The latter infamously sparked a defamation case by News Corp columnist Chris Kenny against the ABC for a skit that depicted him having sex with a dog, resulting in a private settlement and a public apology from then ABC Managing Director Mark Scott. The original Chaser crew in 2007. Credit:ABC It is understood not all of The Chaser's original members were onboard for an election series next year, but member and founder Charles Firth says the majority of the crew – which expanded to include comedians Zoe Norton Lodge, Ben Jenkins and others after 2016's The Chaser's Election Desk – was interested. "It's one of those things if the ABC had wanted to go ahead with it, we would've jumped at the chance," he says. For Firth, the ABC's decision – "They just said they didn't have the money," he says was the ABC's reason behind the rejection ­– is further proof the public broadcaster is conceding to government influence.

"The ABC is an institution in crisis, and it's a very deliberate thing that's happened," he says. Charles Firth, second from left, with Radio Chaser Triple M co-presenters Chris Taylor, Dominic Knight and Andrew Hansen. Credit:Triple M "This decision, along with lots of other decisions" – the recent axings of controversial comedy shows The Checkout and Tonightly, for example – "should leave everyone in no doubt that the Liberals have done their work on the ABC and it's not the institution it once was." But a spokesperson for ABC has denied that the group made a pitch to the broadcaster to make a new election special and says that the group had already begun negotiating with commercial rivals. On Monday, the public broadcaster revealed its slate for 2019, leaning heavily on dramas and documentaries. Firth says that while "many good people" in the ABC are trying to create compelling television, "if you relentlessly cut tens of millions of dollars out of an institution, it's going to suffer".

The Chaser's Election Desk special in 2016. Credit:ABC "The ABC is in a difficult position, so what some people inside the ABC have decided to do is be safe because safeness means there's no senate inquiries, there's no questions from the prevailing government... [But] the moment you start being safe is the moment you start losing audiences, and you enter a downward spiral where you become irrelevant," he says. "It hasn't happened yet, but that's the problem – they're in a death spiral where they're getting safer and safer and they're going to lose more and more of their audience. There are very few decisions in the ABC at the moment where you go, 'Wow that's interesting, that's innovative, that's really going to push the boundaries,' which is exactly what you need from a public broadcaster." Now, after nearly two decades of collaboration, it seems as though relations are cooling between The Chaser and ABC.

Loading "We're surprised by Mr Firth's comments as The Chaser didn't pitch an election special to the ABC for next year and advised us it was already in discussions with a commercial network," a spokesman said, in what has become a 'he said, she said' situation. "The 2019 slate announcement on Monday showcased the ABC's strength in homegrown content that celebrates the diversity of our nation, across areas including Indigenous, drama, arts, news, natural history and children’s. "Our entertainment and comedy line-up is bold and brave, with great Australian content such as Mad as Hell, Gruen, Tomorrow Tonight, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering and Sammy J." Firth confirmed the group had undertaken negotiations with commercial broadcasters.