What else is missing from the news? | The Jackal

5 Jul 2012

What else is missing from the news?

Yesterday, Yahoo News reported:

A group of students has interrupted a speech from Prime Minister John Key as he opened the new Medical and Health Sciences complex at the University of Auckland yesterday.The students from protest group Blockade the Budget stood in the wind and rain chanting 'We're cold, we're wet, we're drowning is student debt!' - One protestor was able to make her way into the ceremony to address Key directly.

The protest was one of a series of demonstrations against the National Government's recent Budget cuts. The Student allowances will no longer be available for post-graduate study, and access will be limited to 200 weeks for longer courses, including many of the degrees on offer at the Medical School. Commenting at the protest, post-graduate student Wednesday Jones said 'Isn't it ironic that millions of dollars were spent on revamping the Medical School while thanks to his shortsighted, selfish and detrimental budget, the school will only ever be accessed by students from wealthy backgrounds.'

Health Sciences student Mark Nelson added 'There is always money for new buildings or public relations campaigns, but nothing to support students from less privileged backgrounds. We should be able to celebrate these facilities as a benefit for everyone, but we know that the business approach to education means that this is an elite facility that will be out of reach for most of us'

When asked about the protest action, Blockade the Budget replied with 'It's only a few weeks since 43 students were abused and arrested by police for protesting against the arrogance of this Government, now we have John Key up here cutting ribbons and acting like a great benefactor. We want people to know the truth, the National Government is destroying education.'

Why isn't New Zealands MSM reporting on this? One can only presume that it's because they've been bribed to not report on things that make the government look bad.

This includes a $43 million loan to Mediaworks well below market rates. Nationals Steven Joyce, former owner of Mediaworks, just gifted them a public frequency for another six months to run Kiwi FM. Along with the normal funding allocations and crony appointments, the end result is bland rubbish without any semblance of balance or journalistic integrity... And it's likely to get worse.