The ABC documentary on Sydney’s Luna Park ghost train fire, implicating former NSW premier Neville Wran in a cover-up and alleging he was corruptly linked to the criminal underworld, has been broadly condemned. But the ABC has done nothing to correct the record, apologise to Wran’s family or respond to an avalanche of criticism by respected individuals.
It shows the ABC has become a law unto itself. It is unaccountable and unresponsive. It is contemptuous of any factual criticisms — including those made by former prime ministers and premiers — and has been rude and abrasive when invited to comment on reporting in this newspaper over the past month.
When reporting based on archival documents, government reports, findings and evidence presented to commissions of inquiry, contemporary media accounts and fresh interviews raised serious questions about the credibility of the documentary, the ABC either did not respond, answered with abuse or failed to address specific issues raised.
ABC chair Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson would be appalled to discover how Sally Jackson from ABC Communications handles routine media inquiries inviting a response to stories before they are published.
“To be clear, I do not handle editorial complaints,” Jackson emailed me on Friday, May 21. “If Messrs Carr, Unsworth etc want to make an editorial complaint they need to do so to the proper area, which is Audience & Consumer Affairs, so it can be properly investigated. I don’t see it as being necessary to respond to their assertions of belief, as quoted in your stories. They are perfectly entitled to their views, and the journalism speaks for itself.”
Could Jackson be more arrogant and contemptuous about two former premiers, Bob Carr and Barrie Unsworth, along with former PM Malcolm Turnbull, and other respected Australians who have savaged the documentary? They include former ABC chair and managing director David Hill, Nine executive David Hurley and Sydney Morning Herald editor Milton Cockburn.
Jackson said — and this is worth repeating — she does not feel it necessary to respond to their “assertions of belief” about Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire. She insults them by attacking the veracity of their statements and spurns the obligation to reply in detail. Instead, the ABC issued a lame statement targeting me personally and claimed I was “publishing a series of attacks” on the program.
Carr and Unsworth are former Wran government ministers. Hill, Hurley and Cockburn worked on Wran’s staff. Brian Dale and Nigel Stokes, who also slammed the documentary, worked for Wran. They know what they are talking about. Gary Sturgess, the architect of ICAC, who headed the Cabinet Office under Liberal premier Nick Greiner and respected government architect Andrew Andersons also rejected the claims about Wran.
Caro Meldrum-Hanna, the principal reporter, claimed the ghost train fire that killed six children and one adult in 1979 was lit by bikies on the instructions of crime boss Abe Saffron, covered up by corrupt police, incriminated Wran — “it went all the way to the top”, she said — who then orchestrated for the Luna Park lease to go to a Saffron front company.
I have examined at length the weakness of the claims of arson and conspiracy, which were considered by the coroner and found not to stack up (Inquirer, April 24). The fire was likely a tragic accident caused by a discarded cigarette or match, or an electrical fault, which ignited the poorly maintained ramshackle ride that was a known fire risk.
The most absurd claims in the documentary concerned Wran. A former long-term Saffron employee, Rosemary Opitz, said Wran and Saffron had regular drinks together and were “really pally”. It is an absurd allegation not corroborated by any other witness or documentary evidence. It is stupid beyond belief.
Former sergeant Paul Egge claimed Wran conspired with High Court judge Lionel Murphy to ensure the Luna Park lease went to a Saffron front company. This is based on illegal phone recordings by corrupt police. But no tape or transcript exists. No other person backs up Egge’s claim about Wran.
In 1987, the NSW Corporate Affairs Commission found there was no “actual or beneficial” relationship between Saffron and the winning tender, Harbourside. Guess who asked for the investigation? Wran. He also supported a National Crime Authority investigation into Saffron. David Baffsky, chairman of Harbourside, successfully sued the Herald for alleging the firm was linked to Saffron. Andersons, who was on the tender selection committee, told me the ABC selectively edited and misrepresented him. He stands by the probity of the tender process. And he said the ABC did not use his comments testifying to Wran’s integrity.
Yet Meldrum-Hanna claims Egge’s “explosive allegation” is “confirmed”. She even tweeted on April 6 that Egge was a “legend” along with a pink love heart emoji. Seriously. In fact, the Stewart royal commission into the police recordings and the parliamentary commission of inquiry into Murphy found Egge’s claim about Wran could not be substantiated, and doubted his reliability.
There is no evidence to support these wild claims and no counter view about Wran was presented. Hill said it was “sloppy journalism” and breached ABC editorial policies relating to accuracy and fairness, and the need to corroborate serious allegations. This has been raised by Cockburn in a formal complaint to the ABC that, more than a month after being received, has not been responded to.
The ABC, as Carr suggested, should not rebroadcast the Luna Park documentary and should remove it from its online platforms. Appropriately, the ABC will face questions about it at budget estimates this week, where it must be accountable for spending taxpayers’ funds. We might even get a response about whether fact-based journalism and editorial guidelines still matter.
More Coverage
