The ABC’s Laura Tingle is facing backlash after she failed to speak out during former Labor Party Prime Minister Paul Keating’s outspoken tirades at journalists during an interview with the National Press Club (NPC).
Tingle, the President of the Press Club and 7:30pm’s chief political correspondent, presented and moderated Keating’s performance in which he laid out the AUKUS submarine deal and called it Labour’s worst foreign policy decision in a century.
The 79-year-old’s behavior was likened to a “crazy uncle” by opposition leader Peter Dutton after he insulted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, ministers Penny Wong and Richard Marles, and young journalists – most notably Olivia Caisley and Matthew Knott.
Joe Hildebrand writing for Newscorp said it was “shameful (that) Twitter’s supposed hero of Australian journalism Laura Tingle, the president of the NPC and facilitator of Keating’s abuse, let this tirade run wild.”
While Sky News presenter Caleb Bond said Ms Tingle, famed critic of the Morrison Coalition government, seemed ‘bewitched at Keating’s feet’.
National Press Club president Laura Tingle accused of allowing former Prime Minister Paul Keating to ‘bully’ young journalists
Sky News political correspondent Olivia Caisley (pictured) asked why Keating was so confident China posed no military threat to Australia, to which he replied ‘because I have brains’
Mrs Tingle (pictured with Keating in the interview) has previously been vocally critical of the Morrison Coalition government
In his appearance, Keating claimed that the threat from China was exaggerated despite economic and propaganda attacks on Australia and the communist superpower’s aggressive expansion in the South China Sea.
When journalists questioned him, instead of challenging his position, he got personal.
He told Sky News political correspondent Ms Caisley that her question as to why he was confident China would not attack Australia was “silly”, that it was “hardly worth an answer” and made disrespectful comments about working for Sky.
‘Because I have brains. Mainly,’ he said.
“I mean, why would China want to threaten… What would be the point? They get the iron ore, the coal, the wheat.’
He was even bolder with Matthew Knott of the Sydney Morning Herald, who co-authored the series of Red Alert articles warning of a Chinese threat.
“You should hang your head in shame. I’m surprised you even have the guts to stand up in public and ask such a question, honestly,” Keating said.
“You should do the right thing and drum yourself out of Australian journalism… if I were you, mate, I’d hide my face and never appear again.”
Tingle, who was in control in the presenter’s chair, didn’t step in to pick up on the former prime minister’s tirades.
“He (Keating) treated a young journalist from this network with absolute contempt,” Bond said.
“If I or anyone else in the workplace acted like this, I would be rightfully accused of bullying.”
“(Tingle) allowed a young woman to be dismissed as stupid by a cantankerous old man,” he added.
Keating’s performance at the Press Club was likened to a “crazy uncle” who insulted relatives
Sky News presenter Caleb Bond said Keating treated his colleague with “absolute contempt”.
However, the ABC’s political editor Andrew Probyn has spoken out, calling Keating’s behavior a “bad” display.
“I thought the dismissive way he treated younger, especially female journalists, who all asked fine questions, was very bad indeed,” he told The Australian.
He also said he disagreed with Keating’s view that a threat came down only to whether China would invade or not.
Anthony Albanese expressed a similar sentiment, saying the relationship between Australia and China was vastly different from when Keating was prime minister.
“My responsibility in 2023 is to give Australians the leadership they need now, not what they needed in the 1990s,” he said.
“I’m determined to make sure we do just that.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia is in a different position from when Keating held the country’s top job
Australia is about to get nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS agreement (Photo: A BAE rendering of what the submarines could look like)
China has accused Australia of wanting to be the United States’ Pacific “deputy sheriff.”
As part of the AUKUS agreement, Australia will command a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines within the next three decades.
Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin attacked the deal for its “stilted rhetoric to deceive the world” regarding nuclear non-proliferation.
However, all three countries are confident that they will continue to meet requirements, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency is pleased with the way concerns have been addressed.
Wang said China was deeply concerned about the IAEA director’s latest comments.
“The US, UK, Australia and the IAEA Secretariat have no right to make a deal among themselves on security issues related to cooperation with AUKUS nuclear submarines,” he said.
“Security issues related to nuclear submarine cooperation must be jointly discussed and decided by the international community.”
Mr Albanese said relations with China continued to improve.
‘And that’s a good thing. It’s about building and investing in our capacity and also investing in our relationship,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ABC and Laura Tingle for comment.