I want to ask a serious question to Australian journos. And I'm not having a go or asking in bad faith, I am earnestly and sincerely wanting to know the answer

Why is it that politicians so frequently get off without being held to account? Or answering questions when asked?

Time and time and time again we see Australian politicians asked questions that they simply do not answer, and give rambling responses, followed by simply "ok, next question"

But even more often than that is taking their excuses and non-answers as gospel. We see evidence of corruption for example and they say "nope I'm not corrupt" and that's usually the end of it

We see things we know are bad, and the politicians know for a fact that all they have to do is stall for time and the journos will absolutely give up

If they don't answer a question they know they won't be asked again, and if they ignore an issue they know they'll get a pass

It seems crazy to me that they wouldn't be interrogated until they face up to the truth

And if they continue to refuse answers, why are they asked back?

Here's a perfect example:

In 2017 health minister Greg Hunt liked a porno tweet on twitter from an account called "BBW CUM PUMPER 69" and told the media he must have been hacked

We all knew that seemed fishy. Did someone really hack his account to like one porno tweet or was it more likely he was just looking up some porn?

But he wasn't held to account. He wasn't questioned, perhaps for fear of insinuating that he does indeed look up porn?

And he doubled down and filed a police report with the AFP and that was the end of Australian journalists looking into it

It was later found in an AFP investigation that there was no evidence whatsoever that he had been hacked. So did he filed a phony police report? That's a crime.

But no journalist in Australia was committed to uncovering the truth. He was let completely off the hook for making a fraudulent police report. He was not held to account.

Why? Why does time erase crime? If I do something bad can I get away with it if I just wait a few days?

Why don't we pursue these politicians with everything at our disposal? Why don't journos chase it up again and again and again?

If a member of the public liked a cum pumper tweet and then went to the cops they'd be laughed out of the station, or worse, charged.

Well I ask politicians be held to the same standard. It was BBW CUM PUMPER 69 and Greg Hunt can't erase that from history.

So journo mates I ask: is this ok?

Is this acceptable in our media landscape?

Is this the role of the news media in Australia?