Jacinta Price hits ABC for Voice bias as journos line up to praise Uluru book

Shadow Indigenous Australians minister says ABC needs to do more to prevent bias among its broadcasters after several endorsed pro-Uluru Statement book.

Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Jacinta Price.

Shadow Indigenous Australians minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has slammed the ABC’s claims of impartiality after it was revealed that three of its presenters gave promotional quotes for a book dedicated to advancing the Uluru Statement and an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament.

The quotes, from 7:30 presenter Laura Tingle, RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas, and ABC Canberra journalist Dan Bourchier, appear on the dust jacket of Thomas Mayo’s 2022 book, Finding the Heart of the Nation and come amid an ongoing controversy over the national broadcaster’s coverage of the Voice.

In her quote, Ms Karvelas called the book “a profound piece of work that asks us to consider a future where First Nations people … are placed at the heart of our country.”

Ms Tingle called the Uluru Statement a “truly transformational gift … if only we take it.

In his quote, Mr Bourchier said the Voice was “a powerful reminder of the gift from the Elders and a call to action to all Australians.”

Radio National breakfast host Patricia Karvelas. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

However Ms Price said that given recent controversies over ABC bias and the Voice, the blurbs were inappropriate.

“As a publicly funded broadcaster, the ABC must pull its people into line and ensure balanced reporting,” she said.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton with Senator Jacinta Price. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

“The Uluru Statement is a document signed by just 250 people at an invitation-only event that does not represent all Indigenous Australians.”

“They are exploiting Uluru and culture ram their own political agenda into our nation’s rule book and founding document.”

In recent months the ABC has come under increasing fire for its coverage of the Voice and Indigenous issues.

Earlier this year management was forced to roll out “deep dive” training for staff to ensure that they did not allow personal biases to creep into their reporting of the Voice.

Ms Karvelas has also been singled out by critics such as Ms Price for her handling of the Voice, and particularly an interview she conducted with Indigenous leader Noel Pearson in which he called Peter Dutton’s opposition to the Voice a “Judas betrayal” of the nation.

However, several years ago Ms Karvelas also offered up a promotional blurb for Warren Mundine’s memoirs, In Black and White, before the Voice referendum was proposed.

Mr Mundine is one of the leading campaigners against the Voice.

The ABC has also been the subject of a formal legal complaint after its coverage of a town hall in Alice Springs claimed the meeting displayed elements of “white supremacy”.

An ABC spokesman said, “The comments were given as appraisals of the book itself. No ABC policy has been breached.”