OPINION: There has been a lot of public scepticism and controversy about the Government's $55 million-odd Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF), which has seen various media outlets take this funding on certain conditions about how they report or not report on issues.
The final tranche of the PIJF was recently announced and this old mutt was surprised to find that a certain weakly (sic) farming publication has stuck its nose into the taxpayer trough and secured $90,000 in Government funding.
It's a fair bet this publication's on-going pro-Government stance on things like on-farm emissions taxes paid off in it gaining this handout.
However, your canine crusader reckons it would be advisable for readers to take what this publication reports in regard to Government policies - especially with an election approaching - with a large grain of salt!