ACA: “No police investigation if it wasn’t for our story”

A Current Affair‘s Tracey Grimshaw has responded to claims of ‘chequebook journalism’ and unorthodox reporting it may have undertaken over the years in exposing former Hey Dad star Robert Hughes.

The Nine show famously pursued Hughes, including boldly naming him before any police charges after interviews with former child star Sarah Monahan.

Last night, after interviewing Monahan for her book ‘Allegedly,’ Grimshaw told viewers Hughes would not be behind bars if the show had not pursued him.

Here is the editorial which aired following the Monahan interview.

Tracey Grimshaw:

It was great to see Sarah this week.

It’s the first time since we met six years ago that she hasn’t been in a vortex of doubt, interrogation and criticism.

Her detractors went to town on her when she first spoke up, trying to muddy her story of sexual assault and molestation on the set of Hey Dad when she was a little girl 30 years ago.

She was accused of telling her story for money, or another shot at fame.

We at A Current Affair who pursued Sarah’s story, tracked down Robert Hughes and named him, were accused…including by some media colleagues…of trash journalism, of trial by media, or flagrantly breaching his civil liberties by accusing him when there wasn’t even a police investigation underway.

Well, let me assure you now…there would never have been a police investigation if Sarah hadn’t talked, and if we hadn’t taken up her story and made some noise. The police have told us that.

I admit our unorthodox approach gave the police some headaches in compiling their brief, but there were so many girls who approached us who had gone unheard. And so many people who knew and had been silenced.

The girls Robert Hughes had molested over the years didn’t know until then how many others there were. And without the power of their collective voices, he had been untouchable.

We gave the police some headaches but we also gave them dozens of victims and witnesses and affidavits.

But there’s more, and this is a truly shameful part of this sorry saga: Robert Hughes was protected.

He was protected on set by people who had their own interests at heart.

He continued to be protected in the decades afterwards by power and intimidation and self interest. What a disgrace.

Finally he is where he belongs and Sarah and the other girls, and everyone who spoke out can hold their heads up.

And one last thing about the words “chequebook journalism” that were predictably hurled around at the time this story was exploding.

Maybe in an ideal world, no one would pay for stories.

But in an ideal world, no one would molest little kids.

And no one would threaten others to remain silent about it.

We don’t live in an ideal world.

We live in a world where people have families to feed and bills to pay, and if finally speaking out is going to cost them their livelihoods, they have to survive until they figure out another way to make a living.

Money isn’t what matters. Truth is what matters.

And the jury came to the same conclusion.

Last night Sarah Monahan criticised 2014 comments made by Cate Blanchett in support of her agent and Hughes’ wife, Robyn Gardiner.

“It was like such a stab in the heart,” she said.

She also criticised her former Hey Dad co-stars Chris Truswell and Julie McGregor for former TV interviews in which they questioned Monahan’s version of events.

“If you’re going to say ‘I don’t know anything’ then don’t go on TV,” she said.

“I’m trying to make a general point about the industry and then you go on TV and say ‘I didn’t know who it was,’ when I know damn well you knew who it was.

“For Chris to say ‘Maybe she misinterpreted the situation’… there was zero possibility of misinterpreting….

“Don’t throw me under a bus….”