Tag: David Marr

A welcome apology from the ABC

On March 22 this year ABC’s Religion & Ethics Report ran a story The culture war of marriage equality in Australia that alleged my activism around Mark Allaby’s employment at IBM was linked to marriage equality.

On March 26 I documented various inaccuracies in this ABC story in my article Straightening out Professor Iain Benson and followed this up with a complaint to the ABC.

On May 18 the ABC responded to my complaint, which in part advised:

ABC Radio advises that although you were not referred to by name, your activism was one of the issues discussed in the program. In response to your complaint, Radio has acknowledged that listeners would likely have drawn the conclusion that your activism concerning Mark Allaby focussed on the issue of same-sex marriage rather than Pride in Diversity. Radio apologises for this oversight. The following clarification has been published on the program page:

Editor’s Note:
Michael Barnett, one of the key activists behind the campaign around IBM’s Mark Allaby, has contacted the ABC to explain that his activism on this issue was in support of broader issues of LGBT equity in companies, rather than focussing on the specific issue of same sex marriage. The ABC is happy to provide this clarification.
(http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/the-culture-war-of-marriage-equality-in-australia/8376570)

20170518 ABC clarification - Religion & Ethics Report March 22 2017

Further details about my activism on this issue can be found in my September 21 article David Marr, do you fact check?.

David Marr, do you fact check?

David Marr must provide evidence of his claim that an unnamed person called for the resignation of Mark Allaby and Stephen Chavura

In the September 19 Guardian article Where’s the biff? Free speech has won every round in the marriage equality debate David Marr wrote:

“One Christian at IBM and another at Macquarie University have both been targeted by a zealous yes warrior who reckons they should be dismissed because their advocacy for traditional marriage is at odds with the ethos of their employers. So have they lost their jobs? No and nor should they.”

Back in March this year I posted this tweet about Mark Allaby:

I also posted this tweet about Stephen Chavura:

I posted several more similarly worded tweets about both.  However in none of my tweets did I once call for, imply, or want the sacking of either from their respective places of employment.

On September 12 on ABC’s The Drum David Marr said Mark Allaby was “targeted by some trollish yes voters” (around 13:00) in response to Iain Benson’s claim “Allaby was asked to resign”:

 

ABC The Drum David Marr Trolls (Sep 12 2017)

In the above-mentioned Guardian article David Marr alleges [Mark Allaby and Stephen Chavura] “have both been targeted by a zealous yes warrior who reckons they should be dismissed”.

Who is this “zealous yes warrior who reckons they should be dismissed” David Marr?

If you are referring to my activism, please show me where I have called for the dismissal of either Mark Allaby from IBM or Stephen Chavura from Macquarie University.

If not mine, then whose activism are you are referring to?

I also refer David Marr to this apology from ABC’s The Drum where they clarified that my activism was in fact not related to marriage equality.