Who's the wombat now, Richard? Former ABC Media Watch host Richard Ackland demonstrates my argument perfectly - that a Leftist bias may indeed influence how you see the world, and the ABC should not maintain a monoculture of the Left: Richard Ackland rewrites history, minus some inconvenient facts. The Sydney Morning Herald, May 10: (THE federal Coalition's George) Brandis likes to wrap himself in his free speech virtue by proclaiming his support for journalists" shield laws. His proposed amendments to the Evidence Act sought to give journalists some limited right to protect their confidential sources of information against courtroom discovery. I'm a supporter of shield laws. In fact, I'm the author of the commonwealth's shield laws," he told Lateline host Emma Alberici on Tuesday night. Er, not quite. He put up one set of amendments ... allowing enough room for several stagecoaches and fours of horses to drive through. Chris Merritt, The Australian, September 28, 2010: BY shifting position and embracing the need for strong shield laws for journalists" sources, Labor has turned a looming parliamentary defeat into a victory. But the price of this victory is high: in essence, it has adopted a policy of the Coalition - and independent senator Nick Xenophon - that it had rejected during its first term. Labor's turnaround started before the election but the pressure for change intensified once it was obvious the Coalition and independents had the numbers to make their scheme law ... The push for this form of shield law can be traced to May last year when the Coalition, independents and Greens members of a Senate committee rejected an alternative scheme Labor was then backing. Ackland omits more inconvenient facts - in the same SMH article: THEN there was (Brandis's) claim that it was wrong for the commonwealth to settle its part of the case brought by James Ashby (against former Speaker Peter Slipper). He criticised the settlement as a breach of commonwealth litigation guidelines, saying "the commonwealth should never settle litigation merely to avoid future costs." Again, he must have forgotten that Fair Work cases come under a no-costs jurisdiction. Here's what the commonwealth's special general counsel Damien O'Donovan wrote in the settlement offer he sent to Ashby's lawyers on September 26 last year: IN our assessment there are significant problems in fastening primary liability on the commonwealth ... However, in order to avoid the very significant expenses associated with ventilating these issues at trial, the commonwealth is prepared to make an offer based on a worst-case scenario analysis. Commonwealth Legal Services Directions, Appendix C, clause 2: SETTLEMENT is not to be effected merely because of the cost of defending what is clearly a spurious claim. Who is the wombat now? Ackland again: I'M sceptical that Brandis will make much of an attorney-general ... As an experienced lawyer confided: "Better to appoint a wombat ... "