Why I was suddenly left out in the cold after a series of harsh opinion pieces about Anthony Albanese’s suffering

If you have the choice between a mistake and a conspiracy, you should usually assume the latter.

That was my decision this week when I realised that, following a series of harsh (but, in my opinion, fair) comments on the problems facing the Albanese government, I had been removed from the important email distribution list that the Prime Minister’s media team sends to political journalists.

I checked with colleagues at other media outlets and found that they were all still receiving emails from the Prime Minister’s office, except me.

For those outside the Canberra bubble, the email distribution list provides information on press conferences, announceables, state visits, media interviews and more.

Without such information up front, reporting on government activities is a little more difficult, and reporting and commentary is delayed, so it’s not hard to become suspicious if you disappear from the list after a period of critical statements.

I must admit that I immediately assumed this was a conspiracy on the part of the Prime Minister’s office, so I contacted the head of Albanese’s 11-strong media unit to find out exactly what had happened.

But I’m clearly far too cynical. Just like with politicians, you should always believe what your employees tell you.

Eventually I was reassured that it was a simple case of incompetence that had resulted in me being relegated to the corner, unable to receive messages from a team whose title includes the word “communications.”

To be honest, he didn’t describe the failure as incompetence, that was my wording. But if you assume a conspiracy, it’s better to assume things, which amounts to the same thing.

Apparently something went wrong with their technical systems because I have two email addresses that somehow contributed to me not receiving anything at all.

It had nothing to do with the timing of the recent criticism of the Prime Minister and his ministers!

When the explanation became a little more technical, I had to admit defeat and accept the veracity of what I was being told. I struggle to turn on my computer every morning even under the best of circumstances, so when the conversation turned to IT details during the explanation, the boss had the upper hand.

The PMO’s mailing list also often includes transcripts of interviews and press conferences given by ministers. In the past, these transcripts have not always been accurate, but to be fair, I am talking about what happened in previous prime ministers’ offices, not what happened in Albo’s offices.

Missing words or slightly altered numbers here and there were revealed in both mainstream media and social media after the transcripts were uploaded to official government websites.

Occasionally, the transcript will say “unintelligible” next to a difficult or poorly answered question, even if the audio sounds pretty clear when you go back and review it.

I’ve had bad luck in the past when I was removed from the mailing list while employed by other media companies, or when I was harder on a PM than usual.

I guess it must just be an unfortunate coincidence.

Readers will be happy to know that I’m back on the list. In fact, both of my email addresses are back, so I now get two copies of everything in case one of them goes down.

Is it too soon after the complaint to ask to be removed from the list? Probably.

What is not a conspiracy or a glitch is that there are different levels of access to what is being broadcast by government and opposition alike. Some journalists are given more access than others. They are given more lead time to be informed about upcoming events, for example.

This game, in which access to the media is better or worse depending on the compliance of a journalist, has long been played by those who govern the country. Or perhaps more accurately, by those who work for the country’s elected leaders.

Politicians like to be able to credibly deny their actions. They like to shift the blame onto their employees so that they don’t have to take the blame themselves.

Political staff are seen as an extension of the minister they serve, meaning they cannot be summoned before parliamentary committees to scrutinise their actions.

Yet when a minister is responsible for a government failure, those same political operatives often raise their hands to take the blame and thus save the minister’s career. They inevitably turn up in another office shortly thereafter. Or they accept a top government position as a thank you for participating in the protection racket of modern politics.

It’s a dirty business, but someone has to do it, because without politicians the country couldn’t govern itself. Or could it…

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