G7 Summit attendance
ABC Sydney Afternoons: In two segments on 4 and 6 July, an ABC digital editor said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had attended the G7 summit in Paris. In fact, the G7 was held in Germany and Mr Albanese did not attend; he visited Paris to meet with Emmanuel Macron and address the OECD, and attended the NATO summit in Madrid, but not the G7 in Germany.
Posted Shireen Abu Akleh
7pm News: On 14 May a news report on the funeral of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh described how Israeli police charged and beat some mourners, and reported on the international condemnation of the confrontation. While the report explained that Israel “defended its soldiers' use of force at the funeral procession, saying some Palestinians were disrupting public order”, the story should have also noted that the Israeli police claimed that some Palestinians were throwing stones and rioting.
Posted Wimbledon Finals
News: On the ABC 7pm News bulletins on Thursday 7 July and Friday 8 July, two stories reporting about the Wimbledon men’s semi-final and final claimed that Nick Kyrgios was the first Australian to make it this far in the tournament in 20 years. This was incorrect. Several Australians have been finalists in various events during this period including Ash Barty who won the Women’s Final in 2021 and Dylan Alcott who won Wheelchair Final in 2021 and 2019.
Posted Rental market
NewsRadio Breakfast: On 9 May during a discussion on housing affordability and the rental market it was stated that people renting in Victoria are subject to no grounds eviction. This was not correct; a rental provider can only give a notice to vacate for certain reasons during the term of the rental agreement.
Posted IGADF Findings
News: A story first published on June 28 stated that the Inspector General of the Defence Force’s report found Australian special forces murdered at least 39 prisoners and civilians during the Afghanistan war. It has since been clarified to state that the report found evidence Australian special forces may have murdered at least 39 prisoners and civilians during the Afghanistan war.
Posted Bureau of Meteorology
The Drum: On Thursday 12 May 2022 , the program discussed the impact of fire damage to “bureau assets,” on the monitoring of weather patterns in the lead-up to the floods in northern NSW. It was not clear from the service notice that was present on the Bureau of Meteorology website in which fires the “assets” were damaged.The BOM has objected to the connection drawn between the damage of “bureau assets” and a lack of subsequent flood warnings. We agree there is no direct link evident to make that connection
Posted Dr Chau Chak Wing
In February 2021, Justice Rares delivered judgment in Dr Chau Chak Wing’s defamation proceedings against the ABC and Fairfax Media Publications concerning the Four Corners program “Power and Influence”, broadcast on 5 June 2017. The Court found that the Four Corners program conveyed a number of defamatory imputations about Dr Chau. Following delivery of the Court’s judgment, the ABC removed “Power and Influence” from its website. Also on 5 June 2017, the ABC published an online article that included, among other matters, references to Dr Chau concerning similar subject matter to the “Power and Influence” program. The ABC has now removed that article from its website.
Posted NDIS Levy
News: A story first published on April 24, incorrectly stated there was no Medicare-style levy to help pay for the NDIS. It has since been corrected to clarify that the Medicare Levy was increased in 2014 to help pay for the NDIS but subsequent attempts to raise the levy again were unsuccessful
Posted Incorrect picture of Jerome McNamara
News: On the ABC 7pm NSW news bulletin and News Online on Thursday an incorrect image was used to depict Jerome McNamara in a report of his charge in relation to an alleged murder. The person shown in the image has no connection with the case, and the image was immediately removed from all ABC platforms as soon as possible. The ABC apologises to the person depicted in the image for this error.
Posted Paid parental leave
Triple j: On 6 May during Breakfast it was stated that the primary carer for a newborn child may be eligible for paid parental leave from the government for “six months to a year”. This was incorrect; paid parental leave from the government is for up to 18 weeks.
Posted All Ordinaries 16 May
News: On 16 May 2022, the 7pm News reported that the All Ordinaries closed for the day at 7623.2. This was a typographical error. The All Ordinaries index on 16 May 2022 was 7326.2 at closing.
Posted Cocaine Consumption
News: On10 May 2022 the 7pm News inaccurately reported that Australians consume 6 million tonnes of cocaine each year. The true figure is approximately 6 tonnes each year.
Posted Updated Play centre injury
News: On 20 April, the 7pm News reported that WorkSafe ACT was investigating after a child had been injured in a Canberra play centre. The story reported that the child’s mother had said he fell after ‘disconnecting himself from the safety harness’. In fact her account was that a staff member had disconnected him. Additionally, the story reported the play centre’s claim that its staff had provided full and complete safety instructions to participants, but should also have noted that the child’s mother disputed this claim. Similar errors were corrected in an online story published the following day.
Posted ALP Mental Health Policy
News: On May 7th 2022, the 7pm news bulletins in Victoria, Northern Territory and the ACT, as well as on the ABC News channel a story about election promises of funding for mental health services contained an inaccurate graphic. The graphic stated Labor would match Coalition funding for mental health and on a second line, it stated Labor would promise “$650m extra funding”. While Labor is pledging to honour the Coalition’s Budget top-up for mental health of $650 million, it is not promising $650 million in addition to the Coalition announcements. The graphic was made in error and should have referred to Labor’s commitment to a $31 million boost to Medicare which would allow people in regional areas access cheaper telehealth psychiatry.
Posted Matt Canavan
ABC News: In a segment presented in the 7pm News and on the News Channel on 26 April, an on-screen super erroneously referred to Senator Matt Canavan as a Liberal Senator; he was separately referred to as Nationals Deputy Leader. This is incorrect. Senator Canavan is a Nationals Senator and is Deputy Senate Leader of the National Party.
Posted NSW train shut down
On 21 February 2022 across ABC programs and services and on social media, and on 22 February 2022 in the introduction to The Drum, ABC News reported that a drivers’ strike had brought the NSW train network to a halt. This coverage was incorrect. As the ABC subsequently reported, the decision to cancel services was made by Sydney Trains. The ABC sincerely apologises for these errors.
Posted Ukraine Interview
RN Big Ideas: On 16 February 2022 as Russian troops amassed on the Ukrainian border, the program presented an interview with a former senior Australian diplomat who is sympathetic to Russia’s position. The intention was to explore how this situation had come about and why Russia feels aggrieved. However, the discussion contained a number of assertions which were highly contentious and were not adequately challenged or contextualised. Insufficient efforts were made to ensure that material facts were accurate and presented in context and the discussion unduly favoured Russia’s perspective. The ABC deeply regrets these misjudgements.
Posted Gross Debt
Budget Special 2022: On 29 March during the introduction to the coverage of the Federal Budget the program’s host stated that Australia had “record debt, accumulated during the covid period.” This was inaccurate; while a large amount of debt was accumulated during the pandemic, Australia reached record levels of debt before the pandemic. When the Coalition came to power in September 2013, gross debt was approximately $280 billion. In January 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Australia’s gross debt had hit $568 billion. It grew to $817b at the end of the 2020-21 financial year and is forecast to hit $906b by the end of this financial year.
Posted Finance report
ABC Radio Perth: The finance report for 21 March, and finance reports in the preceding week, incorrectly gave the ASX 200 figures when referring to the All Ordinaries index figures.
Posted Afghanistan Criminal Investigation
News: on 19 November 2021, News published a story revealing an active criminal investigation into the conduct of an Australian commando platoon in Afghanistan in 2012. A key point for this story initially stated that a US Marines helicopter crew chief alleged that November platoon killed an Afghan prisoner after being told he would not fit on an aircraft. It was amended on March 11, 2022 to reflect that the marine's allegation did not identify a particular platoon.
Posted Afghanistan Shooting Allegation
News: On 21 October 2020, the ABC published an article comprising two elements: firstly, a US Marine Corps helicopter crew chief’s allegation that Australian soldiers of the 2nd Commando Regiment shot and killed a bound Afghan prisoner after being told he would not fit on the US aircraft coming to pick him up; and secondly, accounts from members of the 2nd Commando Regiment’s Oscar Platoon that the 2nd Commando Regiment’s November Platoon had a bad reputation among the Americans based on their behaviour in the field. The US Marine Corps helicopter crew chief did not claim that the commandos he alleged killed a prisoner were from November Platoon and nor did the ABC’s story.
Posted International Medical Recruitment
ABC South East SA: On March 1 , 2022, ABC South East SA published an online story containing claims by the South Australian Salaried Medical Officers Association that International Medical Recruitment was sourcing overseas-based doctors to staff the Naracoorte Hospital. This claim was incorrect and the story has been withdrawn. The company’s locum doctors are sourced within Australia.
Posted Opera Australia rapid testing
News: On 1 March, ABC Arts reported that Opera Australia required cast and crew to rapid-test three times a day as part of the company's COVID-19 response. This was previously the case, but the company relaxed its approach in January, and currently requires only one test per day. The article was updated to reflect this.
Posted Peter Dutton
ABC NewsRadio: The 4am news bulletin of 4 February erroneously referred to The Hon Peter Dutton MP as a “backbencher”. This is incorrect, Peter Dutton is the Minister for Defence.
Posted Updated COVID-19 hospitalisations
ABC Radio Adelaide Breakfast: On 10 January during a discussion about the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia it was stated that most COVID-19 patients currently in hospital and intensive care are unvaccinated. This is not correct, the majority of people hospitalised with COVID-19 are vaccinated.
Posted