On the ABC last night, Chris Uhlmann – one of our up-and-coming political journalists – interviewed Peter O’Neill, who is one of the two Prime Ministers currently battling it out in Papua New Guinea. You probably know nothing about this, so here’s a link to give you a little background, though you don’t need to know anything about it for the purposes of this post.
Uhlmann is trying to be an aggressive type of journo, but he’s still reasonably respectful when he talks with Gillard, Rudd or Abbott. Last night he spoke to O’Neill (who is Papua New Guinean through and through, name notwithstanding) as though he, Uhlmann, were a member of a super-power, condescending to a representative of a minor client state.
O’Neill ignored the impolite tone, concentrating on answering the questions at face value, until the final supercilious question was delivered, “Have you yet spoken with Julia Gillard?”
O’Neill looked up at the camera, exhibiting, or quite possibly feigning, great surprise and responded, “Why on earth should I want to talk to the Australian Prime Minister? She has nothing to do with the government of my country.”
Uhlmann looked utterly nonplussed, as he should. Hopefully he will be a little more respectful next time. PNG may have once been an Australian colony, but that ended 36 years ago.
Boadicea's Chariot 
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