Silencing Dissent

Posted Tuesday February 13, 2007 by John Gunders in |

SILENCING DISSENT
Clive Hamilton

TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2007
6pm for 6.30pm

The Brisbane Institute, in association with Brisbane’s Better bookshops, invite you to an evening with Clive Hamilton, author of Growth Fetish and Affluenza. Clive will be speaking about his new book, co-edited with Sarah Maddison, called Silencing Dissent: How the Australian government is controlling public opinion and stifling debate.

For over a decade, the Howard government has found ways to silence its critics, one by one. Like the proverbial frog in boiling water, Australians have become accustomed to repeated attacks on respected individuals and organisations. For a government which claims to support freedom of speech and freedom of choice, only certain kinds of speech and choices appear to be acceptable.

Silencing Dissent uncovers the tactics used by John Howard and his colleagues to undermine dissenting and independent opinion. Bullying, intimidation, public denigration, threats of withdrawal of funding, personal harassment, increased government red tape and manipulation of the rules are all tools of trade for a government that wants to keep a lid on public debate. The victims are charities, academics, researchers, journalists, judges, public sector organisations, even parliament itself.

Deeply disturbing, Silencing Dissent raises serious questions about the state of democracy in Australia.

Location:
The Irish Club, 171 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane

Cost:
Brisbane Institute Members/Sponsors free: RSVP to The Brisbane Institute
07 3220 2198
General Admission $16/$14 concession (incl GST): Tickets available through Brisbane’s Better Bookshops:
Avid Reader: 07 3846 3422
Coaldrake’s Milton: 07 3367 0559
American Bookstore: 07 3229 4677
Coaldrake’s Emporium: 07 3854 0188

Please note: Refreshments are not included

Proudly presented by The Brisbane Institute and Brisbane’s Better Bookshops

Your Comments

  1. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon writes:

    Bullying of Academics in Higher Education

    The bullying of academics follows a pattern of horrendous, Orwellian elimination rituals, often hidden from the public. Despite the anti-bullying policies (often token), bullying is rife across campuses, and the victims (targets) often pay a heavy price. “Nothing strengthens authority as much as silence.” Leonardo da Vinci – “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men [or good women] do nothing.” Winston Churchill.

    http://www.bulliedacademics.blogspot.com/

    Posted: 14 02 2007 - 19:23 | Permanent link to this comment

  2. Lisa writes:

    For more reading along a similar line to Clive Hamilton, see Margo Kingston’s “Not Happy, John!” (http://www.nothappyjohn.com/default.cfm). She deals with the way journalists face a blank wall every time they try to chase even the most simple facts. Rather disturbingly, she also tells about Howard handing security of Parliament House over to the Americans during Bush’s visit while denying access to Australian citizens.

    Knowledge of threats to funding for people who criticise the Howard government seems to be quite widely spread in Australian social policy writing, but not widely known or believed in the general population.

    Posted: 14 02 2007 - 19:43 | Permanent link to this comment

Commenting is closed for this article.