks like an official who is acting swiftly to contain known clusters rather than imposing blanket lockdowns.
Now, there is no reason why anyone can’t criticise a public official or dispute public policy. Especially when so many unelected technocrats are suddenly exercising almost Soviet-like powers. But this is a particularly grubby smear job, in defiance of all evidence – especially when the official concerned is relaxing government restrictions, not tightening them.
But then, it’s very easy for union members with guaranteed jobs and income, facing no extraordinary risk, to tell working people whose jobs are at risk to “stay home”.
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