Tobe Frank: Give airtime to other issues, please!

To be frank, I think we’ve got our priorities all mixed up.

How is it that we can dedicate so much time on the airways, on the tube and in the press to trying to save Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and yet so many more serious issues, closer to home, with far greater consequences get diddlysquat…nothing…two fifths of…

It’s not that I want these guys to die – I don’t. It’s barbaric and belongs in the dark ages. I don’t believe in capital punishment (at least not for these types of crime, which is a bit hypocritical, I know) nor do I believe in the protracted drawn out process that gives people false hope for a chance of clemency.

But I am also sick and tired of the whole issue being splashed all through the media. At the end of the day, these guys got caught and convicted of a crime they committed in a country known for its harsh penalties, including death. Yes, it is sad that the lives of two Australians, two humans, will be brought to a premature end. Yes, it is a shame that they appear to have been rehabilitated and could serve the world, or at least those incarcerated in the Bali prison, a better purpose alive than dead, but do you know something? But do you know what? There are plenty of other Australians and humans suffering far greater atrocities than this.

I think there are so many more worthwhile causes, people, organisations, issues, injustices and so on to put out energy and media bandwidth into. Maybe they don’t sell as many papers, ads on the airways or result in as many clicks, shares, likes or otherwise, but I’m sure they would do more good for the broader community than focusing on the lives of two blokes that, if people are really honest with themselves have no bearing on their everyday life.

What about trying to find young William Tyrell? What does he get – a 20 second update once a week! What about the seemingly escalating violence on our streets and in our homes? Poverty, animal cruelty, male depression, youth suicide, homelessness, jobs for the ageing and so on. One of the world’s superpowers is making more and more scary noises about widespread invasion into countries that were once provinces whilst assassinating political opponents. Or, the drugs and the side effects that landed these two in hot water in the first place. Where are all these issues? Way down the running sheet on the nightly news, I tell you. Very little airspace at all at present. We know what Andrew and Myuran had for breakfast, but not why a mentally ill grandfather murdered his pregnant granddaughter and her son, before turning his gun on himself. Just another day in paradise is it?

I wonder what would happen, where we would be if the countless hours, money and energy that it being poured into covering the last days of these two drug mules, were in fact poured into drug rehab, education, prevention, awareness, monitoring, police manpower for more investigations etc. There’s a good news story right there. There’s an easy way to save more than a couple of lives – some from the needlepoint and others before they taste addiction in the first place.

Will it sell papers? No. Apparently we’re more interested in watching interviews with countless numbers of friends, support crew and anyone else with the remotest connection to either Andrew or Myuran or their 5^th grade school teacher’s cousin’s dog.

Do you think there is a solution? Is there any way to refocus or dedicate more coverage to more issues closer to home? Share with us below.