The government has stood by its response to an ABC program that joked about committing violent acts towards the country’s wealthiest person Gina Rinehart.
The taxpayer-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) airs a program called Race Around the World, where amateur filmmakers make short documentaries which are then critiqued by a panel.
In the July 12 episode, contestant Kate McGuinness narrated a short film about Scottish stick fighting, before making an offcolour joke about using the stick to abuse Rinehart.
Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, demanded a retraction and formal investigation.
On Aug. 6, ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks apologised and acknowledged the segment fell short of community expectations. He said the ABC would remove the offending section.
McGuinness also issued an apology via the ABC.
The ABC Ombudsman also later investigated, and concluded the episode did not breach the company’s editorial standards.
On Oct. 27, Senator Sarah Henderson raised the issue again during an Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Senate estimates hearing.
She claimed Labor Communications Minister Anika Wells “dragged her feet” for at least a week before commenting on the episode.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson speaks on arrival to Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 13, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images
“She said nothing about this when this occurred,” the Liberal senator said.
“She did not raise any concerns for at least a week, and she also said things like: ‘The ABC has a board, they have a chair, they have a process where these things reach public ire …’
“So this was hardly a strong statement made as soon as this occurred, because it was a disgusting and appalling thing that was broadcast on the ABC. And what are the ramifications for it?”
“[The ABC] receives almost $1.3 billion of taxpayers’ funding every year,” she said. “Australians expect it to operate at its very, very best.”
In response, the assistant minister representing Wells, Nita Green, argued the government had condemned the episode, noting the ABC must also remain editorially independent.
“Well, when she was asked about it, she condemned the comments, making her personal views known, and also making the point that the Ombudsman would be looking at this, and it would be necessary for the ABC to issue an apology if the Ombudsman found that, like the minister’s views, it was unacceptable,” Green said.
“The ABC is independent, and we do need to be quite clear about that. They have ... an independent charter, which means that we have to be very cautious, I think, of a minister being seen to direct ABC in any way, shape, or form.
“Of course, there is scrutiny in place, as there should be, of the decisions of ABC, including appearing in Estimates today, and of course through the Ombudsman, and that process was played out, and the minister publicly condemned those comments.”
Several MPs, including from within government, have condemned the segment, including Health Minister Mark Butler who termed it “pretty revolting.”
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