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

When given the choice between a mess and a conspiracy, you should usually go with the latter.

That was my choice this week when I found that, after a series of harsh (but in my opinion fair) commentary pieces about the woes of the Albanian government, I had been removed from the all-important email distribution list that the Prime Minister’s media team sent to political journalists sends. .

I contacted colleagues at other media organisations and discovered that they were all still receiving emails from the Prime Minister’s Office. I just wasn’t.

For those outside the Canberra bubble, the email distribution list provides journalists with information about press conferences, announceables, state visits, media interviews, you name it.

Without such advance information, it is much harder to report on government actions, and reporting and commentary is delayed. So it is not hard to become suspicious if you drop off the list after a period of being critical.

I must admit that I immediately assumed it was a conspiracy from the Prime Minister’s office. So I contacted the boss of Albanese’s 11-person media unit to find out exactly what happened.

But I’m clearly too cynical by half. Just like politicians, you should always believe what their aides tell you.

Eventually I was reassured and reassured that it was just a case of incompetence that resulted in me being sent to the anesthetic corner and unable to receive any communications from a team that had communications on their behalf.

Peter Van Onselen has been removed from the all-important email distribution list that the Prime Minister’s media team sends to political journalists after a series of sharp opinion pieces on the problems of Anthony Albanese (above)

To be fair, he didn’t phrase the failure as incompetence, that was my way of expressing it. But if you assume a conspiracy, it is better to assume things, which amounts to the same thing.

Apparently something went wrong with their technical systems, because I have two email addresses which 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 merits of what I was told. I struggle to turn on my computer at the best of times every morning, so the head honcho had me spanked when the conversation turned to IT details as part of the explanation.

The PMO’s distribution list often also includes sending out transcripts of interviews and media conferences that ministers have done. In the past these transcripts have not always been accurate, but to be fair I am talking about what happened in previous Prime Minister’s offices, not Albo’s.

Missing words or numbers have been slightly changed here and there and have come to light in both mainstream and social media after transcripts have been uploaded to official government websites.

Sometimes the transcript will say “inaudible” next to a difficult or poorly answered question. Even though, if you go back and check, the audio sounds pretty clear.

I’ve had bad luck in the past when I fell off the distribution list while working at other media organizations. Even when I was driving a PM faster than normal.

I guess it’s just an unfortunate coincidence.

Finance Minister Jim Chalmers’ poorly received budget and rising inflation have also come under scrutiny

Readers will be happy to know that I’m back on the list; Both of my emails say that too, so I now receive two copies of everything in case one doesn’t work.

Is it too soon after complaining to ask to be taken off the list again? Probably.

What has nothing to do with conspiracies or fabrications is the reality that there are different levels of access to what is spread by both the government and the opposition. Some journalists are given more access than others. A longer lead time with heads-up about upcoming events, for example.

This game of offering better or worse access based on how accommodating a journalist is has long been played by those who run the country. Or perhaps more accurately, those who work for those elected to run the country.

Politicians love to have plausible deniability. They like to blame their staff so they don’t have to bear the blame.

Political staff are considered an extension of the minister they serve. This means that they cannot appear before parliamentary committees to have their actions investigated.

But when a minister presides over a failing government, those same political staffers often throw up their hands to take the blame, thereby saving the minister’s career. They inevitably turn up in another office shortly afterwards. Or take an outright government appointment as a thank-you for their participation in the protection racket that is 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 be…