By Oliver Jobe
LAST week, Bass MP Jordan Crugnale blocked me after I left a series of comments on her social media criticising the ALP and saying that, as a member of the ALP, she represents the Good and the Bad of the party.
The comment that ended up with me being blocked was on her post about ‘Pride’ in which I mentioned the ALP’s inaction on police brutality towards queer protesters at Midsumma in 2023 that resulted in a condemnation and no apparent other actions.
I also mentioned the leader of the ALP and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s apparent inability to say ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’ in interviews during his 2022 campaign.
LAST week, Bass MP Jordan Crugnale blocked me after I left a series of comments on her social media criticising the ALP and saying that, as a member of the ALP, she represents the Good and the Bad of the party.
The comment that ended up with me being blocked was on her post about ‘Pride’ in which I mentioned the ALP’s inaction on police brutality towards queer protesters at Midsumma in 2023 that resulted in a condemnation and no apparent other actions.
I also mentioned the leader of the ALP and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s apparent inability to say ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’ in interviews during his 2022 campaign.
It’s important to note that none of the comments that I left included hateful, or discriminatory rhetoric and that I am known to Jordan and her team as a local organiser in the community.
It is clear that Jordan does not want critical voices in her comments. The issue plaguing our democracy is the ability of any MP to block someone from commenting if the comment disagrees with the MP’s or the MP’s party’s view. MPs should not be able to stifle dissent. If what someone is saying is not hateful and not discriminatory they should not be prevented from commenting or communicating their disagreement with an MP or their party.
What does this mean for democracy? Well, it’s dangerous if we live in a society where your MP can shut you up if they don’t want an opposing voice. I would say “Imagine this” or “imagine that” but we don’t have to: history speaks for itself. During Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia, and Mussolini’s Italy freedom of speech was restricted by blocking other people from commenting on issues on the radio and from speaking out in demonstrations.
Much like how the Jacinta Allen Government restricted the right to protest. These restrictions can be seen in the modern day by blocking people on social media and through control of media and the right to assemble.
I reached out to Jordan for comment on why she blocked me and was met with a reply thanking me for contacting her and claiming I was aggressive and rude on the phone to her staff. I disagree but that’s not the point. The point is that I was blocked, for stating facts that she did not want people to see.
Not long after I contacted her, she unblocked me, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that I was blocked in the first place. It is important to note that Jordan did not give a concrete reason for the blocking. It’s a pattern of behaviour we don’t want to see from an elected MP when someone disagrees with them. Jordan is not the only MP to do it and she won’t be the last.
Oliver Jobe is a Year 11 student at Virtual Schools Victoria. He has spoken at and organised climate rallies and the local Gather for Gaza events in Wonthaggi and Cowes.
It is clear that Jordan does not want critical voices in her comments. The issue plaguing our democracy is the ability of any MP to block someone from commenting if the comment disagrees with the MP’s or the MP’s party’s view. MPs should not be able to stifle dissent. If what someone is saying is not hateful and not discriminatory they should not be prevented from commenting or communicating their disagreement with an MP or their party.
What does this mean for democracy? Well, it’s dangerous if we live in a society where your MP can shut you up if they don’t want an opposing voice. I would say “Imagine this” or “imagine that” but we don’t have to: history speaks for itself. During Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia, and Mussolini’s Italy freedom of speech was restricted by blocking other people from commenting on issues on the radio and from speaking out in demonstrations.
Much like how the Jacinta Allen Government restricted the right to protest. These restrictions can be seen in the modern day by blocking people on social media and through control of media and the right to assemble.
I reached out to Jordan for comment on why she blocked me and was met with a reply thanking me for contacting her and claiming I was aggressive and rude on the phone to her staff. I disagree but that’s not the point. The point is that I was blocked, for stating facts that she did not want people to see.
Not long after I contacted her, she unblocked me, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that I was blocked in the first place. It is important to note that Jordan did not give a concrete reason for the blocking. It’s a pattern of behaviour we don’t want to see from an elected MP when someone disagrees with them. Jordan is not the only MP to do it and she won’t be the last.
Oliver Jobe is a Year 11 student at Virtual Schools Victoria. He has spoken at and organised climate rallies and the local Gather for Gaza events in Wonthaggi and Cowes.