A lot of people have bagged The Chaser for their APEC stunt. I reckon they’re uptight worry warts.
Did we stop being the nation that laughs at itself when I was down the shops or something?
The security measures taken in preparation for APEC were ridiculous and a fair target for a satirical shellacking.
The fortnight of stories we were subjected to about water cannons, mobile gaols, 5km fences, sick police horses and clearing cells to make room for protesters was just laughable.
So The Chaser did what was natural and had a giggle. Simple.
The conga line of Premiers, Police Commissioners and Prime Ministers all beating their chests about security measures have been made to look foolish by the weekend’s events.
The only protests we saw were mums and dads having their democratic say. These posing politicians are the real joke.
Some national wowsers have criticised the stunt as ‘taxpayer funded’ because it was done at the ABC. Hang on a second – what about the $300 million spent on security at APEC we clearly didn’t need? How come they’re not whinging about that? Could there be bigger white elephants than those silly white police buses? Did any of them even carry a single protester? Or the $300,000 water cannon?
Let’s get real. That was the real waste of money.
We must never give in to a culture of fear. We are the inheritors of the Australian larrikin spirit. We’ve always dealt with the worst of situations with our famous sardonic wit.
I reckon authoritarian worry warts obsessed with rules should make an effort to laugh at themselves – because the rest of us have been for about a week.