Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, , 8:22:39 to 8:28:26
ACMA officials confirm an active investigation into the ABC program Race Around the World following public complaints regarding its portrayal of Gina Rinehart.
Topics: Integrity, Government legal services
Speakers: Ms Nerida O'Loughlin, Senator The Hon Sarah Henderson, Senator Varun Ghosh, Unknown Speaker
Thank you very much. With that, we uh express our thanks to the officers from the SBS for appearing before us. I recognise how much work goes into this and uh the committee is grateful. We now welcome officials from the Australian Communications and Media Authority to the table, please. Welcome, Ms. O'Lohlin and to your team at the table at the back of the room. Uh do you wish to make an opening statement?
Thank you, Chair. Narita O'Lochland, Chair and Agency Head of the ACMA. I just have a brief comment, if I may. The ACMA joins with so many Australians in expressing our shock and concern at the attack last week on Dr. Helen Haines, MP. Our thoughts are with Dr. Hayness' family and friends and those who provided her with assistance, including the team in her electorate office. We respect and admire the work of parliamentarians and their staff in representing their constituents and the Australian public and the costs that that can come with that huge responsibility. We also recognise Dr. Hayness' focus in Parliament on the integrity of the public service. These hearings are an important part of our accountability to the Parliament and the Australian public. So with that, we are happy to take the questions from the committee.
Thank you very much. Senator Anderson.
Thank you for those really lovely words. Mr. Lochlan and welcome. Thank you for your attendance. Look, I just want to ask firstly about the ABC Race Around the World programme involving Mrs. Gina Reinhardt. Are you investigating that particular programme?
Yes, we are, Senator.
Are you able to give me an update on your investigation?
We're in the midst of that investigation at the moment. So from about the 23rd of July onwards, we received approximately 50 contacts from the public about the program. As you know, under the co-regulatory framework, complainants must go to the ABC first. So we asked them to go to the ABC. I think it's fair to say by that stage we also knew that the ABC Ombudsman was looking into the programme, so we're waiting to see what the Ombudsman came back with. We decided to open an investigation on the 21st of August once the Ombudsman's report had been provided, and a number of those complainants had come back to us and said they were unsatisfied with the ABC's response. So that's where we're at at the moment, and we're progressing the investigation. I'll pass to my colleague, Ms. Fraser, to see if she wanted to add anything to that.
And can I assume that you too are satisfied with the Ombudsman's response? And that is why you have initiated the investigation?
Senator, our responsibility is to look at the compliance of that programme with the ABC code. So that's what we'll be looking at. And as you know, the Ombudsman indicated that they didn't think there was any compliance problem. We thought given the complainants had come back to us, they were unsatisfied with the ABC, it was our obligation to undertake the investigation.
Do you believe that there has been a lack of compliance?
We haven't settled that view at this stage, but that would be the crux of the investigation.
And how long will that take you to settle?
Probably a matter of weeks.
And why does it take so long to reach a view as to whether a particular segment of a program complies with a code?
Senator, so uh we go through a process of uh firstly, as I said, we started the investigation in late August. Uh we of course review the broadcast, uh, we look at the code, we look at um uh the submissions that have come to us, we look at the um ABC's evidence, and that really is a process of working through uh the provisions in the code and how that um programme complied with it. So it does take a little while for us to do that. Um we are moving as quickly as possible. We recognise the intense concern that was expressed about the programme, but it will be a couple of more, a few more weeks.
And this is just uh hypothetically, but uh if there was to be a breach, what are your options in terms of what action could ACMA take?