Peter Dutton calls out the ABC over ‘duplicitous’ response to Stan Grant trolling
Peter Dutton has accused the ABC of being ‘duplicate’ and denounced the treatment of Indigenous presenter Stan Grant.
Grant, one of the network’s biggest stars, stepped down from Q+A after relentless racial abuse, claiming he received little support from his superiors.
In the days following Grant’s announcement, a bitter battle of words has erupted over Grant’s decision and his treatment by the national broadcaster.
The opposition leader weighed in on Thursday’s debate, telling Ray Hadley that the ABC “has all sorts of fundamental problems.”
‘He [Grant] should not have been treated the way he was. You and I deal with the vile abuse on social media every day and the ABC doesn’t highlight that, so they’re duplicitous,” Mr. Dutton said.
“The ABC has been all over the place about their policies here… they obviously didn’t support Stan Grant, they kept silent when many of their supporters criticized you or me.”
“I think it’s double standards.”
Hundreds of ABC employees across the country left their offices in solidarity with Grant
Much of the criticism stemmed from the ABC’s coverage of King Charles’ coronation on May 6.
More than 1,800 complaints were made during a segment that ran from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. in which a panel, including Grant, discussed “critical perspectives on the role of the monarchy in modern Australia” as early guests arrived at Westminster Abbey.
Hadley said, “The reporting was disgraceful, biased, one-sided.
“It’s okay for me and others like me to criticize the ABC for dismissing us as shock jocks and right-wing zealots.”
The ABC ombudsman found the national broadcaster’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles III “shocking and distracting.”
However, it did not violate editorial standards around impartiality, the ombudsman said in a finding released Thursday.
Hundreds of ABC employees across the country left their offices in solidarity with Grant
ABC host Stan Grant appeared on the coverage and was hit by a spate of racial abuse online in the days following
Hadley asked Thursday, “Where did the ABC get lost between 1945 and 2023?” When did it happen?’
Mr Dutton said it probably happened ‘during the Whitlam years’ before clarifying that he still sees the national broadcaster as a ‘significant asset’.
“But the national broadcaster has strayed from its mandate,” he said.
“It should be a fair representation and reporting of the news with taxpayers’ money…factual reporting, not the bias we’re seeing from the ABC now.”
The opposition leader said there is a “huge burden” on the ABC’s management and board “because they know they have a problem they can’t do anything about”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Dutton took aim at Lidia Thorpe after she stormed out of a hearing on Senate estimates following a fiery clash with Indigenous Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy.
The ABC received more than 1,800 complaints about coverage of the king’s coronation, but more than a million people tuned in
The shouting broke out during a heated argument over Commonwealth funding for security initiatives in the Northern Territory.
Independent Native Senator and Senator McCarthy, a Gulf Country Yanyuwa woman in the NT, squabbled over some of the money spent on the police.
Mr Dutton heard the altercation live on air and said he was shocked by what he heard.
‘I’m ashamed that she’s a member of parliament… I just think she’s a disgrace to all of Parliament; certainly the Greens.’
Senator Thorpe was a member of the Greens until February 2023, when she quit and became an independent instead.
Grant revealed last Friday that he was stepping down from hosting ABC’s flagship panel discussion show after just ten months in the role.
The 59-year-old said he parted ways after being subjected to “relentless racist filth.” He accused the ABC of “institutional failure” and claimed that no one in senior management had offered him public support.
On Monday, hundreds of ABC employees across the country left their offices in solidarity with Grant.
His wife Tracey Holmes joined the Sydney protest with her husband’s ex-wife, SBS journalist Karla Grant, and his daughter, NITV journalist Lowanna Grant.
Dozens of ABC staff also gathered outside Parliament House in Canberra and the national broadcaster’s Southbank base in Melbourne.
On Wednesday evening, police arrested a 41-year-old man in Fairfield Heights, western Sydney, charging him with using a coach service to threaten Grant.
Peter Dutton has called out the ABC for being ‘duplicate’ in its criticism of vile abuse aimed at one of the network’s biggest stars
Hadley said, “The reporting was disgraceful, biased, one-sided. “It’s OK for me and others like me to criticize the ABC for dismissing us as shock jocks and right-wing zealots.”