By Stephen Saunders
Labor has the ideal ABC for 2025-31—a powerful and complacent woke-left propaganda-ministry. The broadcaster’s overdue shunt of overrated Laura Tingle is typical.
For wicked immigration-influencers like “independent” Abul Rizvi, or Australian un-National University’s Liz Allen and Alan Gamlen, it’s second nature to play the Racist Card to shut down popular resistance to Australia’s crazy 46% increase in population this century. Interestingly, when ABC celebrity Laura Tingle attempted the same stunt at a literary love-in last May, it backfired.
A year later, soon after the chief political correspondent’s muted appearance on ABC-TV election night, came the “surprise announcement”.
This most “highly respected” journalist, who is the six-year “political editor” at ABC-TV’s 7.30 report, is “exceptionally excited” to become ABC global-affairs editor.
She’ll struggle to emulate the capable chap she replaces. Is ABC genuinely suggesting that there isn’t a more suitable candidate for the role? Via a Guardian groupie, she herself alluded to a demanding selection process. No doubt it was supervised by an “independent” panel.
Guardian serenaded her “forthright analytical skills”, dissing News Corp for pushing “culture wars”. What about left media, lying their heads off for pro-cultural-warrior Albanese?
The aura of Laura
That’s what Phillip Adams used to say when crossing to “mingle with Tingle” at Radio National (RN) Late Night Live.
Look, I have some time for Adams and his successor David Marr. Adams would dial up notables around the world—they’d talk to him and us. Though Marr is pro multicultural open-borders, he writes interestingly on religion and other topics; note his bios of Patrick White and others.
In Laura’s case, where’s the community benefit to offset the injuries inflicted?
With life’s hard knocks, we mortals tend to learn, get a grip, you’re not that smart. But Laura seems to have sailed through from tender youth to retirement age, cosseted to admire her own blonde abilities, appearing insulated from home-truth feedback.
There was that Sam Neill breakup. Don’t know the backstory—don’t even cope with the front story. Allegedly he fell for her writing and broadcasting.
In my satirical election postmortem, Sam finds her frequently flouting her journalistic self-moderation and self-awareness.
For example, she loves that sensible “non-racist” conversation on immigration. The one where the brainiac upper classes and the 200-plus open-borders federal politicians know what’s best for unwashed voters.
Before exiting the 7.30 Report, she couldn’t resist one more decadent immigration love-in with her favourite liars, sorry influencers, I mean experts. Albanese’s huge 70% hike on the previous immigration record, so she fibbed, is not “that different”.
Rizvi swore the Coalition, not Labor, was responsible for annual net migration busting half a million. This is a shocking revelation, even for ABC. Expect worse over 2025-31.
Then, Laura’s post-election wrap welcomed Albanese’s positive “social cohesion”. Yeah, like rising inequality, fierce cost of living, huge immigration, all-time rental distress, and record housing unaffordability. Those privileged inner-city Labor electorates (enclaves) can preside over the masses elsewhere.
For the obliging Laura-left media, it’s not Labor being extremist but the Coalition—Trump, DOGE, culture wars, women problem, blah blah—while “royal” Albanese’s election campaign was a “work of art”. A simpler analysis is that he’s been a smidgin lucky facing first a Morrison then a Dutton.
Instead of unrelenting attention to Albanese’s habitual betrayals of voters, the Coalition placed a big outside bet upfront on their contradictory and easy-to-criticise policy of nuclear-net-zero.
Laura’s halo catches fire
Sure, she’s a “highly respected” ABC journalist among people of her own class and convergent groupthink. Laura-lovers seem astonished to learn, there’s an army of us punters out there not taking her stuff at face value. We remember this rank hypocrite, before she switched horses, acknowledging Australia’s heedless overpopulation.
Last year, when Laura was obliged to walk back the racism gaffe, her vetted statement still implied, that you’re all still racists.
After ABC botched the targeted Antoinette Lattouf sacking, Lattouf’s barrister seized on the double standard. Why can ABC celebrities like Tingle be as partisan as they please?
ABC management blustered that the gaffe was an “impartial statement based in fact”. In crass translation, we’ve got your back Laura, but maybe there are limits.
In that same month, February, Laura quit the presidency of the National Press Club after four years wheeling in tame presenters fielding soft questions from indolent journalists.
The excuses offered up for the “star’s” sudden departure were Election 2025 (unconvincing) and her role as ABC Board staff rep (unlikely). Post-election, she’s off to write new Laura-scriptures for global affairs. Can’t wait.
The atrophy of ABC
Take the Tingle out of the ABC News and TV equation and that still leaves a controlling “news” coterie whose egos swamp knowledge and insight.
Come on down, X-celebrities Patricia Karvelas, Annabel Crabb, and Sarah Ferguson. Patricia loves hosting Q+A, where entitled ministers and “stakeholders” can jeer at struggling dads or homeless volunteers, disadvantaged by massive migration.
There are brighter spots. Brisbane’s ABC Radio appears to be slightly more impartial compared to the stations in Sydney and Melbourne. ABC News survivor Ian Verrender gets day release to write about cost-of-living contradictions, maybe even link mega-migration to the rental crisis.
Can these fig leaves last? Half-seriously, I imagine ABC Recruitment uses AI to identify media proteges from approved diversity-equity-inclusion backgrounds. Weeding out others, especially lower-class prospects guilty of critical faculties or Anglo heritage.
I used to think, dispense with ABC News and TV, save RN. Even that’s 50-50 nowadays.
There’s the twee religiosity. Literature has diminished from Ramona Koval to gushing chat shows. Top-flight presenters like Alan Saunders (no relation) have died or quit. I can Download This Show but must they be so bouncy? Even the Science Show includes UN climate-action propaganda. RN law, psych, history, are still okay.
Overall, 2022-25 ABC News and TV have spearheaded a billion-dollar propaganda ministry. Running Aussie-battler stories of a tearful rental crisis, whilst carefully ignoring Albanese’s record-busting 1.3 million net migration.
ABC will only get worse
The High Court and AEC are surviving examples of federal entities where, arguably, internal culture and roles counter the inevitable biases of top appointees. It’s been ages since I’d say that of federal departments like Treasury, Education, and Home Affairs. Or federal agencies like CSIRO, ANU, ABC, etc.
Though Ita Buttrose was a partisan ABC chair, she looks savvy compared with Labor successor Kim Williams AM. Who meddles just like her.
With no apparent irony, this gent contends that “factualness” is the ABC watchword, we can’t be “left or right”. To smite (yawn) “lies” and “misinformation”, we’re “in alliance with the commercial newsrooms to create an informed democratic citizenry”. The gratitude of the lower orders is palpable, is it not?
He says this guff publicly, invoking names like Menzies and Chifley. They were PMs of faraway times, when you could even imagine the national leader having local welfare at heart. Not (hi, Mr Albanese) UN doctrines and policies, Chinese or Indian requirements, and “free” trade agreements.
“ABC Pravda” is how it’ll be for years to come. If masochism’s your thing, try engaging with their fake consultations, forums, and complaints. They are scarcely more independent and impartial than Russian or Chinese court systems.
I doubt the Coalition would dare detonate ABC if ever regaining power. More likely, they’d try ineffectually to moderate the imperial broadcaster’s suffocating left culture.
I know, I know. We haven’t even mentioned the other immigration-propaganda ministry, the $350 million SBS. This UN acolyte is a partisan stronghold of the “ethnic” groups dominating Australia’s increasingly divisive politics. SBS Movies is their saving grace.
What a relief, living in a vigorous democracy with rule of law, vibrant groupthink, plus a carefully reforming visionary leader treading UN boardwalks of open borders and climate action for net-zero.
Wouldn’t it be dreadful having a nationalist leader like Giorgia Meloni or Viktor Orbán in charge?
