Fazal Four Corners scandal, Coalition’s gambling reform amendments
Senator Henderson: Good morning. Today, I am calling for an independent inquiry into the Fazal Four Corners scandal. What has unravelled at the ABC is totally unacceptable. It has brought the national broadcaster into disrepute. Heads must roll. This man should never have been engaged. Australians deserve to know everything that occurred. The fact that this particular ex-reporter was employed by the ABC’s preeminent current affairs program and was using fake anonymous interviewees as part of his story, fake news, is completely untenable. And when the ABC says it’s the most trusted broadcaster in the country, well, I would say – how can Australians believe that? There must be an independent inquiry. The ABC must be held to account for this scandal.
Journalist: Sarah, would you like to see that as a parliamentary inquiry or a separate sort of investigation by a third party?
Senator Henderson: I think there needs to be an independent investigation by someone appointed to run an inquiry. I did try to get up an inquiry into the ABC, over its impartiality and accuracy standards. I’m concerned about a whole range of issues in relation to the ABC, and we’ve seen many scandals at the ABC, including its failure to apologise promptly to Gina Rinehart over that shocking particular programme which demonised her. We’ve seen the fake gunshot scandal involving Heston Russell, the false claims that he was a war criminal, many other scandals at the ABC.
This is our national broadcaster. Australians pay more than $1.28 billion dollars every single year to support our national broadcaster. Standards must be at their very highest, and I do feel for many hardworking journalists at the ABC, like Jack here, who take their craft seriously. The ABC must be held to account for not hiring a journalist at its preeminent current affairs programme. But how could this have happened? There are 2,000 people working in News and Current affairs at the ABC, an extraordinary number of people. How many others don’t have appropriate qualifications? I’ve raised this continually. There are TikTok reporters or content creators who do not have appropriate journalistic skills. This is an important craft. Journalism is a vital part of our democracy, and the ABC must be held to account for what is a growing scandal.
Journalist: Would you like it to be made public, though, or for hearings to be public so that people can see responses from ABC management?
Senator Henderson: What I’m calling for is an independent investigation into this to find out what went wrong. I want to see the minister support this. The communications minister, Anika Wells, so often on issues involving the ABC goes missing in action. We need bipartisan support for this independent inquiry because this is just completely unacceptable.
Journalist: Sarah, on the gambling laws you’ve struck with Anika Wells, are you disappointed some of your colleagues across the floor or is that part of what makes the Liberal Party good?
Senator Henderson: I’m really pleased about the range of amendments that we have negotiated. Of course, they were all driven by the Coalition. Really important measures to better protect children, to combat predatory inducements, to shut down illegal gambling ads which are a real scourge on social media. The global opt-out measure will mean that every single Australian has the choice to stop wagering ads online, and that’s a very, very important – AdStop – initiative by the Coalition, and there will, of course, be a three-year statutory review.
We are going to hold the gambling companies to account, and that’s a very important part of it. I do respect the fact that in the Liberal Party, our backbench colleagues can cross the floor when they feel very strongly about something. That’s one of the really positive parts about being in the Liberal Party. If you did that in the Labor Party, you would be expelled. They are verging on communism in the Labor Party. But we respect the conscience and individual choices and freedom of our backbenchers, and so I certainly respect the fact that a number of my colleagues crossed the floor.
Journalist: You’re not disappointed in them for making that decision?
Senator Henderson: I respect the fact that they’ve made that choice. But what I will say is that there was overwhelming support for these amendments which really move the dial. It is a shock that the government’s bill allowed gambling ads to be shown during children’s television programming. That there was no measures to address predatory inducements, which are causing so much harm, and of course, there was nothing to combat illegal gambling ads. So we have really worked very hard to bring forward a package that I think will really make a difference and will also respect the fact that most Australians gamble responsibly.
And of course, the wagering sector also supports very important industries like the racing industry, which directly employ 100,000 Australians, half of whom are in regional Australia. We think we’ve got the balance right. We’re very proud of the work that we have done. We have dragged the government kicking and screaming to the table on these amendments. Of course, the Prime Minister threatened that if the bill wasn’t passed, that he would withdraw the bill. But we now have, I think, reached a very good place in relation to this bill, and I am also pleased that the Prime Minister is no longer misleading Australians by claiming that this bill bans gambling ads during live sport – because that was one of the very important measures introduced by the former Coalition government way back in 2018. So we have seen a lot of deception and deflection and delay by this government, and I am hoping that we now have a very good package of measures which will really make a difference to the lives of Australians who have been so impacted by gambling harm.
Journalist: Sarah where are negotiations at with the news media laws, is the Coalition close to supporting that package?
Senator Henderson: We have raised concerns that – as the bill was presented in the parliament – it took media organisations backwards, not forwards. And I do see that the government has now moved an amendment to increase the charge from 2.5% to 2.75%, we think that’s an appropriate amendment. In fact, that was one that we have been prosecuting because, based on the Treasury estimates, news organisations were going to go backwards, not forwards, under this deal. And let’s not forget, the digital platforms have been using news content without payment, and that’s been most improper. Google, to give Google credit, did continue a number of deals, but when Meta walked away from the world first News Media Bargaining Code, that was a big Coalition initiative, the government really sat on its hands for far too long, and news organisations, newsrooms, and journalists have paid a big price for a very long time. But we’re certainly very pleased that the charge is being increased, and we think that’s an important amendment.
Journalist: Do you think the bill will go through this week then?
Senator Henderson: We never know, but we certainly are supportive of the bill, and particularly now that the charge has been increased. But let’s just see what happens on the floor of the Senate in the coming days.
Journalist: Thanks very much.
Senator Henderson: Thanks very much, everyone.