Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson demands Ita Buttrose retract ‘white supremacy’ stories

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson has called on Ita Buttrose to retract multiple stories that aired labelling Alice Springs meetings as being full of white supremacists.

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson.

The mayor of Alice Springs has demanded ABC chair Ita Buttrose retract multiple stories on the public broadcaster that claimed the town’s community forum on Monday was beset by sentiments of “white supremacy”.

Matt Paterson said the reports that aired nationally on the ABC following Monday’s meeting at the Alice Springs Convention Centre were a complete misrepresentation of what took place and “it could not be further from the truth”.

“Ita Buttrose should retract the stories and issue a public statement of apology to the community of Alice Springs,” he told The Australian.

“I was in the meeting and I’m not a white supremacist”.

He said he would give the ABC 24 hours to do so or he would be filing a formal complaint with the organisation.

The ABC aired several reports, including a live cross to its Indigenous affairs correspondent outside the Alice Springs Convention Centre, during which she stated: “People were leaving early and streaming out of that Convention Centre in Alice Springs, we spoke to some who were quite emotional.

“One resident who was non-indigenous said the meeting was, quote, ‘a disgusting display of white supremacy’.”

Mr Paterson said the community was “already full of anxiety” and this story was only “adding fuel to the fire”.

“This story is not correct and now has national media attention and it’s why the Alice Springs community loses faith with the rest of the country, because of these stories that portray as all as racists and it’s absolutely not the case,” he said.

The suggestion that the forum was a “white supremacist fest” were also refuted by Country Liberal Party MP Josh Burgoyne who was born and raised in Alice Springs.

Josh Burgoyne appearing on The Bolt Report on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 to discuss the ABC's coverage of the Alice Springs community meeting. Source: Sky News Australia

He told Sky News Australia host Andrew Bolt on Tuesday night the public broadcaster’s reports were “extraordinarily disappointing”.

“I was at the meeting yesterday afternoon, what I witnessed was actually a coming together of the community,” Mr Burgoyne said on Sky News on Tuesday night.

“It showed that people in Alice Springs had had enough.”

Sydney’s 2GB breakfast radio host also Ben Fordham also took aim at the ABC’s coverage on Wednesday morning.

Fordham referenced some of the comments that he said the ABC had “cherrypicked” from people outside the meeting, and accused the broadcaster of only covering one side of the story.

“’Scary’, ‘a white supremacist fest’ … we didn’t hear from the terrified locals or the worried mums and dads, we only heard claims of racism from a woman who walked out, someone who did not represent the real mood in the room,” he said.

“And there were no examples given of the so-called ‘white supremacy’.”

Issues discussed at the meeting included the rising crime rates in the town and whether class action should be taken against the Northern Territory government for its failure to address the problem.

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine said on Sky News Australia the ABC’s reporting was “disgraceful”.

“They … just spoke to a small handful of people and they made out there’s sort of like some Ku Klux Klan meeting going inside which could be no further from the truth,” he said.

“These are decent Australian citizens black and white who were there to resolve a whole lot of issues happening in that community.”

However the ABC defended its reporting of the community event.

“The ABC’s long-running reporting on the issues facing Alice Springs has included a range of perspectives and will continue to canvass people’s views and experiences as coverage continues,” a spokeswoman said.

“Many strong and conflicting views and opinions are expressed within the community, including some confronting views and the news coverage reflects that and doesn’t shy away from it.”

Despite being heavily critical of some of the ABC’s reporting, both Mr Paterson and Mr Burgoyne commended the public broadcaster’s local reporters who are stationed permanently in the area.