Katy Gallagher to pursue fake Facebook profiler to the ends of the earth

Katy, we have searched for a long long time.

And we have looked everywhere and everywhere.

And we found your rattle and dummy.

Andrew had them.

No, I don’t know why Andrew had them.

Perhaps he’s next in line and he wants to get ahead.

But we haven’t found your sense of humour.

And Ms Ant wants to know if you’ve ever had one.

She says she has been all over the assembly and in everybody’s desks and lunch boxes.

And she’s never seen it.

Are you sure you brought your sense of humour to the assembly?

Are you sure you didn’t drop it some where?

Oh well, can anybody help Katy out with some sense of humour?

No John, Ms Ant says she’s never seen yours either.

No Andrew, she doesn’t trust you after you took her rattle and dummy.

And No John H, you’ve left yours out in the gutter.

Oh No, what are we to do?

The question is though, did she ever *have* a sense of humour? Or of the ridiculous.

A teacher takes charge in the Assembly:

Can whoever took Katy’s sense of humour please give it back?

Have you got it John?

What about you Zed?

Have your lot got it?

What about you Meredith?

Have your lot got it?

Okay, everyone open their desks.

We’re going to have to have a search.

We’re not going to get any work done until she gets it back.

And while we’re at it, we better find her rattle and dummy as well.

Future headlines:

The Facebook school girls arrested

The Facebook school girls go on trial

Barr cracks down on childish humour in schools

Hargreaves attacks school students for having a real sense of humour

Katy says it’s Katy no more

Katy gets catty about being called Katy

Will ACT taxpayers be footing her legal bills as she pursues this (terribly serious and dreadful) issue through the courts?

She hasnt even updated her own website since October 2008 ffs…..

http://www.katygallagher.net/blog.html

At least the bogus Facebook profile DID SOME WORK!!!

Clown Killer said :

She’s a fcuking troll living in a make believe world where voters really do believe that she has somthing to offer … as opposed to the reality that she was the last moron standing in a vote between her, a tame hamster and a wheelie bin.

Damn, I would have voted for the wheelie bin had I known it was running…..

I think the fact that she is pushing the matter so firmly only illustrates the deficit in her abilities as Treasurer and Minister for Health, I have hardly heard a peep out of her in relation to anything work related.

They should block the Facebook site from all parliamentary PC’s in order to stop the immense timewasting that must go on.

Stop bitching Katy & get back to work….

Katy has wide hips.

To balance her wide shoulders.

She needs them too as all that weight of the chips she is carrying.

She’s a fcuking troll living in a make believe world where voters really do believe that she has somthing to offer … as opposed to the reality that she was the last moron standing in a vote between her, a tame hamster and a wheelie bin.

Apologies for double post, but I am of course referring to the subject matter, not Rioters.

Is this what passes for politics in the ACT? Inspiring stuff.

If she worked for me she would be asked ‘can you find something productive to do with your time?’.

The impotent CM should have a word with her and explain exactly what a minister should and shouldn’t be concerned with.

Remember people, you voted for them

Katy should pull her bloody head in and get back to work as Treasurer and Minister for Health rather than crying her little eyes out over a facebook page. Firstly she has no chance in hell in gaining access to the details of the user of the profile. If she has miraculously does it will be thrown out in 5 mins, basically because there a no statements on the page that would be considered defamatory, despite her thinking “in an open relationship” is somehow defaming her? At worst it’s a spoof or a parody.

Now that I have had a carefull look at the Facebook page under the thread “Childish storm in the Facebook teacup?” And I have carefully read through the small print with my glasses on. I am amazed. There is nothing there. It’s about as tame as a sleeping cat. I had assumed there must be something more.

It looks like something some teenagers might have put together when they were feeling really bored. There might be some bunch of school kids somewhere who are killing themselves with laughter. And are we going to see Katy Gallagher and her lawyers bearing down on some bunch of sheepish and giggling school kids?

That’s an image that won’t be forgotten.

It’s clearly a spoof page. Reece Witherspoon doesn’t look like Katy Gallagher. Just like George Clooney doesn’t look like John Stanhope. Sorry Katy and John, but people would notice the difference.

This whole saga is just rediculous.

peterh said :

Talk about tackling the big issues.

better than fighting about beds in hospitals, eh?

That problem’s solved, isn’t it? 😉

Rightly or wrongly, if you enter public life, you can expect people to take a swing; look at what Rove does to KRudd each week (with the fake voice over real footage), and the way that the Chasers have a go at just about everyone etc… I honestly think she needs to take a chill-pill (and again, perhaps reframe the incident and instead of being angry, feel flattered that somebody thinks she looks a bit like Reece Witherspoon).

No successful politician has such a thin hide as this. Either this is faux rage or she is REALLY thick.

Katie, suck it up and have a laugh about it. Like Khazakhstan managed to do in the wake of “Borat”. If a dour state somewhere near the Urals can manage an appropriate response to an international film insult, an Oirish bogan type like Katie can deal with a website spray. Oh, and no successful politician lacks the nous to figure that shutting up would have meant the web entry was less well-known.

Regrettably, Katie has placed herself firmly (and for some time, public perception-wise) in the wrong here, attitude-wise.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

jakez said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

interesting paragraph in the linked article
‘Opposition Leader Zed Seselja maintains that he has no knowledge of who was behind the site, and that it was not someone employed at the Legislative Assembly’

Hmmn, if he doesn’t know who it was how does he know they are not employed at the assembly?

SWING AND A MISS!

One can eliminate suspects without knowing the identity of the culprit.

How can he possibly *know* that it was not someone who is employed at the assembly? The only person I *know* didn’t do it is me.

Well now you are playing the skeptic philosopher. That’s all well and good but it’s not your original point.

Is her pursuit of the facebook fiend being paid for out of her own pocket or is the good old ATP paying for it?

jakez said :

colourful sydney racing identity said :

interesting paragraph in the linked article
‘Opposition Leader Zed Seselja maintains that he has no knowledge of who was behind the site, and that it was not someone employed at the Legislative Assembly’

Hmmn, if he doesn’t know who it was how does he know they are not employed at the assembly?

SWING AND A MISS!

One can eliminate suspects without knowing the identity of the culprit.

How can he possibly *know* that it was not someone who is employed at the assembly? The only person I *know* didn’t do it is me.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

interesting paragraph in the linked article
‘Opposition Leader Zed Seselja maintains that he has no knowledge of who was behind the site, and that it was not someone employed at the Legislative Assembly’

Hmmn, if he doesn’t know who it was how does he know they are not employed at the assembly?

SWING AND A MISS!

One can eliminate suspects without knowing the identity of the culprit.

Hmmn, if he doesn’t know who it was how does he know they are not employed at the assembly?

Pretty straight forward. Hold a meeting of all Liberal MLAs and their staff within the assembly and ask them. If no one knows who did it, then you answer those two questions in one hit.

Well, she’s obviously got a bit of time on her hands now that the ACT health system is running perfectly and that the budget forecast is looking absolutely fantastic.

interesting paragraph in the linked article
‘Opposition Leader Zed Seselja maintains that he has no knowledge of who was behind the site, and that it was not someone employed at the Legislative Assembly’

Hmmn, if he doesn’t know who it was how does he know they are not employed at the assembly?

Ray follow the links I have so painstakingly provided and you can see what it’s all about for yourself.

As a question for those who have read through the Facebook comments, did they raise issues of real public importance?

For instance, did they involve vilification on the basis of race or sexuality?

Or perhaps, age vilification of the kind that Mr Hargreaves levelled at Mr Coe?

Or similar things of the kind that would be unlawful discrimination under the various discrimination Acts?

Defo law is routinely used by the rich to smother any comment or person they dont’ like. It’s rarely about actual defamation of character. It’s just a stick to beat people with. I really haven’t seen how the new laws have changed things much, but they have to be an improvement. Under the old laws, practically anything was defamatory.

Talk about tackling the big issues.

better than fighting about beds in hospitals, eh?

I am concerned that Katy Gallagher doesn’t seem to appreciate how important open debate and discussion is to healthy democracy.

Public figures, like Katy Gallagher, need to respect that in a healthy democracy, with rich public discussion, that they will be the subject if debate, discussion and satire.

Part of the reality of rich and free public debate is that at times people will get it wrong. That’s part of the trade off to having the sort of rich, creative and open discussion that is necessary for a healthy democracy.

Indeed, thoughtful public figures might reognise that if they were not the subject of debate, discussion and satire, that they may then have a serious problem – they may have become irrelevant.

But then, I have not accessed the Facebook page so I don’t know what terrible things have been said about her. Then again, it is hard to see how terrible things said on Facebook would have had much impact against her wall to wall profile as Treasurer.

johnboy said :

Defamation law has changed radically since 2001 Skid.

I know that (EFA are quite handy at explaining) but that guys paper is still being quoted, even in papers published in late 2008. So it seems to have points that survived the rejigging of defo laws.

What if someone put out to be her on Twitter! Imagine the possibilities!

caf said :

Those public access kiosks are paid for by credit card, right?

Some of them take cash.

Defamation law has changed radically since 2001 Skid.

Defamation?

Actually rather devious. She has not a chance but it is not the victory but the publicity of having a naughty naughty Liberal staffer in court to fuel numerous stories that provides Katy with the joy joy feelings.

I sort of wish I had have made it now. Simply for the lulz.

Somebody should make a satirical website about this/her.

chewy14 said :

wonder what she will do when the answer comes back younglibshatekaty@hotmail.com?
She has done a fantastic job of bringing attention to this profile that nobody would have heard of or cared about otherwise.

Yeah no doubt mate. I’m a Young Liberal, I’m Facebook friends with all suspects and ACT members of relevance and whatnot, was in the same group and ‘events’ as this profile, and I didn’t know it existed until I read about it on RiotACT.

Just because it isn’t funny to her, her supporters, probably most of the Liberals now that it got sniffed out, and borders on public ridicule, doesn’t mean its not satire.

This seems to be the piece thats makes the case in legalese circles, but FIIK where to find an online copy.

Title: Freedom of speech in Australian defamation law: ridicule, satire and other challenges
Author: Magnusson, Roger S.
Source: Torts Law Journal, vol 9 no 3, October 2001, pp269-297
Conclusion: The status of freedom of speech in Australian defamation law and Australian media law is shifting and uncertain.

Presumably some competent staffer will talk Katy out of this lunacy. If anything comes of it I hope the local judiciary slaps her around as much as poms did to Elton John:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/13/law-press-and-publishing-elton-john-libel-guardian

I reckon the ALP think it’s a current Lib staffer and they want revenge for Aidan Bruford.

housebound said :

Why the focus on this now? What are ALP trying to distract us from?

The budget that they consulted stakeholders on, but their consultees said “No, we don’t want to get less money.” so we got the “Spend Into Oblivion” budget?

Those public access kiosks are paid for by credit card, right?

chewy14 said :

wonder what she will do when the answer comes back younglibshatekaty@hotmail.com?
She has done a fantastic job of bringing attention to this profile that nobody would have heard of or cared about otherwise.

Well then she goes and gets a subpoena on hotmail.

They probably will be able to give an IP and timestamp.

Then she goes to the ISP used with another subpoena and they might be able to help her with an account holder. Or maybe it will be a big government department.

Quite possibly it will be within the Legislative Assembly, they might have logs of who’s accessed what and when, but I’d doubt it.

Alternatively it’ll track down to a public access kiosk in the Canberra Centre.

Why the focus on this now? What are ALP trying to distract us from?

I have thought about fake facebook profiles etc, and concluded that the best approach to dealing with them would be to get on there and create a half a dozen extra, obviously fake, profiles (all with a similar profile pic as the first fake one). That way there is no chance of anyone mistakenly thinking the fake profile is genuine, and suddenly it doesn’t seem so hilariously orginal anymore.

wonder what she will do when the answer comes back younglibshatekaty@hotmail.com?
She has done a fantastic job of bringing attention to this profile that nobody would have heard of or cared about otherwise.

Wow – I can only hope she puts this much effort into addressing the GP shortage, budget shortfall and other less pressing priorities.

I would have thought that as an elected representative, the Gallagher woman would have had better things to do with her time and out tax dollers than arse about on some vindictive Facebook wankfest. What a troll.

Witch hunt much?