Wilkinson, Network 10 apologise to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price over leaked recording

Network 10, Wilkinson apologises to Senator Nampijinpa Price after a leaked recording reveals Lisa Wilkinson struggling to pronounce Senator’s name in a manner the senator claimed was racist.

Lisa Wilkinson and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 have apologised to Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after leaked audio revealed Wilkinson struggling to pronounce the senator’s name in a manner she claimed was racist.

But Ms Wilkinson also defended the “tenor” of the conversation, which Senator Price claimed was “derogatory”, as about how many female Liberal pre-selections “were in unwinnable positions”.

“I sincerely apologise to Senator Price for any offence I may have caused. The conversation was private and not intended to appear as it has out of context and in the public arena,” she said in a statement released by Network 10.

The controversial comments were leaked from a recording of a pre-interview with Wilkinson, Brittany Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz in the days before Network 10’s The Project revealed Ms Higgins’ allegations of rape by a Liberal staffer.

Ms Wilkinson said: “(The Liberal Party) preselected over 20 new and wonderfully diverse and strong female candidates like, what’s her name, Nam … Nampinjumba? (sic). She’s an Indigenous woman.”

In response, Mr Sharaz laughed and said: “She clearly got in. Clearly it was a safe seat.”

‘That’s the thing, it was – as soon as I looked at it I thought, ‘Oh, you’re joking’,” Wilkinson said.

Mr Sharaz added: “They’ve been preselected in unwinnable seats.”

Wilkinson’s producer Angus Llewellyn joined in with a joke about the Coalition preselecting Ms Price, saying: “See, we know brown people.”

Mr Sharaz followed, “It’s like, ‘I’m not racist, I have a black friend’. It’s that argument.”

“I don’t have his number, though,” Mr Llewellyn said.

Wilkinson closed the chat, saying: “And our cleaner’s black.”

On Friday, Senator Price called the comments “racist” and said an apology would be “the decent thing to do”.

“Obviously they’re rather derogatory and racist comments.

“Channel 10, The Project has never been interested in the view of a conservative Indigenous woman from outback Australia. They have not once demonstrated their interest in the concerns I’ve certainly raised.

“That level of arrogance and ignorance doesn’t surprise me.”

Senator Price said what had offended her the most was Wilkinson’s suggestion she a “diversity pick”.

“We’ve got a pretty bloody good track record on preselecting individuals on merit who happen to be Indigenous people.

“I would be interested to know who their black friends are,” referring to Ms Wilkinson and her husband Peter FitzSimons.

“I would absolutely expect an apology from the 10 Network, from Lisa Wilkinson herself, that would be the decent thing to do.

“Unfortunately, this new woke culture that we’re confronted with allows racism to exist in plain sight.”

It is understood that Channel 10 via Paramount Executive Vice President Beverley McGarvey personally called Senator Price to apologise and that she accepted the apology.

A spokesperson for Network 10 said they “regret any distress caused by the unauthorised publication of these intended private conversations”.

Network 10 was also critical that the subpoenaed recordings had been leaked.

“Network 10 was subpoenaed to provide confidential documents and audio recordings to the DPP and Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team during the criminal case brought against Mr. Lehrmann. With the criminal proceedings now concluded, there is no justifiable reason for this material to be made public,” the spokesperson said.

“However, a currently unidentified source has leaked the recordings of a more than five-hour private conversation to sections of the media which have used comments from the individuals involved selectively and out of context, providing a distorted version of events without seeking clarification from the participants to the conversation.”

Ms Wilkinson defended the conversation.

“The tenor of our conversation was about the need for real, genuine change within the Liberal party, and that too many of their female pre-selections were in unwinnable positions,” she said in the statement.