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Abbott, Turnbull turn up heat on Q&A.

Communications Minister contacts Mark Scott & Tony Jones over incident he describes as "a very great error of judgment."

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Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described last night’s Q & A, in which former terrorism suspect Zaky Mallah addressed the panel, as “a very great error of judgment.”

“Both because of the things he might say … and also from a simple, physical security point of view,” he told SKY News.

He has contacted the ABC’s chief executive Mark Scott, host Tony Jones and chairman Jim Spigelman over the incident and has encouraged the ABC Board to consult with the Australian Federal Police.

Turnbull said he understood the man had nominated a question ahead of time and “there was clearly an awareness on the part of Q & A of who he was, what his background was and that should have raised issues both about the propriety of having him in a live audience, both from the point of view of what he might say but also in terms of physical security”.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott reportedly told the Coalition party room the ABC show was a “lefty lynch mob” and that the government would look to do something about it.

“They’ve given this disgraceful individual a platform and in so doing I believe the national broadcaster has badly let us down,” Abbott said later. “I think many millions of Australians would feel betrayed by our national broadcaster right now. I do think the ABC needs to have a long hard look at itself, and answer a question I’ve posed before: whose side are you on?

“Fair enough, we all believe in free speech, but in the end, you all have to make judgements.”

Last week Abbott praised the ABC in Parliament for its documentary The Killing Season.

The Q & A exchange, in which Zaky Mallah advocated more Australian Muslims join ISIL, has attracted national headlines plus discussion on social media and talkback radio. .

While host Tony Jones immediately ruled the remarks out of order, ABC Director of Television Richard Finlayson today issued a statement acknowledging an error of judgment.

“As has been the case in the past on Q & A, circumstances will happen that are not anticipated. The critical question is whether risks could have been managed and the right editorial judgments made in advance,” he said.

“The circumstances of Mr Mallah’s appearance will be reviewed by the ABC.”

Mallah has today claimed his statement was about Coalition MP Steve Ciobo’s remarks as cause for further ISIL recruitment

Source: Fairfax, Guardian

21 Responses

  1. When Mallah said he’d threatened to kill ASIO personal… and the audience clapped…I realised that the Q&A audience morals were completely different to my own (like some of the comments from people above). I’ll boycott Q&A and happy for the hateful leftish show to be off the air.

    1. Yet another person who only sees and hears what confirms their already-held beliefs. Again, I don’t recall you complaining when Fred Nile was spouting his hateful bile last week. Of course not – it wasn’t left-wing bile.

  2. Abbott said ‘that the A.B.C show was a lefty lynch mob and that the goverment would look to something about it’.

    Those words could not be more chilling,coming from the leader of a so called domocratic governement.Be afraid,people,be very afraid!

  3. Turnbull is a joke he should stick to doing what he knows nothing he has stuffed the NBN along with everything else he has touched rolled gold coward

  4. Jezza, in relation to Mallah’s comments on Q&A , which is what this article is about, an open discussion about why Australians are joining ISIS, is to what I was referring.
    I was not talking about the atrocities being committed. That does not need to be debated.

  5. It was like watching the Frontline episode “Divide the community, multiply the ratings” was half expecting Martin DiStasio to pop up and tell us who’s fault he thought it was before the studio erupts into chaos

    The producers of QandA are playing a dangerous game of chicken and it won’t be long before someone goes feral and attacks a panelist or there’s some sort of audience brawl, they really need to tone it down a few notches

    1. I remember that one now! Frontline was brilliant! I think it should be mandatory for people in TV to ask a single checklist question. “Has Frontline done this already?” and if yes, the question really should be “Are we in the news & current affairs business or are we in the satirical comedy business?”

  6. Tony Abbot can’t be thanking the ABC for The Killing Season and then getting annoyed with Q&A when all they are trying to do is get all points of view across which is what they are supposed to do, without fear or favour. Isn’t allowing Mr. Mallah the right to stand up and make a fool of himself, be chastised by the minister, who was overwhelmingly supported by the audience, what our democracy is all about. Should he have he been allowed in in the first place? Probably not, which is what Malcolm Turnbull will pursue. Everyone needs to move on. Nothing to see here.

  7. Yes, Turnbull went pretty hard in Parliament question time on this issue and the ABC. The Q&A producers knew they were dicing with the proverbial by including the questioner and his question, but his final contribution they could not have pre-empted, but does that mean they shouldn’t have allowed him into the studio and his participation? What sort of security checks do Turnbull et al want the program to conduct. It got the desired outcome – headlines, hubris and hysteria. The politics of it continues.

  8. the scary thing is that this OOT (out of touch) mr stupid government is turning into the similar ones in N Korea or China that we will only hear one voice at the end and be told what the Gov’t want us to hear….CCTV in China and CCABC in Australia soon !!!

  9. Is abbott and turnbull going to ask the abc board to consider axing Q and A because of 1 episode? Nothing would suprise me about this govt, what with the introduction of the website blocking legislation and other draconian mesures this govt is trying to get through parliament.

  10. I think the govt and abc need to be a little more circumspect about this. It will serve no one if the whole thing gets blown out of proportion. The punishment dished out in Mosul is beyond our modern comprehension. Gay blokes are thrown off the top of apartment blocks for being gay. Beheadings and the ‘cleansing’ of all non believers. So should this bloke mallah really be allowed a voice live on national tv? Would everyone be happy if an advocate of Anders Brevik be allowed to spout out his hatred. So on balance the Abc got this seriously wrong, they have admitted as much and some one should be both responsible and accountable. In my view the accountability may involve them being disciplined or even sacked

    1. The government will confect outrage against anyone who disagrees with them.
      Whether you agree with Zaky Mallah’s view or not, surely it’s important to have open discussion and debate ?

      1. hey square eyes…lets have a debate about what these folk are doing in Mosul, is it right to throw folk off the top of apartment blocks for their sexuality. Open discussion…are you sure about that?

      2. “Zaky Mallah advocated more Australian Muslims join ISIL” Actually he didn’t advocate this! He said, in effect that it was comments like those from Ciobo that were likely to drive muslims to join ISIL. I see the historical parallel here in the Irish fight for a republic in the years during and after World War 1. The persecution of Irish Catholics by the British, drove them to join the Irish Republican Army. It wasn’t Zaky Mallah who shouldn’t have been there, it was that disgraceful Steven Ciobo who should’ve been kicked off the panel.

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