Following the Final Report by the Australian Public Service Commissioner on the Robodebt Centralised Code of Conduct Inquiry, The Commissioner set forth a statement and directions, with an apology. Dr Gordon de Brouwer stated, “I apologise as Public Service Commissioner to those affected by the Scheme and to the Australian public for the part played by public servants in this failure.” That is very reasonable. It is not propaganda.
What is propaganda is the APSC media statement that followed. In the context of the Commissioner’s statement and directions, with an apology, the APSC sought to whitewash the Commissioner’s decisions with this “positive story” (first part of the statement):
The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) welcomes the recent results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions.
This is Australia’s second year participating in the OECD Trust Survey and the results provide us with valuable insights into the public’s perceptions of various Australian public institutions.
Australians place high trust in the police (68%) and the courts and judicial system (59%). Australian’s trust in the federal government has also increased significantly from 38% in 2021 to 46% in 2023. This exceeds the OECD average of 39%, placing Australia in the top 10 of the 30 countries surveyed.
Propaganda is not that statements are untrue, but propaganda are inferences, dismissals, or gaslighting, to avoid the bigger picture truth of the exact context in which the statement is made.
Featured Image: Screenshot 2024-09-13 APSC Directions
Neville Buch
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