Erin this is a very confusing article. Big business was behind Yes, celebrities were behind Yes, high net worth individuals were behind Yes. To neglect these facts from this essay is extremely disingenuous.
When the people you describe hide behind “think tanks” using different brands to share conflicting messaging even though each campaign is authorised by the same person and they are part of a 550 organisational strong network that traverses the globe to “win the war of ideas” (ie put profit ahead of planet and people) I’ll be sure to include them.
But, for now, while I think all business should keep out of politics, I do not conflate transparency with deception.
$2 million from BHP went to the Yes campaign. Was this accompanied by a deceptive donation to actually get a No win? Or are you trying to say that the Yes campaign didn’t win because there are no left wing think tanks trying to partake in a democracy of ideas? I appreciate you taking the time to do this analysis but it’s weak. Focus more on why these ultra rich are so insistent on us all fighting each other and you’ll get closer to what’s really going on.
The very fact you know how much BHP spent on the yes campaign is exactly the point. I don’t know if they were also behind the no campaign, but if they fund any of the atlas network think tanks, they essentially were. Gina Rinehart, donor to the IPA (an atlas network think tank), was at the no campaign after party, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine she donated some money. Big business wouldn’t be as effective if they outright ran a no campaign. It’s so blatantly obvious why they would be opposed to First Nations having a Voice. They had to pretend they were a grassroots campaign speaking for ordinary Australians.
Come on JB, there were of course left wing think tanks involved. Did they run simultaneous conflicting campaigns designed to capture people across the political spectrum? Not that I’m aware of. Was their campaign full of disinformation? Not that I’m aware of. Are they a part of a global network funded by big business that have a history of doing both of the above time and time again over decades? Not that I’m aware of.
Posing as a “grassroots” campaign targeting “inner city woke elites” that’s actually funded by the elite of the elite is the ultra rich trying to get us to fight each other, for the very purposes of enriching themselves.
Erin this is a very confusing article. Big business was behind Yes, celebrities were behind Yes, high net worth individuals were behind Yes. To neglect these facts from this essay is extremely disingenuous.
When the people you describe hide behind “think tanks” using different brands to share conflicting messaging even though each campaign is authorised by the same person and they are part of a 550 organisational strong network that traverses the globe to “win the war of ideas” (ie put profit ahead of planet and people) I’ll be sure to include them.
But, for now, while I think all business should keep out of politics, I do not conflate transparency with deception.
$2 million from BHP went to the Yes campaign. Was this accompanied by a deceptive donation to actually get a No win? Or are you trying to say that the Yes campaign didn’t win because there are no left wing think tanks trying to partake in a democracy of ideas? I appreciate you taking the time to do this analysis but it’s weak. Focus more on why these ultra rich are so insistent on us all fighting each other and you’ll get closer to what’s really going on.
The very fact you know how much BHP spent on the yes campaign is exactly the point. I don’t know if they were also behind the no campaign, but if they fund any of the atlas network think tanks, they essentially were. Gina Rinehart, donor to the IPA (an atlas network think tank), was at the no campaign after party, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine she donated some money. Big business wouldn’t be as effective if they outright ran a no campaign. It’s so blatantly obvious why they would be opposed to First Nations having a Voice. They had to pretend they were a grassroots campaign speaking for ordinary Australians.
Come on JB, there were of course left wing think tanks involved. Did they run simultaneous conflicting campaigns designed to capture people across the political spectrum? Not that I’m aware of. Was their campaign full of disinformation? Not that I’m aware of. Are they a part of a global network funded by big business that have a history of doing both of the above time and time again over decades? Not that I’m aware of.
Posing as a “grassroots” campaign targeting “inner city woke elites” that’s actually funded by the elite of the elite is the ultra rich trying to get us to fight each other, for the very purposes of enriching themselves.