ABC management rebukes Laura Tingle over ‘racist country’ comments

Laura Tingle, ABC 7.30’s chief political correspondent and staff-elected board member, has been rebuked by the national broadcaster’s management for comments she made about Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s immigration policy.

She was told the remarks “would not have met the ABC’s editorial standards”.

At a Sydney Writers’ Festival event on the weekend, Tingle told the audience: “We are a racist country, let’s face it. We always have been, and it’s very depressing.”

Laura Tingle, chief political correspondent of the ABC’s “7.30” current affairs television program.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

As part of a panel of journalists hosted by former Insiders host Barrie Cassidy, Tingle criticised Dutton, saying she couldn’t recall a leader of a major political party “to be saying … everything that is going wrong in this country is because of migrants”.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Tingle put her comments in context.

“For much of the past two weeks, the political debate has focused not on the federal budget but on the leader of the opposition’s budget reply, in which he pledged to cut migration to deal with the housing crisis,” Tingle said in the statement.

“I have written and broadcast on this decision, and its implications, on ABC platforms numerous times since then. I was also a panellist at the Sydney Writers’ Festival on the weekend when migration and housing were also discussed in a panel on the year in politics.

“In my writing and broadcasts over the past two weeks, I have observed on several occasions that there were considerable dangers for the way our political discourse would unfold – and for social harmony – in linking migration to the housing crisis.

“At the writers’ festival, I was asked to comment on the opposition leader’s policy on migration and the economy, including housing. Mr Dutton has been vocal on this topic, particularly over the past fortnight.

“I regret that when I was making these observations at the writers’ festival, the nature of the free-flowing panel discussion means they were not surrounded by every quote substantiating them which would have – and had – been included in what I had said earlier on the ABC.

“This is not helpful to me or to the ABC. Or to the national debate.

“I am proud of my work as a journalist at the ABC, on all its platforms, and I let that work speak for itself.”

ABC news director Justin Stevens said in a statement released at the same time as Tingle’s on Wednesday that her remarks at the festival “lacked the context, balance and supporting information of her work for the ABC and would not have met the ABC’s editorial standards”.

Stevens said in his statement: “Although the remarks were conversational, and not made in her work capacity, the ABC and its employees have unique obligations in the Australian media.

“She has explained her remarks in more detail to ensure there is a factual record of the relevant context and detail. The ABC’s editorial standards serve a vital role. Laura has been reminded of their application at external events as well as in her work and I have counselled her over the remarks.”

Stevens said Tingle was one of Australia’s most experienced, knowledgeable and accomplished journalists, who had “always sought to better inform Australians by cutting through the politics that often alienates them. The ABC strongly believes hearing informed and independent voices is valuable to our society”.

Tingle has faced criticism in the past for a tweet she made to farewell a colleague who was made redundant. “We grieve the loss of so many of our colleagues to government ideological bastardry. Hope you are feeling smug @ScottMorrisonMP.”

She later deleted the tweet and ABC managing director David Anderson was asked at Senate estimates hearings to explain it.

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