#KingstonReports

As the next federal election looms, there’s much more focus now on centre-right candidates running against Liberal incumbents in blue-ribbon seats across Australia, especially inner-urban seats in Sydney and Melbourne, but also more generally. In this latest edition of @transitzonepod we continue our side-bar series on grassroots democracy and the growing independents’ movement, modelled by […]

The independent MP for Indi, Helen Haines, has accused the Prime Minister of “pulling the wool over our eyes” on a Federal Integrity Commission (FIC) by proposing an MP “protection commission”, and pledged to force Coalition MPs to vote on her bill during parliamentary sittings beginning next week. She also linked climate policy with the […]

AS I CONSIDER how to contribute at the next federal election, I thought I’d republish, with permission, a chapter I wrote for the Fremantle Press anthology Women of a Certain Rage, in January 2020 after the failed 2019 ‘Climate Election’, amid the worst bushfires Australia had ever seen, before COVID changed everything.  #AustraliaBurns: Rage, A Climate […]

Women are at the forefront of the ‘Voices for’ movement in safe Liberal seats because the Liberal Party’s pre-selection process is “absolutely patriarchal in nature” according to the independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall. A closed-door preselection policy designed to maintain the status quo to keep women out, is how Steggall described the process in […]

PETER CLARKE: As we record another #transitzone podcast our two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, are still in lockdown, with rapidly rising locally acquired COVID Delta cases. Victorian new cases today are up sharply, and, in New South Wales, still well over 1000 cases each day. The intensely infectious Delta variant has pitched us, and […]

Another podcast in the continuing #transitzone side-bar series on grassroots democracy in Australia and the emerging and evolving “Voices for” independents movements gearing up for the looming federal election. Margo Kingston and Peter Clarke in conversation with Zali Steggall, the federal independent member for Warringah in Sydney, a “safe” Liberal seat until Steggall ousted the […]

Peter Clarke: Let’s get back to the elephant in the room. Mr Turnbull, recently you said you can’t think of “a bigger black and white failure of public administration” than the Morrison government’s failures in procuring covid vaccines and their design and execution of the vaccination rollout. Now, as you well know, we in Australia […]

Transcript part 1 Peter Clarke: Our guest is somebody who’s experienced democratic politics from the outside as a lawyer, banker and journalist, and from right inside the corridors and backrooms of power, where the sausages are actually made, the 29th Prime Minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018, Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Turnbull, welcome to the […]

MALCOLM Turnbull would consider voting for a strong moderate liberal independent in the Sydney federal electorate of Wentworth, and has named NSW seats he believes could be vulnerable if ‘voices for’ groups nominate outstanding moderate liberal independents – Wentworth, Mackellar, North Sydney, Bradfield and Hume.  In an interview for the #transitzone podcast, the former prime minister […]

First published on The Echo May 25, 2021 Anyone remember ‘Modern Liberals’? They’re the ones who stood at the last election in safe Liberal seats like Goldstein in Melbourne (Tim Wilson), North Sydney (Trent Zimmerman) and the formerly safe liberal seat of Wentworth (Dave Sharma).  The idea was to differentiate from un-modern liberals, you know, […]

A photo told the story. Scott Morrison went to the footie on Saturday March 27. His team lost, so he entered the winner’s dressing room to a raucous, ‘Skull one, Scotty’ welcome. The only woman present, scientist Tahleya Eggers, stood tall, arms folded, and death-stared his back. After the photo went viral, she tweeted the next […]

First published SMH September 26, 2018. I celebrated Malcolm Turnbull’s ascension to Australia’s leadership by publishing a photo on Twitter of my mother and I toasting him with champagne. “Small l liberalism” – socially progressive, economically dry, environmentally green – was on the rise again in the Liberal Party. Of course, the right wing clipped […]

“This place attracts and rewards narcissists, and many narcissists are sociopaths,” a ‘Coalition figure with a long history working in Parliament’ told ABC reporter Andrew Probyn last week. Hard truth last month on who and what our political parties pick for us when we follow the brand not the person. Brittany Higgins’ steel-eyed testimony saw […]

Also: Reporting Indi: A reflection by Margo Kingston My interest in community independents began when I covered the successful Cathy McGowan race for Indi in 2013, on Twitter and through my website No Fibs. In 2018, I became Kerryn Phelps’ unofficial Twitter campaign manager for the Wentworth by-election and focused on independents at the 2019 election, […]

First published on Echo NETDAILY February 11, 2021. A long time ago, maybe 20 years, I mentioned climate change in conversation with Professor David Flint, a man who proclaims his deep conservatism and convened Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy. He laughed, saying a stray meteorite would blow up the planet someday, so we may as well do […]

First published on Echo NETDAILY January 18, 2021. As a Brisbane teenager in Sir Joh’s stifling, authoritarian, corrupt police state, I’d buy a Nation Review each week to read Mungo on federal politics. His dark humour grounded in passionate belief gave me a way to see a Queensland politics that had hope in it. When I mentioned […]

Hello.  It’s been a while.  My last published piece was an editorial before the federal election. Two months later my plan to write an #IndependentsDay book ended when my mother was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia the day after my 60th birthday. Solitude in the home my mother and I shared for 14 years. Solitude spent taking […]

Having been immersed in US and British politics for a while, and seen how groups with common core values can’t seem to get together to fight for them due to disagreements on other matters, I noticed a tweet by Greens leader Richard di Natale. YES!  Consider: The centre and centre right, (Steggall, Sharkie, Haines), centre […]

Kerryn: That was an extraordinary experience and Darrin and I worked hand-in-glove because I couldn’t have done without Darrin and his connections in the Labor Party. The Labor Party had been fiddle-farting around with its refugee policy for a really long time and they were completely paralysed, they weren’t game to step up and do […]

We await the people’s verdict on May 18, but I’m panicking. It should have been a landslide. A deeply divided, deeply cynical, deeply corrupt government incapable of concerted action on climate change, protecting the rorts and lurks of the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us, bereft of policy ideas or vision, is […]

The electorate of Mallee, until now, has been the safest seat in the nation. Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) spoke with Independent candidate Ray Kingston (@MalleeRay) in the final days of his campaign. The National Party has been doing a heap of polling here, and they are acting like they are pretty concerned, so I will take […]

Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) checks in with Anthony Pesec (@anthonypesec) — Independent candidate for the second ACT senate seat — as federal election day looms. They discuss the importance and value of strategically voting in order to defeat hard-right Liberal, Zed Seselja, who hasn’t attended a single meet-the-candidates forum. Zed Seselja is widely known for going […]

In the NSW seat of New England, an electorate larger than Tasmania, Independent candidate Adam Blakester (@adamblakester) has been named as the primary threat facing National Party incumbent, Barnaby Joyce. A poll conducted by the Tamworth Business Chamber indicated Joyce was leading, with 46.4 per cent of the vote compared to 43.1pc who declared their […]

Now that pre-polling stations have opened nationwide, voting in the 2019 federal election has begun, so here’s my strategic voting guide in our #IndependentsDay seats. As many No Fibs readers know by now, I waged a relentless strategic voting education campaign at the Wentworth by-election after Kerryn Phelps upset progressive voters by preferencing the Liberal […]

Dr Andy Lewis has lived in North Queensland for the past 32 years while working as a marine scientist, small business owner, and CEO of the not-for-profit Coral Sea Foundation. He has raised four children on Magnetic Island and is a passionate advocate for sustainable management of our natural environment and building long-term economic and […]

Charlie Caruso turns the tables on Margo Kingston and explores how No Fibs started, the power and role Twitter plays in the modern Australian political landscape and the role citizen journalists have played in the elevation of profiles and the conversations around climate change.

Former Olympian Zali Steggall talks to Margo Kingston about her campaign to bring honesty back into politics and take on Tony Abbott for the safe Liberal seat of Warringah

Huw Kingston (@Huw4Hume) describes himself as a small businessman, an adventurer, an environmentalist and a writer. But everything changed for him the day Malcolm Turnbull was rolled as prime minister, and, further influenced by his responsibility as a grandfather, Huw decided to run as an Independent in the NSW electorate of Hume. Huw spoke with […]

Rob Oakeshott Independent for Cowper chats with Margo Kingston live on the election trail, as noted by Rob, Margo is the first journalist in twenty years to embed themselves in his campaign.

Helen Haines (@HelenHaines1) was chosen by supporters of Voices 4 Indi  as the successor to Independent MP Cathy McGowan to contest the federal seat of Indi in north-east Victoria. Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) caught up with Helen Haines for the No Fibs podcast and spoke about Helen’s passion for Indi and her involvement in the Voices […]

Anthony Pesec was born and raised in Canberra and spoke with Margo Kingston about his mission to represent the best interests of Canberrians in the Senate as an Independent.

Rebekha Sharkie (@MakeMayoMatter) was so committed to the opportunity to represent the electorate of Mayo that she took the bold move to take out a second mortgage on her house and quit her job. Thankfully, the story ended well and her dedication to the community was rewarded with a large swing that secured her the […]

Alice Thompson (@Indy_Ally) is running as an Independent for the safe Liberal seat of Mackellar. Alice spoke with No Fibs Founder, Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) on the latest episode of the No Fibs podcast about why she is running and how she’ll be different.

The starter’s gun is about to go off, so I thought I’d let you know who we are, where we’re at and how you can help. The mission No Fibs is back to support and report the campaigns of quality independents standing in safe Coalition seats who are committed to strong action on climate change […]

Oliver Yates is a former Macquarie banker, and head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, who spoke with Margo Kingston about his campaign to run for the seat of Kooyong as an Independent

Margo Kingston interviews Dr Kerryn Phelps, member for Wentworth to discuss why authenticity and delivering on promises is key to her campaign.

Margo Kingston interviews Independent candidate Jeremy Miller to discuss the safe seat of Lyne and his approach to replacing Dr David Gillespie, who this week announced his support for a government-backed coal-fired power plant.

The way I see it, every safe Coalition seat must be in play in the sense that quality indies ask tough questions incumbents are forced to answer. That requires courageous indies & committed, creative citizens because a weakened local media can’t do it. Ready to play? #ausvotes — Margo Kingston (@margokingston1) February 22, 2019 Hi. […]

Here’s my attempt to explain the preferencing imbroglio in Wentworth and how to vote strategically to defeat the Lib. Preferences are causing trouble in Wentworth, and if we’re not careful the left will elect the Liberal – a terrible blow for climate change, Nauru refugees, gay rights and lots more. Here’s how they work. Say […]

  Intro: Extract of Still Not Happy, John: Defending our Democracy (Penguin 2007) Democracy v. the Beast Her appeal was simply that she represented something authentic  in a culture of artefact. She was transparent in an era during  which the political class have become expert at concealment. She was a still point in a culture […]

Gonski decided it for me. Such a hard-won consensus to end the state-private war and embed a funding system based on need instead. Giving every child the best chance we can to succeed is an economic investment, proof of Australia’s commitment to egalitarianism and insurance against the ‘two nations’ phenomenon threatening revolution in the United […]

  The Turnbull government is reportedly considering Treasury options for a GST rise. https://t.co/KRs2BhQalt pic.twitter.com/RMgM9cjpkA — The Australian (@australian) October 31, 2015 I write this as a progressive who, like so  many other Australians, fought hard on social media to rid us of of a man who, we believed, did not represent Australian values. I write […]

WHEN I asked Margo to help me launch my non-fiction debut Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love and my first collection of short stories Closet His, Closet Hers, Tony Abbott was still Prime Minister and marriage equality remained on the never never. When we met this week at Avid Reader bookshop in West End, Brisbane, […]

What? Mal Brough is our Special Minister of State? Excuse me? Like so many Australians, I was filled with an unbearable lightness of being on the removal of Tony Abbott and with hope that a new era of honest, policy-based politics had begun. Yes, there was a little niggle when I saw Brough alongside Turnbull […]

The AFP and the Department of Finance are playing pass-the-parcel on investigating the legality of Bronwyn Bishop’s helicopter trip to Geelong for a Liberal Party fundraiser. It’s a complicated game of obfuscation that counts on confusing voters. So here are the facts. 1. Applicability of the Minchin Protocol to the AFP When Labor and several members […]

No Fibs editor Margo Kingston comments on her 2014 highlights So, the second year of No Fibs is nearly over. Personal highlights? It’s hard to go past getting back on the ground after so long to report civil disobedience at the #leardblockade (my first Twitter report, No Fibs tribute). As a print journo it was […]

[ts_fab authorid=”2″ tabs=”bio,twitter,custom”] This is the second in a new No Fibs series edited by Margo under her collaborative thesis. The first piece was by Michael Burge … and the next one will be by Tim Dunlop. The Fifth Estate might be new kid on the block, but it already packs a mighty punch above its weight. Everyone […]

My return to journalism via Twitter was enabled by several readers and contributors to Webdiary, which I’m told by online media academic Axel Bruns was the world’s first Mainstream media interactive blog. I’m now committed to telling my story in journalism in a professional memoir, which will comprise part of a PhD. In A collaborative […]

IT’S official, folks. I have a scholarship to do a Doctorate in Creative Practice at Macquarie University on the topic: ‘Experiments in collaboration between professional and citizen journalists: from practice to theory’. The thesis comprises a book for publication and an exegesis. I’m told the first year of the PhD adventure entails reading and thinking […]

In the wake of Mike Carlton’s removal as a Sydney Morning Herald columnist, it’s worth recalling another instance of Zionist lobby power. Here’s the chapter by Antony Loewenstein in Not Happy, John! featuring an interview with Bob Carr. First, my scene-setting introduction to the story. I'm hearing there's considerable pressure at #Fairfax board level for action […]

I sent this email to the Media Alliance today. Dear Media Alliance, Last night’s Media Watch discussed the ethical dispute among journalists over the ethics of recording interviewees without their permission. The dispute shows serious disagreement on the matter. The Age believes it is always ethical. Some others, including me, believe it it permissible only […]

[clear] [clear]We’re proud supporters of ‘Feminist Frightbats’ at Sheilas, having published more than a few of the contributors listed in Tim Blair’s “hysterical” blog post on News Limited’s Daily Telegraph website a couple of days ago. Under the post titled ‘Crown Our Crazy Queen’, Blair launched a predictable ideologically driven sexist spray against what he labeled “this […]

[clear] @NoFibs tribute to those who fought at #leardblockade, photos by @margokingston1 Full #LeardBlockade archive of posts Tweets about “#leardblockade” Citizen Journo MARGO KINGSTON preview of Tuesday’s action at the #leardblockadeon Citizen journalist Margo Kingston talks to Paul Bevan about #leardblockade and the hash tag as space for comment from all sides of the debate […]

[View the story “It’s not quite over yet: @margokingston #leardblockade Twitter report” on Storify]

[clear] Maules Ck Local Ros Druce – why I got arrested for first time in my life at #leardblockade. http://t.co/eKFpsssmaW pic.twitter.com/cJ4JJhw9vW — 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 (@margokingston1) May 6, 2014 Dedicated to all Earth Warriors, past and present, protecting the Leard State Forest As the Leard Campaign strives to save the tiny creatures with no defence against […]

[View the story “Winter has come for Leard State Forest and her wildlife: @margokingston1 Twitter report” on Storify]

[View the story ” The futility and the joy of the #leardblockade last stand: @margokingston1 Twitter report” on Storify]

Margo: Rosemary Nankivell is a farmer, and one of many women of the NSW Liverpool Plains who have fought long and hard for years to stop the food bowl she loves being turned into industrial gas fields and coal mines. She debuted on No Fibs with a profile of the Councillor who tried to stop […]

Dean Sewell and Margo Kingston at #BentleyBlockade (At the time of the interview on April 30 the #BentleyBlockade was the subject of shouting matches in NSW Parliament as the Labor Opposition Party belatedly tackled new Premier Mike Baird over his plans to unleash riot police on thousands of peaceful farmers and townies. Senior police had […]

When I was charged with trespass at the #leardblockade on March 31 (see Getting #leardblockade arrested, WTF is journalism and who’s the extremist: @margokingston1 interview with @dailytelegraph), I sought legal advice on whether I could plead not guilty because of the implied right to freedom of political communication under the Constitution. There is no legal basis for press […]

Margo: A version of this column appeared in the Byron Shire Echo – @Echonetdaily – on 29 April as a substitute for Mungo McCallum’s weekly column while he recovered from surgery.    Mungo and I last discussed politics just after the federal election on Late Night Live. We both knew what Abbott would do – seek to close down free […]

[View the story “Visit to #BentleyBlockade on the eve of police destruction?@margokingston1 Twitter report” on Storify]

MARGO: Here is the Greenpeace statement on the release of the independent review of Whitehaven’s environmental offsets and the Government’s decision to close its criminal investigation into whether then companies proposed offsets were fraudulent. Whitehaven’s ASX statement on its offsets clearance is here. Lock the Gate told me this morning it is reviewing the material […]

[clear] I am the mother of two sons and am qualified to teach science in secondary schools. My level of education and understanding of current local issues has developed since the year 2000 – when I voted for John Howard (a very hard thing to admit to) – till today, when I feel that the […]

[clear]   My third trip to #leardblockade last week helped me clarify my vision for No Fibs (see Mass arrests at #leardblockade: @margokingston1 Twitter report and Picnic at boundary of Whitehaven State Forest: @margokingston1 April Fools Day Twitter report). I’m happy to answer your question in comments. I’ve never been an ‘embedded journalist’ before, and it’s testing. I was allowed […]

[clear] [View the story “#Pilliga country lock on and chill out: @margokingston1 Twitter Report” on Storify]

[clear] [View the story “West from #leardblockade to #Pilliga, the next Liverpool Plains war zone: @margokingston1 Twitter Report” on Storify]

[View the story “Did @margokingston1 intimidate police at #leardblockade? @2squib interview” on Storify]

[View the story “Picnic at boundary of Whitehaven State Forest: @margokingston1 April Fools Day Twitter Report” on Storify]

Post by Darren Harrison. Video by @NoFibs citizen journo @dazzaloveslife. Dazza interview with Bill Ryan after arrest. [View the story “#leardblockade day of action, by @margokingston1” on Storify]

[View the story “Return to #leardblockade, by @margokingston1” on Storify]

By Dean Hepburn  @deanhepburn March 17th 2014 The drone flying over the March in March protest at Port Macquarie was an ominous portent of the direction the Abbott Government is fast taking Australia. Everyone marching was observed to look at it and smile, as though they felt Big Brother was watching over their shoulder. Despite it, […]

[clear] By Margo Kingston, 14 March, 2014 I spoke to SPC Ardmona managing director Peter Kelly for the first time this morning. He was on speaker phone with his marketing and communication director Bronwyn Powell. I had all your Twitter questions written down to ask, but Peter had read them all last night in preparation for […]

[View the story “Saturday March 1, transitioning from Twitter addiction” on Storify]

By Margo Kingston  @margokingston1 9th March, 2014 When Samantha Maiden reported today that the Audit Commission wanted super-generous seniors health card benefits to self-funded retirees reversed, I dug up my 2002 SMH budget comment on the matter. The Libs are to blame for this totally unsustainable entitlement culture they knew would help cripple the budget […]

By Margo Kingston  @margokingston1 27 February 2014 Soon after I took to Twitter in late 2012 I was horrified by the decision of the Daily Telegraph to bury its report of the December 12 Rares judgement dismissing James Ashby’s sexual harassment action against Peter Slipper as an abuse of Court process. The paper screamed headlines when […]

[clear] Videos by David Marler @Qldaah By Margo Kingston  @margokingston1 23 February 2014 [View the story “Margo’s Twitter report on death and injury at Manus Island, Australia’s Heart of Darkness” on Storify]

[clear] The Battle for Maules Creek on Dipity. Gomeroi people call for urgent action from Environment Minister Greg Hunt on mining near burial sites #leardblockade http://t.co/qo4LvWn3us — The Wire (@thewireradio) February 5, 2014 UPDATE: 17 February 2014 Gomeroi Communities, Locals and Environmentalists succeed where Whitehaven Maules Creek fail  Last week, the sixth anniversary of the […]

By Margo Kingston @margokingston1 31st January 2014 I met Kat Moore briefly the evening before she was arrested on Tuesday at #Leardblockade up a monopole on the Whitehaven construction site after stopping 13 Trucks from working all day. I interviewed her yesterday by phone shortly after her return to Melbourne. Margo How does it feel […]

Storify by The Geek Wed, Jan 29 2014 04:01:07 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 14 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email War veteran fights for the future  http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/2052094/war-veteran-fights-for-the-future/ … via @The_NDL #leardblockade pic with @kodivine 21 pic.twitter.com/rk1wZguO4e […]

Citizen Journo MARGO KINGSTON preview of Tuesday’s action at the #leardblockadeon Citizen journalist Margo Kingston talks to Paul Bevan about #leardblockade and the hash tag as space for comment from all sides of the debate on the Maules Creek mine in Western NSW. He also speaks to 91 year old Bill Ryan on why he […]

Storify by The Geek Mon, Jan 27 2014 04:17:31 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 12 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email Ishbel Cullen, 20, Canberra – “I’m here to take direct action on climate change – […]

Storify by The Geek Sun, Jan 26 2014 18:49:10 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 11 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email margo kingston@margokingston1 Song by @deborahlevoy via @Hankatfrogs – The time has come for serious action on climate change […]

Storify by The Geek Sat, Jan 25 2014 21:31:17 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 10 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email Maules Creek farm-gate welcome for #leardblockade visitors this Australia Day weekend – new camp on […]

Storify by The Geek Fri, Jan 24 2014 02:53:20 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 8 and 9 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email No Fibs@NoFibs Get tough on environmental extremists: miners’ case against #leardblockade: Like to respond?  http://nofibs.com.au/2014/01/22/miners-case-leardblockade-anyone-like-respond/#sthash.BtM9BBnj.dpuf … #auspol […]

Storify by The Geek Wed, Jan 22 2014 04:45:37 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 7 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email margo kingston@margokingston1 .@PetefromHayNSW Great news report by Courier of Narrabri Council meeting – feel I know what happened […]

Storify by The Geek Tue, Jan 21 2014 01:01:12 Headline? Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 4 to 6 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email Gomeroi people to ask minister Hunt for stop work after miners deface […]

Storify by The Geek Sun, Jan 19 2014 02:22:11 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 3 Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email River Red Gum killed today at #leardblockade geeksrulz · Sun, Jan 19 2014 02:17:58 Add to story or […]

Storify by The Geek Thu, Jan 16 2014 20:45:39 Margo’s live twitter report from #leardblockade Day 2 – I see action Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email Moonset #leardblockade pic.twitter.com/c3tJi2pC1l margo kingston@margokingston1 · Thu, Jan 16 2014 11:42:27 […]

Storify by The Geek Thu, Jan 16 2014 02:58:57 Live tweet report by Margo Kingston from the #leardblockade Add to story or collection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin Share by email MCCC@MaulesCreek Coal-fired farce: @MaulesCreek protesters ordered to leave state forest  http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/2023536/coal-fired-farce-maules-creek-protesters-ordered-to-leave-state-forest/ … via @The_NDL #leardblockade @margokingston1 · Tue, […]

[clear] By Margo Kingston, 1 December 2013 I take the Gold Coast train to Brisbane airport, the plane to Melbourne, the sky bus to Southern Cross Station, the train to Seymour, and the bus to Wangaratta train station. Wayne Jansson leads me to his battered old car and drives me to the hamlet of St James. […]

Storify by Tony Yegles 23 October, 2013 Storify by The Geek Wed, Oct 23 2013 04:26:55 Women In Media Launch With a panel of inspirational women in @spicertracey @CJaustory, Vicki Laurie and Philippa McDonald @WIM_Aus Add to story or collection Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Linkedin […]

[clear] By Margo Kingston 20 October, 2013 OK, we’re starting to get to the pointy end of the political travel rorts scandal. My understanding of the Don Randall matter is this. In November 2012 the Perth MP and a family member flew to Cairns for an overnight stay. . He claimed the $5259 trip was “electorate […]

By Margo Kingston, 8 October, 2013 It looks like the Prime Minister is a serial cheat. It’s hard to imagine a bigger test of the integrity and fairness of our democratic institutions than that. Will the press gallery get forensic and press for answers from the PM and action from the authorities? Will the AFP investigate? […]

Storify by The Geek Sun, Sep 08 2013 23:30:53 Margo’s twitter reports from Indi – 7 and 8 September, 2013 One of the most interesting seats in this election is without question Indi with sitting shadow frontbencher Sophie Mirabella. Margo joined the election buzz and reports on how grassroots politics is making a difference. Share […]

This is Margo’s pre-election comment, courtesy of 2bobradio and The Vine.   In this week’s final, pre-poll interview, Margo Kingston, editor of citizen journalism website nofibs, talks of the threat to free speech posed by big  media, the loss of hope to Australia’s democracy, and people power in the seat of Indi. The interview will air on Thursday Breakfast at 8.10 a.m. and […]

By Chris Smith, Citizen Journalist 12 July 2013 The Parliamentary Entitlements rules governing Abbott’s expenses claims There are several types of parliamentary entitlements involved in the #Battlerort story. The initial letter to Tony Abbott outlined three of these entitlements. The first, travel at Government expense, was at the time authorised under clause 2.1 of Remuneration Tribunal […]

Please add any additional questions into the comments sections. ABC Newcastle interviews Margo Kingston on Citizen Journalism   [View the story “#BattleRort The unanswered questions” on Storify] Read More: Fairfax: ‘Ashbygate’ saga pursued by internet-funded activists EXCLUSIVE: Abbott forced to repay $9,400 he charged taxpayers to promote his book Abbott’s #Battlerort lines collapse under @bkjabour questioning – […]

By Margo Kingston 9 July, 2013 Today’s original Abbott #BATTLERORT transcript was kindly transcribed by Dr Lachlan Hinds – @Doclach, and Brock Turner – @Turlow1. There are errors and lies throughout – have a go at finding them by reading the letters in EXCLUSIVE: Abbott forced to repay $9,400 he charged taxpayers to promote his book. […]

By Margo Kingston 6 July, 2013 The Opposition leader, Mr Abbott, was forced to repay taxpayers nearly $9,400 after receiving travel expenses to promote his book Battlelines in 2009. The repayment occurred after Mr Abbott publicly denied the allegation through a spokesman, who stated: “All travel undertaken by Mr Abbott has been within the entitlement. This […]

  by Margo Kingston On May 1 I sought the list of Press Gally members from the Parliamentary Liaison office after the Press Gallery Committee advised that it was private My FOI was successful. Here is the letter granting access to the information, free of charge, and the list. I’d like to thank the PLO for their […]

by Margo Kingston 21 June 2013    Update 22 September 2013 Dear ABC Insiders, I note that you had Piers Akerman back on the Insiders program this morning after a three month hiatus following his heinous comments about Prime Minister Gillard’s sexuality on June 16th this year which resulted in many members of the public […]

The art of deflecting blame David Koch: And is Tim Gay? Howard Sattler: He must be gay, he’s a hair dresser… David Koch: Julia Gillard quizzed about her partner’s sexuality… — Channel Seven, Sunrise, 14th June, 2013 That’s how Kochie promo’d it on Seven’s Sunrise: “Is Tim Gay?” Not, “Shock jock madness.” Welcome to Media […]

by Catherine Deveny June 17, 2013 Piers Ackerman commenting on PM’s misogyny speech I only know three things about Piers Akerman. He’s a right wing hack for one of Murdoch’s mouthpieces. Yesterday he went on Insiders and surprised no one by repeating rumors questioning the sexuality of Prime Minister Gillard’s partner, covering it clumsily with […]

  Update: https://twitter.com/geeksrulz/status/347504625307512832     @abcmarkscott + K Williams ( News Ltd CEO), 'THE STANDARD YOU WALK PAST IS THE STANDARD YOU ACCEPT' Follow Fairfax example. @jointdestroyer — 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 (@margokingston1) June 16, 2013 Apology from ABC yet? Statement? Reporting? Apology from News Ltd yet? Statement? Reporting?Go #Fairfax. Set benchmark, reported stories — 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 […]

by Margo Kingston June 08, 2013 Looking back on my first six months on Twitter, two Tweeps gave me excellent insights. George Megalogenis said ‘Twitter is what you want it to be’ and Asher Wolf said that ‘any activity, repeated frequently enough, is habit-forming’. I got addicted. So many rabbit warrens to run down, a […]

What the Indonesian Ambassador said about Coalition’s turn-back-boats policy: Ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema said Indonesia would welcome Tony Abbott or whoever leads Australia after the September election. But he said asylum seeker boats should be turned back to other countries, not to Indonesia. “Indonesia is a transit country and also the victim of this situation. […]

By Tony Fitzgerald, 2 June, 2013 The recent proposal to pay extra public money to political parties was widely seen as another misuse of public money for private benefit. However, the scheme was even more objectionable because of the impact that it would have had on future elections. Australian democracy is more than a contest […]

  MARGO: Everyone know journos can’t keep a secret, but they’ve somehow managed to keep the list of Federal Press Gallery members secret from the general public. Until now. We’ve published two pieces on the PG triggered by its refusal to allow @callumdav to join as a reporter for @independentaus; Your guide to the Press […]

Margo, UPDATED: Here’s the latest Government attempt to make this issue go away, thanks to Fairfax Media Press Gallery journalist Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan). It is a minimalist position the gambling and TV industry will love to support to get them out of jail without pain. Note there is no ad ban, even in childrens’ viewing […]

‘We must return stable, predictable, AND honest government to Australia.‘  Joe Hockey, May 23, National Press Club By Margo Kingston May 23, 2013 When I saw Paul Barratt’s tweets today on some momentous big Howard government lies, I remembered this letter, which Barratt signed in 2004. The government’s trashing of the elders who signed it triggered the […]

By Margo Kingston May 21, 2013 @margokingston1 I'm still waiting for the public reprimand of Pyne & Entsch for their lies to Australian public & inappropriate behaviour? — Noely ⚡️🏐 (@YaThinkN) May 20, 2013 I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about the Coalition’s May 16 response to the revelation of its decision to refuse Labor […]

By Margo Kingston January 14, 2003 MARGO: With all the talk about stronger shield laws for journos, I think we are edging ever closer to needing an answer to the question: What is a journalist? We cannot argue for special protections and exemptions from privacy laws unless we can distinguish ourselves from non-journalists. To me the […]

By Margo Kingston May 10, 2013 ‘But at least the debates about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, which we have seen in the past couple of years, have been a sharp reminder to the Liberal Party of its historic mission. For in the freedom wars, there has been only one party which has […]

By Margo Kingston 10 May 2013 In his Cry, Freedom speech this week, Shadow Attorney General George Brandis said this: ‘But at least the debates about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, which we have seen in the past couple of years, have been a sharp reminder to the Liberal Party of its historic […]

ABC Lateline Interview May 7, 2013 Margo: Well here it is, the Brandis speech on free speech he calls the Freedom Wars. It is not online, so Barry Tucker rang the Brandis office and obtained a copy. Thank you @btckr. I have a feeling I’ll want to write a response soon – my boiling anger at his @Lateline […]

By Margo Kingston May 9, 2013 The day after Howard, Abbott and Brandis, among other Liberals, pulverised our freedoms for George Bush, they did it again for Chinese President Hu. This chapter of my book is Part 5 in our series of memory joggers for shadow Attorney General George Brandis, in the hope that he revises his recent […]

By Margo Kingston May 8, 2013 Margo: In this chapter from my book, I detail the unprecedented mauling of press, parliamentary and citizen’s freedom in Parliament by Howard when George Bush came to Canberra in 2003. Brandis was in the thick of it, and made no protest. My contemporaneous report of the events is Parliament meets Bush: A […]

By Margo Kingston Wednesday, 1 September, 2004 Source: Webdiary The intense strain on the two people in Senate Committee room 2S1 today was palpable. The two had by very difficult choice propped up the credibility of a cowardly and bullying Prime Minister for nearly three years. Yet Howard’s point man on children overboard – George Brandis, whose […]

MARGO: I am so disgusted with the Brandis free speech interview on @Lateline I don’t trust myself to write about it. It brought back memories of the Howard Government’s relentless assaults on free speech, egregiously denied by Brandis last night, and of his nasty record. So @NoFibs will try to drag truth back on the public […]

By Margo Kingston October 29, 2003 Source: Webdiary “I intend to continue to call to the attention of the Australian people the extremely alarming, frightening similarities between the methods employed by contemporary green politics and the methods and the values of the Nazis.” Liberal Senator George Brandis launches a government campaign to destroy the Greens as […]

By Tony ‘The Geek’ Yegles May 4 2013 I was fascinated by the media’s framing of the NDIS debate this week. Within 48 hours it moved from reporting a naked tax grab by the Prime Minister, to a worthy initiative when Mr Abbott put the national interest ahead of his political interest. Update below May 15 […]

By Margo Kingston May 2nd, 2013 The Canberra Press Gallery is in a reforming state of mind, and to my surprise I’m making a contribution, thanks to Twitter. And thanks to the Press Gallery Committee President @David_Speers, Tweeps can have an input too. The PGC decides who joins the club. In the old days we […]

Margo Kingston note: I was a member of the press gallery for many years. When I left Fairfax to take Webdiary independent my Parliament House ID lapsed. I applied to the then Press Gallery Committee president Karen Middleton for a new PG ID and she signed off without a hassle. Yet I couldn’t answer some questions […]

Interview with @leighsales about to air on @abc730. Good to chat about our Real Solutions plan for Australia #abc730 pic.twitter.com/nnHOYu2FGF — Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) April 24, 2013 By Peter Clarke, April 25, 2013 Late last year, Leigh Sales interviewed Tony Abbott live on the 730 Report. Sales was sharp and persistent, Abbott poorly prepared and […]

Is this the road Tony Abbott has chosen to travel to get voters to trust him? Blast from past: Lindsay leaflet scandal in 2007 And now… Bendigo and Eden Monaro pamphlet Western Sydney letter-box drop Luke Mansillo deconstruction Liberal Party misinformation targets low educated anti-migrant Labor Party identifiers in Western Sydney Western Australia billboard I just […]

By Margo Kingston, April 9,  2013 I know from experience that sometimes when the death of something you believe in stares you in the face you lose your judgement. It seems that this happened to business journalist Paddy Manning  yesterday morning. By 6pm last night he’d been sacked. by editorial chief Garry Linnell. Like many journos, I […]

September 29, 2005 Source: Webdiary Margo: Mark, I thought I’d start with a few questions from Webdiarists. Mark: Yep. Margo:The first is from Craig Warton and he’s asked, if you could turn back time would you have pursued the path of politics to try and achieve your goals for Australia, or would you, perhaps, chosen another path? […]

By Margo Kingston March 18, 2013 I reckon it’s time for journos to start spilling the beans on the ‘free speech’ nonsense being spouted by big media. The big boys’ self-righteous, self-interested hypocrisy in the media reform debate is surely too much for any of us who care about the survival of our profession to stomach. […]

By Margo Kingston March 17, 2013 Public support will be crucial to the success of the media reforms. Please contact the following key politicians whose decisions will determine the outcome. You CAN make a difference. This list was kindly compiled by Barry Tucker @btckr Adam Bandt Twitter @adambandt Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Adam.Bandt.MP email [email protected] Canberra (02) 6277 4775 FAX ACT (02) 6277 8583 […]

By Margo Kingston March 17, 2013 The National Party has long opposed further media domination by Rupert Murdoch, as detailed in the two media policy chapters in my book. It fought against John Howard’s weakening of media concentration laws to facilitate Murdoch expansion, and Barnaby Joyce actually crossed the floor in 2006 to vote for his […]

By Margo Kingston March 16, 2013 Has anyone seen a piece discussing the REAL effects of media reforms on Murdoch's Australian empire? The freedom of press thing is crap. — 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 (@margokingston1) March 15, 2013 .@chriskkenny, what would the effect of Conroy's media proposals be on Murdoch's capacity to expand his Australian media empire? — […]

By Margo Kingston March 15, 2013 Source: Sheilas Sarah Capper, Sheilas editor: Veteran political journalist and author Margo Kingston is back! And just in the nick of time with an election year upon us. After some time off, Margo returned to writing at the end of last year, spurred into action when she heard Opposition leader […]

By Margo Kingston March 15, 2013 In this post we’ve linked to sane analysis and commentary on media reform. We’ve also asked you to nominate a fair, accurate and balanced MSM news story  – the criteria print media groups tell their self-regulation body the Press Council they strive for. If you can bear it, here is Crikey’s wrap […]

By Jim Parker March 14, 2013 Source: The Failed Estate @margokingston1 My advice: Don't watch it in the first place — Mr Denmore (@MrDenmore) March 13, 2013 @paulwiggins @mrdenmore First time I've ever watched http://t.co/8G88a38zgu Freaked out by it. So awful. So jokey, who gives a shit. — 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 (@margokingston1) March 13, 2013 @margokingston1 […]

Question Time House of Representatives March 13, 2013 Mr TURNBULL (Wentworth) (14:29): My question is to the Prime Minister. Can she provide the House examples of published content in breach of the standards her government wishes to enforce through the Public Interest Media Advocate? Is the front page of today’s Telegraph such an example? If she […]

By Margo Kingston February 19, 2003 Rupert Murdoch is pro-war, and thinks a lower price for oil after Iraq is conquered will be better than a tax cut. After those comments (see Murdoch: Cheap oil the prize), a reader sent me Their master’s voice by Roy Greenslade in The Guardian, which reports that all 175 Murdoch editors around the […]

By Margo Kingston March 12, 2013 This chapter from Still Not Happy, John! (Pengiun, 2007) is required reading for activists and people in non-government organisations which advocate for change. John Howard’s government systematically sought to stifle democratic dissent with the help of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). Believe it or not, the Howard government […]

By Peter Clarke March 11, 2013 Margo: My first journalism job was at The Courier Mail. One day I wrote a story about a disagreement in the Queensland National Liberal Coalition Cabinet about condom vending machines. My first paragraph quoted the then health minister  Mike Ahern. My second said that his statement contradicted another minister, Lyne […]

By Margo Kingston March 11, 2013 Shelley Horton (@ShellyHorton1) writes for the party pages of the Sun Herald. ‘I normally tweet about reality TV shows and new clubs,’ she told me today. Last night, she tweeted her personal response to Tony Abbott’s interview on 60 minutes, and to the love story, on a man’s care […]

By Peter Clarke March 7, 2013 The Federal Communications Minister, Victorian Senator, Stephen Conroy, has accused the ABC of  a ‘lack of transparency and fairness’ over its reported disciplining of its online technology writer Nick Ross, who has written extensively about the NBN. The minister’s allegations, made to Jon Faine on Melbourne ABC radio this […]

By Kim Berry March 5, 2013 EDITOR’S NOTE: Monday night dummy spit: Labor, don't bother with most MSM. Talk to, write for, tweet to new media. And to strong MSM journos – empower them! Take on big media bias. — 📣Margo Kingston💧🔥 (@margokingston1) March 4, 2013 Next morning I see this: With blog royalty after their […]

By Margo Kingston November 22, 2001 Source: Webdiary EDITORS NOTE: I was going to write a piece about Morrison’s play this week to trap Gillard in Western Sydney with his asylum seeker ambush when I realised I already had, more than a decade ago. Looks like Abbott is copying his political father’s playbook to win […]

By Peter Clarke February 27th, 2013 EXCLUSIVE Last night, I was watching 730 on ABC Television. As we can now, I also had my iPad fired up to follow the #abc730 hashtag as the program went to air. With the cryptic words of the recent Jon Faine negative finding from the ABC’s Audience and Consumer […]

by Margo Kingston March 15 2006 Source: webdiary.com.au 18.02.2013: It seems I’m diving in again, so I’ve read about what happened last time. I decided to publish the past for anyone interested in the future of Australians for Honest Politics, as my beliefs about professionals partnering with citizens to do citizen journalism haven’t changed. This is […]

By Margo Kingston April 1, 1995 WHEN the managing director of The Canberra Times, Ian Meikle, told Michelle Grattan on Wednesday afternoon that she was sacked as editor of The Canberra Times and should leave the premises, he suggested a monetary settlement. Grattan refused. “I don’t want to salve their consciences,” she said privately later. […]

By Margo Kingston Source: ABC The Drum June 25th 2012 So, it’s finally over. Although it has been coming for a long time, really. What happened last week was just the full stop. Decades of mismanagement and executive asset stripping now sees Fairfax on its knees, bending to Gina. And there is the real prospect […]

A long, day for Mal Brough, from ‘up yours’ fluff to, well…. The Courier Mail had a soft  story on Mal Brough where they forgot to do journalism and ask the hard questions. Margo Kingston‘s incredulous reaction to the Courier Mail fluff piece came via Twitter” Brough delighted to take @couriermail call, No hard #Ashby ? […]

by Margo Kingston February 5th, 2013 An ABC deep throat has provided AFHP with the following statement: In December 2011 the ABC was found by the ACMA to have breached the impartiality codes of the ABC Code of Practice. The broadcast session involved was an interview with former SA Deputy Premier, Kevin Foley (Labor), on the breakfast […]

Publishers’ Note: The citizens journalism project Australians for Honest Politics is proud to announce that thanks to member donations we have commissioned Peter Clarke (@MediaActive), an elder of Australian journalism, to oversee reporting of the Jon Faine story. As a pioneer ABC radio interviewer, he is well placed to take us behind the story and […]