One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has renewed calls for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to be defunded following its decision to hire Grace Tame for a new podcast series. The announcement has sparked widespread backlash and intensified scrutiny of the taxpayer-funded broadcaster's impartiality.
Joyce's Remarks
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Joyce argued that it was time to 'bring the shutters down' on the notion that the ABC is balanced. He sarcastically expressed delight that taxpayers are subsidising a podcast which he claimed does not reflect the views of most Australians. 'This is a disgrace,' Joyce said. 'If that's where the ABC wants to go, then go subscription. You've got kind of in the middle, a little bit left, really left, and just bat poo crazy left – and that's all you get with the ABC. But we don't want to have to pay for that.'
Grace Tame's New Podcast
Grace Tame premiered her podcast Autistic AF with Grace Tame on Tuesday as part of the ABC's We Need To Talk collection. The series focuses on autism in women and gender-diverse people, with Tame sharing her personal experiences with sensory challenges and social interactions. The move comes months after Tame faced criticism for leading a pro-Palestine protest chant of 'globalise the intifada', which prompted calls for her to be stripped of her Australian of the Year award.
Internal Criticism
ABC star Charlie Pickering, host of The Weekly, publicly criticised the network's decision, calling it 'problematic'. Speaking to political YouTuber Avi Yemini, Pickering said, 'As a Jewish Australian, there is a complete misunderstanding of a lot of the words that are said and what the true meanings of them are.' Joyce responded by suggesting Pickering's comments would make him 'untenable' at the ABC for not conforming to 'inner city views'.
Community Reaction
Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory said he initially thought the announcement was satire. 'I simply could not believe that Australia's public broadcaster could be so tone-deaf,' he stated. 'The question Australians should be asking is simple: with so many talented and respected people available, why did the ABC choose Grace Tame?'
Background Controversies
In February, Tame led a chant of 'From Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada' at an anti-Israel protest. The American Jewish Committee noted that the slogan is frequently interpreted as encouraging violence against Israel and Jews. In March, during an interview on ABC Radio Sydney, Tame refused to condemn Hamas' sexual violence against Israeli women, dismissing the question as 'propaganda'. Freed Israeli hostages and a UN report have since detailed horrific sexual abuse during the October 7 attacks.
