Karl Stefanovic in bitter public feud with Hugh Riminton over support for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation
KARL Stefanovic found himself on the wrong side of a Twitter war with a respected, award-winning journalist over his support for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation after it received $444 million in government funding last week.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
KARL Stefanovic found himself on the wrong side of a Twitter war with a respected, award-winning journalist over his support for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation after it received $444 million in government funding last week.
MORE NEWS:
• SOLDIERS TOLD ‘HIM’ AND ‘HER’ CAN BE BULLYING
• WHY THOUSANDS ARE HITTING UP SYDNEY SUBURB
• STATE LOSING MILLIONS IN UNPAID TOLLS
On Friday, Karl Stefanovic used Twitter to praise the work of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, saying it would use the funds wisely.
The @GBRFoundation deserves and will use every cent in its arsenal to save the reef. I’ve no doubt their research into reef dna and conservation is the key. Let’s give them supporting space to prove it.
— Karl Stefanovic (@karlstefanovic) August 3, 2018
Channel 10 and ABC Radio newsreader Hugh Riminton sharply replied to the post by Stefanovic, questioning the motivation of the claims made and calling him out for the Foundation being a sponsor of the Today show, which Stefanovic is host of.
MORE: STEFANOVIC PAYING $420,000 A YEAR FOR CHILD SUPPORT
Dear Karl, might it have been appropriate to mention that @GBRFoundation has been a TODAY show event sponsor? There is some strength in old principles. https://t.co/a7NxPZQgQU
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) August 4, 2018
Stefanovic dug himself deeper by replying he wasn’t aware of his show ever using funds from the foundation, but twitter users were quick to point out the error in Stefanovic’s claim.
Dear Hugh. There is some strength in old journalistic principles as well. To my knowledge no foundation funds have ever been used in a Today Show OB. Thanks for checking. Long live the reef.
— Karl Stefanovic (@karlstefanovic) August 5, 2018
Several users posted a press release which highlighted the Great Barrier Reef Foundation as a key sponsor for Today last year during their ‘We Love Australia’ trip which took the show’s hosts across the country — including Hamilton Island to launch a report written by the foundation.
MORE: STEFANOVIC AND PACKER PARTY ON LUXURY YACHT
Labor Senator, Kristina Keneally also jumped on Stefanovic’s original post, questioning whether he might have a conflict of interest in promoting the foundation and labelling the unfolding scandal as ‘#Reefgate’.
So @karlstefanovic - while you are publicly advocating for the @GBRFoundation - would would you like to declare any conflict of interests as well?
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) August 4, 2018
Stefanovic’s post comes amid a Senate inquiry into the charity after receiving a record $444 million in funding from the Turnbull government without a tender process to allow other organisations to also apply.