ABC parachute analogy for Andrew Hastie a poor choice of words

An ABC election wrap wanted to draw an analogy between shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie and his performance last week. It turned out to be a poor choice of words.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Even the most optimistic backer of Peter Dutton would admit the Coalition’s campaign had its share of difficulties – not least of which were a couple of well-ventilated policy backflips and published opinion polls in which the stubborn trend certainly hadn’t been the opposition’s friend.

It’s also clear the campaign hasn’t made the Opposition Leader any more enamoured with sections of the media; on Sunday he urged Liberal Party supporters to forget what “you have been told by the ABC, in the Guardian and the other hate media” about the Coalition’s chances. Ouch.

While politicians questioning coverage of them is the least surprising revelation of the campaign, Diary understands there was a particular article on the ABC online news site that has been regarded by Coalition insiders as “deplorable”.

An analysis piece by the ABC’s senior digital political correspondent, Brett Worthington,last week sought to riff on military imagery to make a point that – in his view – opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie had had a time of it during the announcement of the Coalition’s defence policy. Hastie, of course, was questioned about his previous comments on women in close combat units.

“Like a soldier jumping from a plane, Hastie tried to deploy his parachute as the pace of his freefall hastened. It didn’t release,” Worthington opined.

“A crash landing increasingly looked likely as the questions continued to come.”

The tortured analogy continued with the declaration: “The questions kept coming, and without a parachute in sight, Hastie hurtled towards the ground.”

It’s hard to think it was edifying or incisive analysis at the best of times, but some in political circles found the commentary grossly insensitive coming just 12 months after the tragic death of Jack Fitzgibbon.

The son of former Labor defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon lost his life in a parachuting training exercise.

Attending Jack Fitzgibbon’s funeral last year were Anthony Albanese with Labor ministers ­including Richard Marles, Pat Conroy and Matt Keogh plus Dutton, Nationals leader David Littleproud and Hastie.

Worthington continued with his unfortunate analogy, noting that Hastie’s “mood souring, he made a final tug for a reserve parachute”.

New broom at Nine

A much anticipated new era starts at Nine Entertainment on Monday. Arriving to start work officially as streaming and broadcast managing director is Amanda Laing. She returns to her former workplace after stepping away in 2017 as managing director after joining originally as group general counsel.

Amanda Laing. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Between her tours of duty at Nine, Laing spent six years with Foxtel where she departed last year as MD of Binge and group chief commercial and content officer. Some inside Nine, and many watching from seats further back from the action at competing broadcasters and production companies, wonder what her appointment may mean for Nine’s director of television Michael Healy. The former director of programming has had a direct reporting line to Nine’s chief executives since the notorious day Healy got the top TV job when David Leckie poached Nine’s John Stephens to go and work for Kerry Stokes two decades ago. Healy now will report to Laing.

Nine Entertainment's director of television Michael Healy.

There is speculation that Laing could alter Healy’s oversight of all TV, possibly giving silo roles to him or Nine’s director of programming Hamish Turner, head of radio Tom Malone and Stan’s Dan Taylor or Cailah Scobie.

Nine seems intent on more integration between the broadcast TV unit and Stan. Healy was present at Stan’s 2025 content showcase earlier this year, and he and Nine head of drama Andy Ryan are celebrating with their Stan colleagues and Easy Tiger execs Ian Collie and Rob Gibson the success of a second season of Scrublands.

The big happy family at Nine will be making their way to the Los Angeles screenings in mid-May to look at the latest offerings from the major US studios. The number making the Pacific crossing could hit double figures and the acting Nine CFO may have been running the numbers on the option of hiring their own jet for the jaunt.

Counting the vote

While The Australian has covered the election campaign vacation taken by The Sydney Morning Herald editor Bevan Shields, there will not be many newspeople with a day off next Saturday.

Our guide to watching the vote count starts at Sky News where Kieran Gilbert will anchor the primetime election night coverage branded Australia Decides: Election Night. Gilbert will be joined by Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell, evening host Peta Credlin and Sky News contributor Chris Uhlmann.

Politicians sharing insights for Sky News viewers are senator Murray Watt, senator Sarah Henderson, former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and former Labor minister Fitzgibbon.

Sky News chief election analyst Tom Connell will present the vote count as it comes in and provide viewers with emerging trends and projections.

There will be regular crosses to party headquarters with Sharri Markson and Paul Murray at the Liberal event while Laura Jayes and Chris Kenny will monitor the Labor HQ.

David Speers and Sarah Ferguson will anchor ABC’s evening coverage from 5.30pm and be joined by ABC colleagues Annabel Crabb and Laura Tingle.

Politicians joining the ABC hosts are Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Liberal National Party senator James McGrath.

Crunching the numbers for his final vote count will be retiring election analyst Antony Green.

Presenting the count will be Jeremy Fernandez and Green’s successor Casey Briggs.

On Seven, Michael Usher and Natalie Barr will co-host the vote count.

Joining them will be 7News political editor Mark Riley along with an impressive line-up of power players including one-time prime ministerial aspirant Bill Shorten, and members of parliament Tanya Plibersek, Jane Hume, Michaelia Cash and Clare O’Neil plus Warren Mundine and Clive Palmer.

Seven has invested in a number of enhancements with Hugh Whitfeld working the Power Board, which boasts similar tech as used by CNN to analyse booth-by-booth results.

7News boss Anthony De Ceglie has also set up a “situation room” to house number crunchers, pollsters and spinners, alongside 7News presenter Tim McMillan.

Nine’s evening will be powered by hosts Ally Langdon and Peter Overton. Sarah Abo will be with Albanese’s team, while Karl Stefanovic will be on duty at Dutton’s camp. Politicians on the Nine panel will be Katy Gallagher, Chris Bowen, Bridget McKenzie and former minister Christopher Pyne.

Network 10 is not known for its election night coverage. But this year a mix of analysis and comedy may suit some who have been underwhelmed by the parties and policies on offer.

Hosting the coverage are news presenter Sandra Sully, national affairs editor Hugh Riminton and political editor Ashleigh Raper.

Pundits include members of parliament Jenny McAllister, Kylea Tink, Dave Sharma, Jacqui Lambie andLittleproud.

The satire will be supplied by The Betoota Advocate’s Errol Parker and Clancy Overell live from Betoota HQ.

No snacks, no joy

Life in media agencies has always been a grind, but over at Omnicom Media Group, it’s now a little grimmer and a lot hungrier. Staff have been told their beloved post-Covid snacks – including the sacred beef jerky and chips – are no more, canned in the name of cost savings. That’s a tough chew for OMG’s junior ranks, who already scrape by on some of the industry’s lowest salaries (just under $60k, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency). If you’re wondering who has it even worse, the latest data shows Wellcom leads the league table for worst-paid agency staff, followed closely by OMG, then IPG, GroupM, Wavemaker and Initiative Media. Morale at media agencies is, predictably, in free fall – but Diary doubts the media agency C-suite will be tightening its belts quite so enthusiastically when it comes to flights to Cannes or the best corporate boxes at global sports events. Snacks for the workers? Optional. International jollies for the bosses? Essential.

Busy broadcasters

When it comes to work ethics in media, two of the hardest working people in television are ubiquitous across SBS and the ABC. We speak of Tony Armstrong and Marc Fennell. This is by no means a contest but, if it were, Fennell has the edge.

Both are on fire in May with Armstrong adding co-hosting duties to his first Eurovision Song Contest to his CV, while Fennell notched up another project to his IMDB entry with the series The Secret DNA of Us.

Marc Fennell.

Tony Armstrong. Picture: Getty Images

Armstrong is so busy that even the SBS release about his body of works refers to “countless programs” without detailing them. We won’t list them all, either, but simply note the 2024 Gold Logie nominee continues to be in high demand. His output along his media journey has included work for ABC, SBS, NITV, Foxtel, Network 10, Triple M and some now notorious voiceover work for the NRMA.

The proud Gamilaroi man has been heard at both ends of the day – breakfast TV and radio and in primetime on TV. Recent TV work included co-hosting ABC’s Countdown’s 50th Anniversary special and the short-lived ABC Monday night sports panel show Monday’s Experts made by CJZ, where he co-hosted with Catherine Murphy. He is co-hosting Eurovision in Basel, Switzerland with Courtney Act.

It is hard keeping up with Marc Fennell Inc. This month he launched a new ABC weekly podcast, No One Saw It Coming, looking at small moments “that changed the course of history”.

Internationally, his series Stuff the British Stole made for ABC by Wooden Horse was airing in some markets and there are plans for a third season and some spin-offs. Stuff the Nazis stole has been mentioned as a potential candidate.

In May, Fennell moves from the ranks of host to celebrity status as one of the subjects on an episode of the new series of Who Do You Think You Are? made for SBS by Warner Bros TV.

Fennell tells Diary he works on all of these projects across a wide time frame and it’s a coincidence if they drop at the same time. “I’m just worried people might get sick of me,” he says, laughing.

Fennell also hosts Mastermind for SBS from the BBC. Season seven’s 85 episodes are currently screening. He is also working on a chat show format around health with SBS News for later in the year. Could it be a future candidate for the new SBS Parramatta production base?

Wiping The Floor

One project Nine’s expanded TV executive team will be tracking closely is the new trivia-based game show The Floor. The series debuts Monday night with Rodger Corser hosting.

Filming was done in The Netherlands on a set used by the Dutch version, which saved Nine and production company Eureka the cost of a set build.

Rodger Corser.

One TV insider told Diary that Nine was so keen to get what has been a hot format internationally that it outbid its commercial competitors. With nine episodes, it is thought The Floor may have cost as much as $7m. Host Corser filmed all the episodes in a week in Europe with Australians flown in to compete.

Nine is launching the show in a busy week that also includes the arrival of a new season of MasterChef on 10 and The 1% Club on Seven. Corser has a long history with Nine after starring in Doctor Doctor for 40 episodes across five seasons. He turned up at Network 10 in Five Bedrooms and also hosting two seasons of the game show The Traitors.

With actor Rob Lowe successfully hosting The Floor format for Fox in the US, Nine will be hoping for some of that actor magic to rub off here. Don’t be surprised to hear a voiceover promising the television event of the year as 81 contestants go into battle to get their hands on $200,000.

Number 96 lives

Thanks to the work of television historian Andrew Mercado and Umbrella Entertainment founder Jeff Harrison, episodes of possibly Australia’s most controversial TV program, Number 96, will soon be available. The raunchy soap opera drama was commissioned in 1972 as a last gasp, do-or-die effort from the struggling 0-10 Network, which was then on the verge of bankruptcy.

The immediate success of Number 96 led to the network being able to compete financially for new shows with Seven and Nine. New acquisitions back then included The Waltons and M*A*S*H.

In 1974, Number 96 and its sister show The Box took 10 to the top of the ratings for the first time in its history with lashings of sex, nudity, diversity and queerness.

Umbrella Entertainment Australian streaming TV channel Brollie will be premiering all 18 black-and-white episodes on May 16, followed by a special bridging episode hosted by Mercado and then all 633 colour episodes, with five dropping on to the platform each Friday from May 30.

Remaining Number 96 cast members were told in advance of the show’s return at a recent lunch held at Sydney’s Paddington RSL.

Joe Hasham (who played Don Finlayson), who was visiting from his home in Malaysia, hosted the lunch for Wendy Blacklock (Edie), Arianthe Galani (Aunt Maria), Roger Ward (Weppo), Vicki Raymond (who took over the role of Bev from Abigail) and several crew members.

Optus goes shopping

The million-dollar Optus media buying account is edging towards a decision – though don’t expect a white smoke moment until the Singtel board has had its say (read: late May). The three-horse race sees incumbent UM fending off Wavemaker and the plucky but untested Accenture Song.

Sources whisper that Accenture’s creative arm Droga5 has picked up a special project to cook up a shiny new brand strategy for Optus, a handy inroad for a media team desperate to land its first real client. Still, industry watchers aren’t holding their breath.

Nearly a year after Accenture’s high-gloss launch – when it poached three senior Initiative Media execs – the so-called full-service media unit remains more promise than performance. Hopes of fast-tracking by buying an indie or two have quietly evaporated.

Given Singtel’s famously twitchy attitude towards risk, Wavemaker is the safe option.

Should Accenture pull off an upset, insiders reckon the real drama will be whether the ex-Initiative crew can actually stand up a team in time to service the business.

Additional reporting: Danielle Long