ABC paid $5000 licence fee to Al Jazeera for One Nation, gun lobby footage

The ABC paid a $5000 fee to Al Jazeera for its undercover documentary into One Nation and the US gun lobby.

Al Jazeera's three-year investigation titled 'How to Sell a Massacre' aired on the ABC. Picture: Al Jazeera

The ABC paid a $5000 licence fee to Al Jazeera for its undercover documentary into the One Nation Party and the American gun lobby, which hurt Pauline Hanson’s party at the May federal election.

Managing director David Anderson said the documentary was acquired through its entertainment and specialist division, adding that the $5000 fee “might have been in kind for access to the ABC’s archive footage”.

Mr Anderson said he didn’t know if the ABC had sought comment from the One Nation or its president about the documentary’s accuracy before airing.

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“I don’t know if any member of the ABC reached out to One Nation or not,” he told Senate Estimates, which included questioning from One Nation leader Paul Hanson, on Tuesday evening.

However, before the documentary aired it went through ABC’s legal department for publication approval, he said.

Mr Anderson said all purchased material has to meet its editorial policies, just like its own-produced work.

“I didn’t see that documentary before that went to air but it certainly went through the process that it would normally go through, with an editorial manager that would have reviewed it prior to it going to air,” he said.

Asked what verification or diligence the ABC conducted on the documentary to ensure it was fair, balanced and accurate, ABC editorial director Craig McMurtrie said there would have an editorial advisor working with the E&S team on the piece.

Mr Anderson said it didn’t have the “full footage” related to the documentary.

ABC editorial director Craig McMurtrie said the ABC became aware of the documentary in the week of January 28 following an approach by Al Jazeera. It was aired on the ABC at the end of March, more than a month ahead of the May 18 federal election.

“The ABC’s acquisition of the documentary was confirmed in the week prior to broadcast on the 26 March. Mr Anderson is quite right, the ABC agreed to a licence fee of $5,000 for the right, but it was provided to Al Jazeera in the in kind use of ABC archival footage,” he said.

“On the precise details of the scrutiny that was applied before the program went to air, I would need to come back to the committee with details,” Mr McMurtrie said.