
The Sydney turdbloid The Daily Telegraph is admirably fulfilling its traditional role as the Liberal Party’s advertising agency as the NSW state election approaches.
The Tele, like all News Crap Australia metro dailies, is very experienced in running campaigns for the Liberal Party and has been delivering very positive page-one stories for Premier Dominic Perrottet.
Our Media Glass House researchers have examined the front pages of the Tele in February so far and have found stories that should by rights carry the standard “Written and authorised by Dominic Perrottet for the Liberal Party of NSW” fine print.
For instance – and in no particular order – the Tele has had Perrottet ride to the aid of households struggling to make ends meet as inflation hit hard at household budgets.
Apparently he’s going to fix the logistical problems and supply shortages that have fuelled rising grocery prices, as well as cap toll fees for commuters, and cut power bills. (below)

Our researchers wonder where his miracle plans have been hiding in the many previous months when an election was somewhat further away.
One curious splash our MGH teams identified was a story about the devout Catholic and father of seven Premier’s plan to save women money by enabling chemists to renew prescriptions for the contraceptive pill instead of forcing them to incur a bill for a GP visit. (below)

According to the Daily Tele the Premier is also obviously the one to help struggling home buyers and mortgage holders by planning more infrastructure investment to support housing developments. (below)

When those evil big banks are in the news for lifting home loan rates, Perrottet utters some empty words about the need for banks to hold back lifting mortgage rates.
He even took the time to write to the banks’ national peak body to put the same idea to them.
It’s a totally ineffectual stunt, but there it is right on the Tele’s front page. (below)

Big business doesn’t miss out, of course, and the Tele breathlessly reported Perrottet’s recycling of the tired old “cut red tape” promise (below), while cheerfully ignoring the fact that the Libs have had more than a decade in office to do just that.

Even when another big yarn necessarily assumed priority on the front page, the Tele managed to squeeze Perrottet in with several front-page sidebar stories, even for the most, shall we say, modest commitments.
One story was about a government plan to allow school principals to hire and fire teachers and another was about government subsidies of up to $5,000 to help young people in regional NSW to ditch their old car and upgrade to a newer and safer one. (below)

***
It’s not just the front page of The Daily Telegraph where Premier Dominic Perrottet takes a starring role.
On the inside pages devoted to the NSW election he appears regularly, sometimes twice on the same page. (below left)

And sometimes even three times in the same story. (below)

***
Don’t worry, the Daily Tele has given Labor Party leader and would-be premier Chris Minns his share of front pages so far in February.
By “his share” we mean the share the Tele believes he deserves and the story – the one story focussing on Minns on its front page so far this month – is one raising the old spectre of a Labor “black hole” based on a totting up of its campaign promises. (below)

Never mind the total cost and funding integrity of Perrottet’s commitments the Tele has splashed over its front pages, News Crap Australia falls back on its same tired old tactic of trying to undermine and cast doubt on Labor’s economic management abilities.
Wow. Who saw that one coming? Let’s face it – everybody.
