Guess what mainstream, Australian journalist made the following comments in 2002?
No government has had more supporters in the media than the Howard Government.
He has many more dedicated columnist who is barrack for him and certainly in talk-back radio – more supporters.
But the Howard Government has been effective in intimidating the media by constantly making the accusation that the media is biased against them.
and:
And my analysis, which is backed up by enormous amounts of fact and countless, thousands of interviews with people in the region, is that John Howard has withdrawn Australia from South-East Asia.
And this is a universal perception of South-East Asian leaders and commentators, rank and file.
Prepare to be surprised. Since this interview, however, he seems to have lost his bite and resumed his position as propagandist-in-chief. In fact, he’s probably never changed.