What's the difference between a lie and an opinion?

What's the difference between a lie and an opinion?

Well, consider this: the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann recently accused anyone who claimed that his objection to the appointment of a candidate to the position of QC was a politically motivated move, was a liar.

“This is all about improving the quality, standards and accountability of the profession in the 21st Century. Personally I would never support the political appointment of QCs and neither would the Attorney General. " http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=1116

Now hang on Mr Rann. Didn't you support the appointment of Tim Stanley for one of those positions? You remember Tim, the ex ALP Candidate for the Federal seat of Adelaide and still card carrying member of the ALP who has indicated a keeness to re-enter politics himself?

QC's eye on politics http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20992642-2682,00.html
December 31, 2006 12:15am

NEWLY appointed Queen's Counsel Tim Stanley is still interested in a political career. The industrial and commercial barrister was an unsuccessful Labor candidate for the federal seat of Adelaide in 2001.

Most recently his name has been raised as a possible replacement for Senator Linda Kirk, who told the Sunday Mail last week that she was the victim of a smear campaign by members of her own party.

"I'm always interested (in politics) and I'm not ruling out having another tilt, but I've got no plans at the moment to run for anything," he said.

"It's always a question of luck and timing . . . I chose a bad year last time to run."

In the 2001 election, Trish Worth beat Mr Stanley by a mere 343 votes, relying on postal and absentee votes.

Mr Stanley was one of three barristers approved by the State Government last week as a QC."

Well, in my humble opinion Mr Rann, the appointment of Mr Stanley looks about as political as it can get and I'm not lying.

We'll look very closely at the way Media Mike Rann handles the truth over the coming year.

In an article in The Advertiser on November 10th 2006 an ALP Member of Parliament, Grace Portolesi claimed that the Howard Government's scrapping of the term "multiculturalism" may well lead to restrictions on speaking one's native tongue! That's outrageous! How dare they!

But it's simply untrue, because it isn't Liberal Party Policy. http://www.liberal.org.au/

One can speculate all one likes but as an elected representative, surely the presentation of facts and the truth is pretty much all people require instead of hyperbole and lies. But that's just my opinion!

OK, So you might think it's not a lie. You might think it's mischief making, misinformation a beat-up! You might be right. That'll be your opinion and you are entitled to it. But her comment is not the truth and Portolesi should never have promoted it.

Fundamentally, her comments are divisive and have the potential to generate significant anxiety amongst ethnic communities at a time when calm and understanding are needed. The irony for Portolesi is that she is so far behind the times when it comes to the end of the term "multicuturalism". In NSW the Office of Ethnic Affairs was dumped by State Labor ages ago for a more engaging title: The Community Relations Commission. http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au/
The old boss of the Ethnic Affairs, Stepan Kerkyasharian, got to keep his fat cat job so he's happy and NSW has moved on. Unfortunately, due to the NSW government's handling of gang crime in general, no amount of name changes could prevent the Cronulla Riots and other anti-social behaviour between ethnic groups and white supremist ratbags in the wider "community". One wonders why we need these agencies at all when law and order gets so out of hand in spite of them.

So what's the difference then? We hear the cliche that "we're all entitled to our opinion", but we never hear that "we're all entitled to our lies"!

We may even say, "Keep your opinions to yourself", but we never say "keep your lies to yourself".

Blog on!