<
https://theconversation.com/still-under-the-bed-red-baitings-long-history-in-australian-politics-and-why-its-unlikely-to-succeed-now-177543>
"The Reds are back. Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National government has recently
launched an offensive of “red-baiting”, a practice long thought consigned to
the history books, in preparation for an anticipated May 2022 election.
Last November, Defence Minister Peter Dutton hounded Shadow Foreign Affairs
Minister Penny Wong, charging her with “not standing up for [Australian]
values” in comments on the China-Taiwan dispute.
This week, News Corp has targeted Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese after the
Chinese Global Times offered him some backhanded compliments. A video also
emerged of Albanese speaking Mandarin at an economic summit, and he was found
to have participated in a forum for Tribune, newspaper of the defunct Communist
Party of Australia. (This interview, it should be noted, was 31 years ago.)
Such claims have long plagued the progressive side of politics. Since the first
news of the Bolshevik victory in the 1917 Russian Revolution reached our
shores, fears of Australia following Vladimir Lenin’s lead have been used and
abused by conservative politicians for electoral gain.
But, how successful have these “moral panics” been? And do they still pass
muster with today’s electorate?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
