During a 2GB radio interview with Ray Hadley on January 29, 2014, then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated: "A lot of people feel at the moment that the ABC instinctively takes everyone's side but Australia's" [1].
Abbott's comments were specifically triggered by two ABC reporting issues:
1. **The Edward Snowden/Indonesia spying story**: The ABC had reported on documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealing that Australian intelligence agencies had tapped the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife in 2009 [1].
Abbott called Snowden "a traitor" and said the ABC "seemed to delight in broadcasting allegations by a traitor... they took the lead in advertising what he said" [2].
2. **The asylum seeker burns allegations**: The ABC had reported claims that Navy personnel had forced asylum seekers to hold hot engine parts, causing burns [1].
Abbott said: "You can't leap to be critical of your own country and you certainly ought to be prepared to give the Australian Navy and its hard-working personnel the benefit of the doubt" [1].
The claim omits several critical pieces of context:
1. **The ABC later admitted errors on the burns story**: On February 4, 2014, ABC Managing Director Mark Scott acknowledged the broadcaster "gave too much credence to claims asylum seekers had suffered burns because of treatment by the navy" [3].
The ABC researcher had posted on Facebook seeking Navy sources off-the-record because her "boss" doubted the asylum seekers' claims were true [1].
2. **This was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern**: Abbott was responding to specific reporting decisions that had real diplomatic consequences - the Indonesia spying story had caused a serious diplomatic rift with Australia's largest neighbor early in Abbott's prime ministership [1].
3. **The context of a public debate about ABC funding**: At the time, there was internal Coalition pressure to cut ABC funding, with Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi arguing for budget cuts to the broadcaster [1].
Abbott also questioned the necessity of the ABC's new Fact Check unit, asking "surely that should come naturally to any media organisation?" [1].
4. **Abbott was echoing broader conservative criticism**: Abbott noted he was voicing sentiments that "a lot of people feel" [2].
The interview with 2GB's Ray Hadley - a conservative shock jock who complained about ABC self-regulation while commercial broadcasters faced ACMA scrutiny - shows this was part of a broader ideological framing about media regulation [2].
Additional sources consulted:
- **ABC News** - The broadcaster's own reporting on Abbott's criticism [1]
- **AustralianPolitics.com** - Provides the full interview transcript showing context [2]
- **News.com.au** - Reported on the ABC's subsequent admission of errors [4]
- **The Guardian** - Australian edition coverage of historical ABC-funding issues [5]
- **The Monthly** - Analysis of ABC budget cuts under Howard [6]
**Did Labor governments also criticize the ABC for bias?**
While there is less documented evidence of Labor Prime Ministers making similarly direct attacks on the ABC, historical context shows:
1. **Labor governments also had tensions with the ABC**: The ABC's own documentary "The Killing Season" about Labor leadership tensions between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard demonstrates the ABC has scrutinized Labor governments extensively [7].
2. **The ABC's role as government critic is consistent**: Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek's response to Abbott's criticism noted: "Since it began, every government has been subject to the close scrutiny of the ABC, and we should all welcome that" [1].
* * * *
This acknowledges that Labor governments have also faced ABC scrutiny.
3. **Structural pattern of conservative government tension**: John Howard's Liberal government promised not to cut ABC funding during the 1996 campaign but delivered a 2% cut within four months of taking office, along with a 10% ($55 million) budget cut [5][6].
The Howard government also appointed conservative commentators to the ABC board [5].
**Key Finding**: While Labor leaders were less likely to use the specific language Abbott used ("takes everyone's side but Australia's"), both parties have experienced tension with the ABC when it reports critically on government actions.
Tony Abbott's criticism of the ABC in January 2014 needs to be understood in the context of two specific controversial reporting incidents:
**The Indonesia Spying Story**: The ABC reported on Snowden documents revealing Australian spying on Indonesia's president.
Abbott's framing of Snowden as "a traitor" was controversial, but his concern about the diplomatic fallout was legitimate [1][2].
**The Asylum Seeker Burns Story**: The ABC's reporting on asylum seeker allegations against the Navy was later admitted to be flawed.
The ABC gave "too much credence" to unsubstantiated claims and a researcher was privately seeking to verify the story even while it was being publicly reported [3][4].
Abbott's criticism that the ABC should give the Navy "the benefit of the doubt" appears vindicated by the ABC's subsequent admission of error.
**The broader context**: Abbott was tapping into long-standing conservative grievances about perceived ABC bias.
However, the specific incidents he cited in January 2014 were legitimate concerns - the ABC did over-report the asylum seeker claims, and the Snowden leaks caused real diplomatic damage.
This was not merely generic complaining about lack of bias - it was specific criticism of specific stories, some of which were later shown to have been handled poorly.
The factual claim is accurate: Tony Abbott did criticize the ABC in January 2014 using language suggesting the broadcaster was not sufficiently supportive of Australian interests.
This was not generic "anti-ABC" sentiment but specific criticism of specific stories
The framing of the claim suggests Abbott was demanding partisan bias, when in context he was criticizing specific reporting that was later acknowledged to have been problematic.
The factual claim is accurate: Tony Abbott did criticize the ABC in January 2014 using language suggesting the broadcaster was not sufficiently supportive of Australian interests.
This was not generic "anti-ABC" sentiment but specific criticism of specific stories
The framing of the claim suggests Abbott was demanding partisan bias, when in context he was criticizing specific reporting that was later acknowledged to have been problematic.