Piers Watch

The People Speak: Piers Is Clean!

Keen readers of Pierswatch will be aware of the reward we placed on our hero's head and the subsequent hysterical reaction this elicited amongst some of the media's professional naval-gazers.

What started as a cheap publicity stunt was transformed into a "fatwah", a "disgusting" attack on freedom of speech, the act of a "fascist" publication, the work of a "childish web-site", and so on and so on.

The reaction of Piers and his cohorts says as much about the closed nature of this mutual admiration society of highly paid columnists as it does about their lack of security, irony or humour.

On our count the reward scored a run in Stay in Touch, two columns in the Financial Review, a Saturday column in the Tele, at least four gratuitous mentions in Piers own column and a nasty little payback attack on Michael Costa.

Interestingly, at no stage has the Telegraph mentioned the words "Workers Online", perhaps proving our argument that the issue is not one of freedom of Speech, but of who gets heard. By purging our name from their copy, the Telegraph columnists were using their power to withhold vital facts from their readers. But who am I to criticise them? They, after all, are Daily Telegraph columnists! I'm just a ratbag with a website.

But, alas dear readers, the time has come to end the fun and bring the issue to closure.

We asked the question and you have spoken in your silence. On the evidence before us we can categorically state: Piers Akerman is not a criminal and has never committed a criminal act.

He is however -- also on the evidence before us -- an extremely thin-skinned man who has done more to promote Worker Online than anyone else in the community. For this, of course, he has our eternal gratitude if not our respect.

In officially withdrawing the $1000 reward, we can only hope for more publicity. It's hard to imagine Piers will not contrive a way to trumpet his confirmed innocence.

To his defenders, Workers Online apologises for having had the gall to shake your ivory towers.

And if Piers needs to have his right to Freedom of Speech affirmed, we do so. From our point of view he is now free to do what he does best: spread his mean-spirited view of life across the community

The money will instead be dedicated to humanitarian purposes - including the creation of an attractive range of Piers the Hutt T shirts which will be launched at our 21st Birthday bash tonight!

To get a T-shirt, email your name and details. Otherwise you can purchase it in person at Labor Council, Level 10, 377 Sussex Street.

  Click hear to order a T-shirt

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 21 contents

»	Aussies To Go For Gold in Foreign Uniforms?
»	Howard Warned: Time Ticking On Entitlements
»	Hotels Charge Triple Time - Now for the Workers
»	Air Attack - Qantas Telesales Under Fire
»	The Hills Are Alive - With the Sound of Pay Cuts
»	National Trust Places Green(back) Bans on Unions
»	Body Hire Campaign Hots Up
»	Attack of the Killer Skips Rocks City
»	A Holiday With a Social Consience
»	East Timor: Emergency Public Meeting Called

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Conference to Heal Rifts in the Labour Movement
»	Fabians Scour Poll Ashes
»	Holiday Confusion

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