[SeaGypsy]

The real brains behind Australia's neocons is Professor Peter Saunders:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Robert_Saunders

Who unfortunately for Fox et al is not particularly charismatic. He also makes his points a little too clearly for the average IQ Aussie to not be able to understand immediately, not the best thing in a spin doctor.

[SeaGypsy]

B A Santamaria had some highly questionable views and practices, but I can tell you the most practical minded Australians on the land I have ever met are the spawn of his 'Catholic Workers' communities set up in/ around the Soldier Settler camps after the second world war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._A._Santamaria

As far as I am aware he was the first in Australia to push for sustainable agriculture and for banishing debt based economics. His home city, Melbourne, has the most advanced education and social safety net (the only city with a charter of human rights) of any in the country/ much due to the work of BAS.

Policy

Santamaria argued that the question must be tackled on both individual and social levels.

In a startlingly bold policy, the NCRM argued from as early as 1940 that Australia's future lay not with the Britain but in Asia. It pleaded for expanded immigration and an end to the White Australia policy. Critics claimed that the NCRM desired a return to medieval society. It answered this by saying:

"No one who stands for rural revival is proposing to set up anything resembling the peasantry of past ages, or that existing in Europe today. The way of life which we desire to see grow up in our own countryside is thoroughly modern. This does not involve the rejection of any of the real benefits of the machine or of modern science, but simply a practical recognition that the only sane object of man's instruments is the achievement of the ‘good life'."

The first objective was to create a mental revolution in the farming home - to imbue family members with a sense of the dignity of their work and a sense of how to improve their situation.

In the minds of its leaders, the NCRM should apply the three central tenets of Catholic Action: see, judge and act. The crisis called for realistic solutions.

Its various initiatives included the promotion of co-operatives, independent farming, dissemination of conservation and organic farming, spread and encouragement of rural culture and the revival of the rural home.

The response of the Catholic farming population was immediate. For years they had been told to increase production in spite of this having led to increasing poverty and the depopulation of farming areas. Added to this was their betrayal at the hands of various political representatives as happened when two Country Party senators from Western Australia had voted against the Scullin Wheat Bill in 1931 (the Bill had promised to deliver good wheat prices for the first time in many years).

The NCRM grew quickly especially in the wheat/sheep belt of NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

After only three years of operation the NCRM was being hailed in American publications as the most perfect form of Catholic Action in the world and was highly regarded for its practicality and level of participation.

http://www.newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=411

[SeaGypsy]

To sum up, Andrew Bolt isn't fit to lick Bob Santamaria's bootstraps.

[2012 Survivalist]

Back to the idea of an Aussie Fox News. I think it would definitely fail (or even fail to launch) if it was directly funded by any mining people. And why a whole channel? Channel 10 could just have a 1 hour show each night at 10pm.

The other problem could be finding enough content. I don't think there's enough happening in Australia. They'd have to pad it out with lots of foreign content, and that would water down their goals.

[PrestonSturges]

Poor libs, watching your liberal dreams all go up in smoke. I guess you need something like MSNBC (which almost no one else watches) to prevent mass liberal suicide.

Just for perspective, keep in mind that Fox News gets beaten by Nicklelodeon in every time slot.

[SeaGypsy]

Back to the idea of an Aussie Fox News. I think it would definitely fail (or even fail to launch) if it was directly funded by any mining people. And why a whole channel? Channel 10 could just have a 1 hour show each night at 10pm.

The other problem could be finding enough content. I don't think there's enough happening in Australia. They'd have to pad it out with lots of foreign content, and that would water down their goals.

There is plenty happening in Australia and in our region which never gets reported. Even with ABC & SBS there are untouchable sections of our society, out of bounds to MSM. In our region there are long running territorial disputes which get no media until/ unless an Australian dies or is kidnapped. There is room for a new publisher in Australia, but at the other end of the spectrum from Fox. We already have plenty of junk rags.