Prime Minister Tony Abbott says ABC not on Australia's side in interview with 2GB

Updated

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has stepped up his criticism of the ABC, accusing the national broadcaster of being unpatriotic in its coverage of the Edward Snowden leaks and asylum seeker abuse claims.

Mr Abbott also questioned the ABC's newly established Fact Check unit, saying he wanted the corporation to focus on straight news gathering and reporting.

"A lot of people feel at the moment that the ABC instinctively takes everyone's side but Australia's," he said in an interview with Ray Hadley on Sydney radio station 2GB.

"I think it dismays Australians when the national broadcaster appears to take everyone's side but its own and I think it is a problem."

Asked if he shared those sentiments, Mr Abbott said he was "worried and concerned" by the ABC taking a lead in reporting leaks from Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor.

The NSA leaks revealed Australia's spy agencies tapped the phones of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudohoyono and his wife in 2009.

The revelations caused a rift in the Australia-Indonesia relationship early in Mr Abbott's prime ministership.

"The ABC seemed to delight in broadcasting allegations by a traitor," Mr Abbott said.

"The ABC didn't just report what he said, they took the lead in advertising what he said, and that was a deep concern."

Abbott says ABC should give Navy 'benefit of the doubt'

Mr Abbott's attention was also drawn to a Facebook post published by an ABC researcher seeking off-the-record discussions with Navy personnel.

In the post, the researcher said her "boss" doubted asylum seekers' claims they were mistreated during a boat turn-back operation.

The asylum seekers say they suffered burns when Navy personnel forced them to hold onto hot pipes coming out of the boat's engine.

The Navy has denied the allegations and the Government has strongly defended the military, without confirming or denying the operation took place.

"You can't leap to be critical of your own country and you certainly ought to be prepared to give the Australian Navy and its hard-working personnel the benefit of the doubt," Mr Abbott said.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the ABC should apologise for casting doubt on the reputation of Royal Australian Navy sailors if the organisation felt it was wrong.

"If the ABC now finds that these allegations were utterly unsubstantiated then it should come out and say so," Ms Bishop told reporters in Brisbane.

"Meanwhile, people's reputations are under question because of the ABC's reporting of this matter, so I trust that the ABC will do the right thing."

Mr Abbott also raised questions about the cost and necessity of the ABC's new Fact Check unit, saying "surely that should come naturally to any media organisation?".

PM empathises with complaints about ABC self-regulation

Mr Abbott also empathised with Hadley, who complained that he and fellow host Alan Jones "who lean a bit to the right" were "belted over the head" "on a regular basis" by the media regulator, the Australian Communications Media Authority, while the ABC was left to its "own devices" and "self-regulation".

"I can understand your frustration," Mr Abbott told the radio presenter.

"At times there does appear to be a double standard in large swathes of our national life."

Critics within the Government have been pressuring the Prime Minister to rein in the ABC ever since the Coalition won power.

The issue was raised in the partyroom last year, with Liberal senator Cory Bernardi calling on the Government to partly alleviate its budget crisis by slashing the broadcaster's budget.

Senator Bernardi's colleague Ian Macdonald has previously told the ABC there are many government MPs who feel the ABC's charter should be made legally enforceable to address concerns of left-wing bias.

'Governments should welcome close scrutiny'

The Federal Opposition has leapt to the defence of the ABC, describing it as a longstanding part of Australia's cultural fabric.

Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek says every Government has been subject to the close scrutiny of the ABC, and all parties should all welcome that.

"Tony Abbott's comments today show he'll blame everyone - including the media - for the promises he continues to break," she said.

"He should stop complaining about media coverage and start behaving like a Prime Minister.

"From emergency broadcasts in times of trouble to coverage of the events that shape our nation, the ABC is there, free for all Australians.

"Since it began, every government has been subject to the close scrutiny of the ABC, and we should all welcome that."

The Greens have also seized on Mr Abbott's remarks, warning the Federal Government is "coming after" the national broadcaster.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the Government is obsessed with secrecy and does not want journalists doing their job.

"I think we should be very aware that Tony Abbott is coming after the ABC," she said.

"He’s never liked the ABC; he'll do everything he can to undermine it and that's why we need strong voices in Parliament to stand up for the public's right to an independent national broadcaster."

Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, abc, broadcasting, information-and-communication, journalism, australia, indonesia

First posted