The media union has strongly condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's attack on Guardian Australia senior correspondent Sarah Martin, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging journalists to defend public broadcasters SBS and the ABC.
Hanson's Remarks and Backlash
Following her address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Hanson called Martin "trashy" for questioning her about daughter Lee Hanson's employment by a NSW One Nation senator, despite living and working in Tasmania. In February, Martin revealed that Lee Hanson has been leading the party's expansion in Tasmania while receiving a taxpayer-funded salary of approximately $150,000 per year.
Hanson stated that Martin would be banned from future events due to critical coverage, accusing her of an "obsession" with Hanson and billionaire patron Gina Rinehart. She had previously announced plans to ban the ABC and the Guardian from attending her events.
Union's Response
The Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance described the attack as "bitter, personal and unprofessional" and warned that One Nation's attempts to ban Guardian Australia and the ABC from press conferences constitute an assault on press freedom.
"Hanson's actions stand in stark contrast with her remarks that she welcomes the scrutiny of the media on her party, its people and its politics," the union's statement read. "[Martin] is an experienced and professional journalist who was attending her place of work to do her job of holding the powerful to account. Journalists must be provided with safe workplaces, free from abuse, so we can uphold the public's right to know."
The union called on journalists to support colleagues reporting in the public interest when they are attacked or targeted by politicians.
Political Reactions
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that parties seeking to exclude media organisations or cut public broadcasting are misguided. "I would hope that all media organisations come out and oppose that, because they should, because they're vital roles in our democracy," he stated.
The federal parliamentary press gallery committee president, Jane Norman, issued a statement on behalf of journalists working in Parliament House. "The ability to scrutinise and question politicians is one of the fundamental functions of our work as journalists," it said. "Against this backdrop, the gallery strongly objects to threats made by One Nation – or by any political party – to ban certain journalists and organisations from doing their jobs as important observers and interpreters of federal politics. Journalists have an essential role to play in a free and open democracy, and such restrictions will weaken the country's political system."
Hanson's Broader Proposals
During her speech, Hanson called for SBS to be shut down and for the ABC to transition to a subscription model for metropolitan Australia, with only some regional services receiving taxpayer funding.
RMIT University media academic Alexandra Wake said the plan would "weaken one of the last widely trusted pillars of the Australian media system and one that supports our much-valued democracy. At a time of rising misinformation and declining trust in media globally, reducing support for the country's most reliable news providers would not only undermine informed citizenship, but erode social cohesion and democratic resilience."
An SBS spokesperson declined to comment on One Nation's plans, consistent with its obligations around impartiality. The ABC told Guardian Australia that the principle of universal access is increasingly important "in a world where the majority of content is only available behind a paywall. Australians should be able to continue to rely on the ABC as the most trusted source of news and information. Australian music and other creative industries would also be substantially negatively impacted without a freely available ABC and its numerous varied services."
