Originally published by James Madden and Steve Jackson of The Australian.
30.07.2026
The ABC’s refusal to apologise for airing a “satirical” short film that portrayed an imaginary grotesque assault on Gina Rinehart has prompted accusations that the national broadcaster has failed to take a stand against violence towards women.
The clip, which featured in a segment on the ABC’s Race Around The World program last week, showed a contestant acting out a doomsday scenario in which the mining billionaire would be violently tortured.
“Because when the revolution comes, will you hide under your bed or will you know exactly how to shove a stick right up Gina Rinehart’s butthole, stirring it round, mixing her guts up nice and smooth, making her into one big sausage roll, to make something outta nothing,” the contestant, Kate McGuinness, said in the video.
On Friday, the ABC defended McGuinness’s comments as being “satirical in tone”.
The broadcaster’s defence of the short film has prompted the Minerals Council of Australia to accuse the national broadcaster of breaching its own editorial guidelines by airing the offensive content, and failing to uphold community standards.
“As a taxpayer-funded media outlet with national reach including throughout regional Australia, the ABC has a responsibility to be a role model especially when it comes to taking a stand against violence towards women,” MCA chief executive Tania Constable wrote in an official letter of complaint to the ABC this week.
“It has failed miserably in its obligations to be a role model, and is in clear breach of its own editorial policies.”
Ms Constable also sent copies of the complaint directly to ABC chair Kim Williams and managing director Hugh Marks, both of whom declined to comment on the contentious short film when contacted by The Australian.
The Coalition has also expressed its displeasure at the ABC’s “wholly unacceptable response” to the Race Around The World video, and called on the Albanese government to intervene.
“This content is not only disgusting and violent but breaches the ABC’s 2024 Code of Practice in a number of respects. For instance, under the ‘Harm and Offence’ standard, content likely to cause harm or offence must be justified by its editorial context, and the ABC must give audiences appropriate warning of that content through classification labels or other advice,” acting opposition communications spokesman Dan Tehan wrote in a letter to Communications Minister Anika Wells on Tuesday.
“Given the ABC’s wholly unacceptable response to date, I believe there are grounds to immediately refer any complaint to the ABC about the program to the Australian Communications and Media Authority for investigation.
“Backed by more than $1.28bn of taxpayers’ funding this financial year, Australians rightly expect their national broadcaster to be held to the highest editorial standards. Silence or equivocation from the government in the face of content of this nature is not acceptable.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Ms Wells told News24: “My personal view is it’s unacceptable. Like any Australian, there’s stuff I see on TV that I don’t agree with. As the Minister for Communications, I respect the editorial independence of the ABC, but I understand they have now referred it (the decision to air the short film) to the Ombudsman.”
The ABC Ombudsman is an internal, independent office that reports directly to the board of the public broadcaster.
Last weekend, a spokesman for the Rinehart-owned Hancock Prospecting said the ABC owed the businesswoman a public apology, but also urged it to investigate how the video made it to air in the first place.
“This appalling material, presented by the taxpayer-funded ABC as ‘entertainment’, illustrated and graphically described Mrs Rinehart being sodomised and tortured in a manner that would kill her,” the spokesman said.
“It is nothing short of disgusting that the ABC would encourage and normalise violence and murder by broadcasting, publishing and continuing to distribute this content.
“This was not an unscripted live comment; it passed through production, editorial and broadcast processes. If the ABC believes it can hide behind the false shield of ‘satire’ to glorify sexualised and political violence and murder, it has completely lost sight of its editorial responsibilities.
“Surely this is outside its charter? A public apology would be the minimum appropriate response, but more importantly a light must be shone on who let this go to air in prime time, and action taken.”
The ABC’s refusal to apologise for airing a “satirical” short film that portrayed an imaginary grotesque assault on Gina Rinehart has prompted accusations that the national broadcaster has failed to take a stand against violence towards women.
The clip, which featured in a segment on the ABC’s Race Around The World program last week, showed a contestant acting out a doomsday scenario in which the mining billionaire would be violently tortured.
“Because when the revolution comes, will you hide under your bed or will you know exactly how to shove a stick right up Gina Rinehart’s butthole, stirring it round, mixing her guts up nice and smooth, making her into one big sausage roll, to make something outta nothing,” the contestant, Kate McGuinness, said in the video.
On Friday, the ABC defended McGuinness’s comments as being “satirical in tone”.
The broadcaster’s defence of the short film has prompted the Minerals Council of Australia to accuse the national broadcaster of breaching its own editorial guidelines by airing the offensive content, and failing to uphold community standards.
“As a taxpayer-funded media outlet with national reach including throughout regional Australia, the ABC has a responsibility to be a role model especially when it comes to taking a stand against violence towards women,” MCA chief executive Tania Constable wrote in an official letter of complaint to the ABC this week.
“It has failed miserably in its obligations to be a role model, and is in clear breach of its own editorial policies.”
Ms Constable also sent copies of the complaint directly to ABC chair Kim Williams and managing director Hugh Marks, both of whom declined to comment on the contentious short film when contacted by The Australian.
The Coalition has also expressed its displeasure at the ABC’s “wholly unacceptable response” to the Race Around The World video, and called on the Albanese government to intervene.
“This content is not only disgusting and violent but breaches the ABC’s 2024 Code of Practice in a number of respects. For instance, under the ‘Harm and Offence’ standard, content likely to cause harm or offence must be justified by its editorial context, and the ABC must give audiences appropriate warning of that content through classification labels or other advice,” acting opposition communications spokesman Dan Tehan wrote in a letter to Communications Minister Anika Wells on Tuesday.
“Given the ABC’s wholly unacceptable response to date, I believe there are grounds to immediately refer any complaint to the ABC about the program to the Australian Communications and Media Authority for investigation.
“Backed by more than $1.28bn of taxpayers’ funding this financial year, Australians rightly expect their national broadcaster to be held to the highest editorial standards. Silence or equivocation from the government in the face of content of this nature is not acceptable.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Ms Wells told News24: “My personal view is it’s unacceptable. Like any Australian, there’s stuff I see on TV that I don’t agree with. As the Minister for Communications, I respect the editorial independence of the ABC, but I understand they have now referred it (the decision to air the short film) to the Ombudsman.”
The ABC Ombudsman is an internal, independent office that reports directly to the board of the public broadcaster.
Last weekend, a spokesman for the Rinehart-owned Hancock Prospecting said the ABC owed the businesswoman a public apology, but also urged it to investigate how the video made it to air in the first place.
“This appalling material, presented by the taxpayer-funded ABC as ‘entertainment’, illustrated and graphically described Mrs Rinehart being sodomised and tortured in a manner that would kill her,” the spokesman said.
“It is nothing short of disgusting that the ABC would encourage and normalise violence and murder by broadcasting, publishing and continuing to distribute this content.
“This was not an unscripted live comment; it passed through production, editorial and broadcast processes. If the ABC believes it can hide behind the false shield of ‘satire’ to glorify sexualised and political violence and murder, it has completely lost sight of its editorial responsibilities.
“Surely this is outside its charter? A public apology would be the minimum appropriate response, but more importantly a light must be shone on who let this go to air in prime time, and action taken.”