But now to last month’s bushfire crisis on Australia’s east coast. And to this famous, dramatic moment in the New South Wales town of Nelligen, captured by Seven News:

PAUL PARKER: Are you from the media? Tell the Prime Minister to go and get f**ked from Nelligen. We really enjoy doing this, f***head. - The Latest, Channel Seven, 4 January, 2020

That outburst from RFS volunteer Paul Parker spread like wildfire on social media and around the world.

And last Sunday, more than six weeks later, it fired up again, as Parker told The Project he’d paid a high price for his rant against the PM:

PAUL PARKER: … I’m finished, it’s all over. Another captain from another brigade within Batemans Bay came out and I asked him the question, I said ‘what’s going on?’. And he said, ‘you’re finished because of your allegations and foul language against the Prime Minister of the country while representing the RFS’. Didn’t know you can get sacked from a volunteer organisation but apparently you can. - The Project, Channel Ten, 16 February, 2020

On Monday, the RFS hit back, denying that Parker had been dismissed:

SHANE FITZSIMMONS: He hasn’t been removed from the organisation, he’s still an active member. We're not aware of where that message is coming from. - Seven News, 17 February, 2020

But media interest in the story flared up regardless, with Parker repeating his claims on Channel Ten the next day and telling them he was being besieged by reporters wanting to talk to him:

PAUL PARKER: I’ve had 39 phone calls today, most of them from other media … - The Project, Channel Ten, 17 February, 2020

And the story of the angry firefighter sticking it to ScoMo was big news. Both here in Australia and overseas.

But what’s curious is the ABC has shown little or no interest. We haven’t seen Parker on the 7pm news or ABC online or on ABC radio bulletins.

And even more curious is what we’re about to tell you.

Six weeks ago, the day after his original outburst, the ABC filmed an exclusive interview with the famous fireman — which we’ve found in the archives — in which he offered up no regrets:

PAUL PARKER: No, it was just total frustration, anger, from, you know, people that live in the bush and just a total lack of respect from Scott Morrison. - ABC News camera tape, 5 January, 2020

Newsworthy it surely was, not least because Parker also told reporter Liv Casben that he’d been stood down for his comments and sent home:

PAUL PARKER: When I got back to the Nelligen fire station the group commander was standing there and he told me that the RFS had stood me down. - ABC News camera tape, 5 JanPAUL PARKER: When I got back to the Nelligen fire station the group commander was standing there and he told me that the RFS had stood me down. - ABC News camera tape, 5 January, 2020uary, 2020

A news story was filed that day for the ABC’s 7pm bulletin but it did not run. We’re told that’s because the RFS had not had time to respond.

But the RFS did then make a statement denying that Paul Parker had been dismissed and saying he was just taking a break for exhaustion.

So next day, the story was slated to run on News Breakfast, only that did not run either. And it has never seen the light of day.

So why did news management spike it? Was it because it was too political? The ABC told us:

This has nothing to do with politics; it’s about accuracy, newsworthiness and priorities. - Email, ABC spokesperson, 24 February, 2020

In other words, the ABC dropped the story because the RFS said Paul Parker had not been sacked.

Now that seems strange to me, because, on a news story like this, with conflicting claims, you would normally run both and let the public decide.

And there was plenty of other strong stuff in the interview from a man who was already in the news. Like this:

PAUL PARKER: I’m a proud Australian, I’m a genuine Australian, I tell it how it is and people either like it or they don’t like it.



And maybe the rest of Australians have just got to wake up and see what’s really going on. - ABC News camera tape, 5 January, 2020

Parker’s interview could have been the basis of a bigger story for News Breakfast or 7.30 about what locals and firefighters were really feeling.

While the ABC’s coverage of the bushfires this summer has been excellent, spiking this story, in my view, was a bad call.