We need to stop over-reacting to rumours and nonsense

When a national outlet published a story last week claiming Barnaby Joyce was talking to Pauline Hanson about joining One Nation, the Canberra bubble went into full meltdown.

It was, of course, complete nonsense — made-up drool from insiders who don’t seem to understand that being a member of the Nationals in New England isn’t just a political choice. It’s family.

Sure, you can get a divorce and find a new one, but around here, leaving the Nationals means losing most of your friends and family. It’s not something that happens over a five minute phone call with someone as inconsistent and unreliable as Pauline Hanson.

But there the story was, on a major national news outlet. And because it was from a major masthead, every other journalist repeated it without engaging their brains or asking a question. AAP and Fairfax even ran multiple pieces saying Joyce had quit the National Party, continuing to do so even after both he and Nationals leader David Littleproud said, very clearly, that he had not.

The reaction — and over-reaction — online only fuelled the fire.

New Englanders are usually more skeptical than that. We have good instincts, good bullshit meters, and we don’t tend to believe something just because someone in Canberra or Sydney says it’s true. But far too many seemed to turn those instincts off this past week.

It’s easy to see why. Social media rewards outrage, not accuracy. The louder and faster something spreads, the more it’s seen, and the harder it becomes to walk back even the most ridiculous claims.

But the fact remains that Barnaby Joyce was effectively bullied to revealing his intention to retire from politics earlier than he would have liked because of a massive over-reaction to a made up story. The over-reaction, that bullying, and many of the just awful comments online, are not worthy of New England.

I’m often accused of being pro- or anti- this or that side of politics — as former Democrats like me often are. But I don’t take sides. I think both Labor and the Coalition are as bad as each other, and I’ve been around enough political shenanigans to know that the swings and roundabouts of politics usually mean one side is doing worse than the other at any given time.

The important thing is not to over-react to any of it. Let the insiders and out-of-touch city folk gorge themselves on speculation. Let them write their think-pieces and reheated takes.

And when the dust settles, as it always does, we’ll see what’s what — and then we’ll know who was talking sense, and who was just making noise.

As we move forward to consider who should be the next member for New England, hopefully our cultural tendency to be cautious and considered, measured in our reactions, and generally to have some good sense, will reassert itself.

RK (Kath) Crosby is the CEO of research and strategy company KORE CSR, former strategist for the Australian Democrats, and a well known migraine advocate. She is also the Publisher of New England Times and North Coast Times.

Read more by RK Crosby here

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