"Saturday Night Country" Petition

Saturday Night Country hosted by John Nutting is country music programme on ABC Local Radios in Australia which present left wing bias view of country music. By left wing, I mean it present all of the negative stereo types of Country Music This can be seen in the way that John Nutting has proactively promoted artists like Lee Kernaghan, and as shall be discussed later the " Track of Tragedy."

At the end of the 80's Country Music DJ's like Nick Erby and artists like Johnny Chester, Lee Conway and Col Joye promoted country music which was modern, outward looking and fresh. However since the arrival on the scene of Lee Kernaghan, who SNC have promoted at every chance, Australian Country music has gone back to the stereotype of the bad old days. These were the day when country singers had nasally voices and were singing about rural issues. It is unfortunate that Mr Nutting has a romantic view of this stereo type, whereas this author finds it patronising.

Another concept of SNC is the "Track of Tragedy". Whilst it is important acknowledge that there is a place for sad songs in country music, this author feels that it is part of John Nutting's left wing approach to present a romantic view of all the negative stereotypes associated country music.

John Nutting has been pushing this line that it is his responsibility to promote Australian country music according to the ABC charter. John Nutting however takes this view to the extreme, and promotes Australian Country music not caring about the quality of the music but just the fact that its Australian, it should be promoted. As an economist, this view reminds this author of the “Fortress Australia" argument of the 1950's and 1960's. We all know how disastrous that view was for Australia's economy

This author, unlike Mr Nutting believes in the free market, and that the ABC shouldn't need programmes like SNC to promote Australian country music because in the end the market place will decide the fate Australian Country Music. If it is good enough it will stand on its own two feet, if not then it should not propped up with taxpayer money, which is exactly what happens when "Saturday Night Country" promotes very low quality Australian Country Music.

It is therefore very worrying that a person with obvious Left Wing radical views out of the hippie era gets to portray his programme as "Australia’s Home of Country Music".

It should never be ABC's place to waste taxpayer’s money on promoting an extreme left-wing view on country music that came out of the hippie era.