Category Archives: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Solomon Islands to ban foreign journalists who are not ‘respectful’ – report

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PM office says journalists cannot operate in the Pacific as they do in other countries, accusing Australia’s ABC of ‘racial profiling’ in China coverage

The Solomon Islands government has reportedly threatened to ban foreign journalists from entering the Pacific nation if they are not “respectful” or if they engage in “racial profiling” in stories about the country’s ties with China.

The office of the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, issued a statement on Wednesday saying that overseas journalists needed to understand they could not operate in the Pacific the same way they did in other countries, the ABC has reported.

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Only ‘ideology or fear’ would push a government to attack ABC, Anthony Albanese says

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PM marks public broadcaster’s 90th birthday with a defence of its importance and thinly veiled attack on former government

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Only a government ruled by ideology or fear would attack the ABC, Anthony Albanese has said at the 90th birthday celebration of the public broadcaster in Sydney.

In a thinly veiled attack on the former Coalition government’s fraught relationship with the ABC, the prime minister on Friday evening said a strong independent broadcaster was vital to democracy and brought Australia together as a nation.

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Justin Stevens apologises to ABC staff after report finds workplace racism

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ABC’s news director emailed staff on Thursday following internal allegations over experiences of racism at the broadcaster

The ABC news director, Justin Stevens, has apologised to staff after a “disturbing” report found some Indigenous and culturally diverse staff have experienced racism at the national broadcaster.

“These things should never happen,” Stevens said in an email to all news staff on Thursday.

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Liberal-led Senate inquiry into ABC and SBS abandoned

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Ita Buttrose previously branded investigation of complaints handling ‘an act of political interference’

A Liberal-led parliamentary inquiry into the complaints handling processes of the ABC and SBS will not go ahead.

The environment and communications Senate committee officially dropped its inquiry on Thursday after the completion of an independent review of the procedures.

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Public sector cuts worth $3.3bn would not result in job losses, David Littleproud claims

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Nationals frontbencher describes cuts as ‘sensible management’ but unions say they will result in thousands of job losses

Nationals frontbencher David Littleproud has claimed that spending cuts imposed across the public sector to deliver $3.3bn in savings to pay for the Morrison government’s election commitments will not result in job losses.

Littleproud at first told the ABC erroneously on Wednesday morning that “governments don’t employ people, businesses do”.

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Craig McLachlan allegedly threw tantrums and threatened Rocky Horror Show cast members, court told

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Defence barrister tells defamation trial McLachlan had ‘tendency to get angry easily’

Craig McLachlan has been portrayed in court as an allegedly powerful and angry lead actor who threw tantrums, threatened cast members and physically abused actresses.

Defence barrister Michael Hodge QC on Friday took a defamation trial jury through several incidents in which McLachlan, 56, was alleged to have been furious at supervisor directions, musicians missing cues and fellow actors changing their performances without notice.

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Sarah Ferguson to replace Leigh Sales as host of ABC’s 7.30 program

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Former Four Corners presenter has won five Walkley awards in a career with the ABC stretching back to 2008

Investigative reporter Sarah Ferguson will replace Leigh Sales as the presenter of ABC nightly current affairs flagship, 7.30, in July.

Ferguson, who has been reporting from Washington DC for two years, is a forensic long-form reporter and a tough interviewer whose work made headlines when she fronted 7.30 for six months in 2014.

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Executive producer of 7.30, Justin Stevens, to be appointed ABC news director

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Stevens, 37, chosen for top role after lengthy recruitment process following October departure of former news head Gaven Morris

The executive producer of 7.30, Justin Stevens, has been chosen to helm ABC news, leapfrogging over the acting head, Gavin Fang, and the current affairs head, John Lyons, to land the powerful job.

Guardian Australia understands that the ABC managing director, David Anderson, will announce the appointment of Stevens as director of news, analysis and investigations on Thursday morning.

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ABC reappearance at Senate hearing could reveal details of agreement with Christian Porter

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Questions need to be answered after broadcaster refuted claims made by minister, Sarah Hanson-Young says

The ABC will be hauled back before Senate estimates to discuss details of its agreement with Christian Porter that led the industry minister to drop his defamation suit against the broadcaster.

The Senate communications committee will hold a hearing as early as next week at which the ABC managing director, David Anderson, will be asked who proposed the settlement and why the public broadcaster agreed to it.

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One in six Australian public servants sexually harassed in workplace, survey finds

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Exclusive: Survey of Australian public sector found two-thirds of incidents went unreported due to fears they would not be impartially investigated

Almost one in six public servants have experienced sexual harassment but only one-third of incidents were reported, according to a new union survey.

The results of a survey of 3,280 workers by the Community and Public Sector Union, released on Friday, will add pressure to the Morrison government to do more to combat workplace harassment.

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ABC checking on presenter’s wellbeing after expletives shouted during Adelaide news bulletin

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Radio presenter shouted multiple expletives and appeared to be ad-libbing bulletin before being taken off air

An ABC radio presenter shouted an expletive twice during a late-night news broadcast in Adelaide before being abruptly taken off the air.

The national broadcaster has said it is investigating the incident and making sure the staff member is OK.

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ABC chair Ita Buttrose accuses government of ‘political interference’ in draft letter to Paul Fletcher

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Exclusive: Buttrose mounts robust defence of broadcaster’s independence in response to questions about Four Corners’ episode Inside the Canberra Bubble

The ABC chair, Ita Buttrose, has accused the government of a pattern of behaviour which “smacks of political interference” in a robust defence of the public broadcaster’s independence, according to a draft of a letter responding to a barrage of Coalition complaints about the Four Corners program Inside the Canberra Bubble.

In the program broadcast last month, the journalists Louise Milligan and Lucy Carter investigated complaints about attorney general Christian Porter, including an alleged history of sexist and inappropriate behaviour towards women, and an affair the acting immigration minister, Alan Tudge, had with a female adviser in 2017.

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Australian politics live: Chinese embassy accuses Canberra of overreacting to tweet on Afghan killings

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Embassy official dismisses ‘rage and roar’ over tweet; new WA border rules not requiring quarantine to start on 8 December; Paul Fletcher complains to ABC chair about Four Corners program. Follow latest updates

And that’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Thanks as always for reading, we’ll be back tomorrow, with Amy Remeikis at the helm in the morning.

Here’s what happened today:

And in further weather news, severe thunderstorms are set to hit Sydney in a few minutes. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of damaging winds and large hailstones.

⚡Detailed Severe Thunderstorm Warning⚡
for DAMAGING WINDS and LARGE HAILSTONES. Forecast to affect Hornsby, Parramatta and Richmond by 7:05 pm and Sydney City, Sydney Olympic Park, Mona Vale and waters off Bondi Beach by 7:35 pm.
⚠️Warnings: https://t.co/qF3XejM6Tv pic.twitter.com/qnSGNfqZND

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Q+A: Malcolm Turnbull clashes with News Corp’s Paul Kelly over climate coverage

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Former PM says Murdoch media has become ‘pure propaganda’ and is doing enormous damage to the world’s ability to respond to climate change

Malcolm Turnbull says News Corp has become an organisation for “pure propaganda” that has done enormous damage through its promotion of climate change denial.

In a heated exchange on Monday night’s Q&A, the former prime minister and the Australian’s editor-at-large, Paul Kelly, clashed over the media organisation’s treatment of climate science.

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Two Australian journalists from ABC and AFR pulled out of China after embassy warnings

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Bill Birtles from the national broadcaster and Michael Smith forced to shelter with Australian diplomats during negotiations for their safe exit

Two Australian foreign correspondents in China have been urgently flown home after a tense diplomatic standoff.

The ABC’s Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith both left China on Monday night after reportedly being questioned by China’s ministry of state security.

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Australian Federal Police ask prosecutors to consider charges against ABC journalist

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Prosecutors receive brief of evidence relating to the ABC’s reporting on alleged war crimes by Australian forces in Afghanistan

The Australian Federal Police has referred a brief of evidence to prosecutors relating to the ABC’s investigation of alleged war crimes by Australian troops in Afghanistan.

In a statement on Thursday, the AFP said it had forwarded documents to the commonwealth director of public prosecutions in relation to the case, which began in July 2017 and culminated in a raid on the ABC’s headquarters in June 2019.

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ICYMI: Australian news you may have missed during the coronavirus crisis

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From the final verdict on George Pell to devastating Great Barrier Reef bleaching, here’s our roundup of important stories

As Australia’s coronavirus outbreak continues, a lot of important news has slipped under the radar.

Here are the most important stories you may have missed over the past week. From the statement of George Pell’s accuser to the worst coral bleaching the Great Barrier Reef has ever seen.

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Australian newspapers black out front pages to fight back against secrecy laws

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United campaign by media companies highlights government moves to penalise whistleblowing and criminalise journalism

• Lenore Taylor: Concrete action rather than nice words are needed on press freedom

The front page of every newspaper in Australia was blacked out on Monday as part of a campaign against moves by successive federal governments to penalise whistleblowing and, in some cases, criminalise journalism.

The campaign, by the Australia’s Right to Know Coalition, follows raids on the ABC’s Sydney headquarters and the home of a News Corp journalist in June, the legality of which is being challenged in the high court.

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Q&A: Tim Wilson defends joining Hong Kong protests

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Coalition MP accused of hypocrisy for disparaging Australian Extinction Rebellion protesters

Government backbencher Tim Wilson has defended his decision to join pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and said environmental protests in Australia have a right to operate “so long as they stick within the law”.

Wilson joined protesters in Hong Kong last week but was accused of hypocrisy because of previous comments disparaging protests in Australia.

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China’s conduct in Hong Kong comes under cautious scrutiny on Q&A

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Panellists debate whether Australia ‘turning a blind eye’ to China’s rising power

As demonstrators shut down Hong Kong’s airport on Monday in protest against police brutality, Chinese official said “terrorism” was emerging in the city.

Meanwhile, on the ABC’s Q&A program, the “people’s panellist” guest suggested he shared China’s view, prompting one of the more cautious political discussions ever held on the show.

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