‘This attack goes far beyond satire’: ABC under fire for labelling Australian Conservatives candidate a ‘c**t’
THE ABC has been asked to apologise for a comedy skit which branded a candidate for the Batman by-election an obscene slur.
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WARNING: Strong language
THE Communications Minister has ordered an investigation into an ABC skit which branded the Australian Conservatives candidate for the Batman by-election a “c**t”.
The ABC Comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard last week ran a segment on the weekend’s by-election, highlighting the controversy over the electorate’s namesake and founder of Melbourne, grazier John Batman.
Comedian Greg Larsen suggested the name be changed to “Batman-was-a-c**t”, showing mock-up versions of campaign posters for Labor candidate Ged Kearney, Greens candidate Alex Bhathal and Australian Conservatives candidate Kevin Bailey.
“This was an issue because there is no ‘Batman’ anywhere on that poster, so I’ve had to put ‘Kevin Bailey is a c**t’,” Larsen said.
“I tried to get an interview with Kevin Bailey, I was like, ‘Hey man, let’s have an interview, we’ll do a funny package about the election.’ I wasn’t even going to make fun of you, I was going to make fun of The Greens, but then you refused the interview so this is what happens. This is what happens when you f**k with Greg, man.”
On Tuesday, Australian Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi said he had written to ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie to lodge an official complaint. “Mr Bailey is an upstanding member of society, a former SAS soldier, a diplomat, a successful businessman and a noted philanthropist,” he said in a statement.
“It is astonishing that any political candidate would be subjected to such vitriol from any broadcaster, let alone one entrusted, by law, with demonstrating fairness and impartiality.
“This attack goes far beyond satire, is completely unacceptable and warrants not only an apology from Mr Ballard and Mr Larsen but also from the ABC for allowing it to go to air.”
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said in a statement, “Candidates for elected office expect to be criticised and parodied. But this ABC segment clearly crossed a line, particularly given that it was directed towards an individual who has served his nation in uniform.
“Vitriolic abuse of this kind has no place on the national broadcaster and I will be asking the ABC to investigate. The ABC should also immediately offer an unreserved apology to Mr Bailey.”
An ABC spokesman said, “The ABC will respond to the Minister and Senator Bernardi in due course.”
Last week, Mr Bailey likened running in the Labor heartland to fighting deep in enemy territory. “I compare it to the [1968 North Vietnamese] Tet offensive,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
He added he was reluctant to enter politics. “[But] what drove me — I looked at the toxic soup that our culture was becoming and I thought, ‘I’m not leaving this to my grandkids’.”
In 2014, then ABC boss Mark Scott apologised to Chris Kenny over a Chaser skit which depicted the News Corp columnist having sex with a dog. Kenny sued the ABC for defamation over the skit, resulting in a $35,000 payout and on-air apology.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority ruled the skit breached the ABC’s editorial policies relating to “harm and offence”, overruling an internal ABC verdict clearing the segment.
Originally published as ‘This attack goes far beyond satire’: ABC under fire for labelling Australian Conservatives candidate a ‘c**t’