Queensland Liberal Nationals MP George Christensen (pictured below) has used taxpayer money to take a full-page ad in the Murdoch-owned Townsville Bulletin to attack the ABC for perceived biased in its reporting.
The ad (which you can read in full below) appeared over the weekend with the headline, ‘Is it ‘Our ABC’ or the Green Left’s ABC?’ and has the broadcaster’s logo twisted into a hammer and sickle.
The reason for Christensen’s ire appears to be a recent Four Corners investigation into the coal mining firm, Adani. The Indian-owned miner is currently in the process of trying to get a massive coal mine approved in the Senator’s electorate despite grave concerns about it from environmentalists, green groups and the community at large.
The ad, which reads as a letter to the ABC’s head of current affairs, John Lyons, calls out the Four Corners program for being “overly influenced by the extreme green movement”.
“The program avoided facts, preferring the green movement’s stock-in-trade: allegations, accusations, and unsubstantiated claims,” it reads, “But no matter how many activists the ABC turns to for comment, repeating the same misinformation does not turn it into fact.” It then calls on ABC journalists to “provide balance” by doing a follow-up story on people living in Townsville, Bowen and Mackay who are “desperately in need of jobs”.
It’s the second time in a week a federal member of Parliament has taken the unusual step of using their electoral funds to pay for ads in newspapers to attack the ABC.
Last week, Labor MP Michael Danby paid for an ad in the Australian Jewish News accusing the ABC (its Middle-East correspondent, Sophie McNeill, in-particular) for apparent biased reporting against Israel in favour of the Palestinians. Danby has reportedly since been hauled over the coals by his boss, Bill Shorten.
Read Christensen’s ad in full below:
