The Decline of the ABC

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), once a trusted pillar of public life, is increasingly drawing criticism for editorial conduct many now view as deeply partisan and corrosive to informed democratic debate. Its handling of antisemitism—one of the most urgent and sensitive issues in contemporary Australian society—is becoming indefensible.

This was again laid bare during the 10 July 2025 edition of 7.30, hosted by Sarah Ferguson, in which Jillian Segal—Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism—was given anything but a fair hearing. Segal, a respected lawyer and business leader, was appointed in 2024 to address the unprecedented rise in antisemitism across the country. Her proposals are measured, serious, and long overdue: including tougher penalties for hate crimes and oversight mechanisms to ensure public institutions fulfil their obligations.

Yet Ferguson, rather than allowing Segal to present her case and inform the public, adopted a confrontational posture more befitting a political adversary than a public servant appointed to address a national crisis. Would another eminent Australian—Sir Peter Cosgrove, for instance—have been treated in such a manner while assisting Queensland’s recovery after Cyclone Larry in 2006?

Ferguson’s conduct was not only unprofessional, it was also a missed opportunity. Viewers—many of whom are grappling with growing unease about antisemitism—would have benefitted from hearing directly from Ms Segal. Appointed by our elected government, her role carries national weight. Her perspective, grounded in broad consultation and policy development, deserved to be heard respectfully. I suspect many Australians tuned in hoping to learn more. What they received instead was an exercise in editorial disdain.

A dear friend of mine—an interfaith leader and descendant of Holocaust survivors—was so disturbed by Ferguson’s 7.30 interview that she penned an open letter. She wrote: “Rather than allowing Jillian to inform the listeners of her proposal, you went into attack mode immediately… You are not serving the public by your biased attitudes dominating a discussion that could have informed your listeners.”

This is not a new problem. In 2015, an internal ABC review found that Ferguson’s interview with then-Treasurer Joe Hockey breached the organisation’s impartiality standards. These are not isolated lapses; they reveal a pattern—and a cultural drift that is now endemic.

To demonstrate that the ABC’s problems are systemic—not limited to one presenter—Segal was subjected to further mistreatment the following morning on Radio National Breakfast, 11 July 2025. The first question she faced wasn’t about her proposals, but a hostile challenge apparently sourced from the so-called “Jewish Council of Australia.”

For those unfamiliar with the internal politics of the Australian Jewish community, let me clarify: this is not the respected Jewish Communal Appeal (JCA) of New South Wales. The so-called “Jewish Council of Australia” is a fringe outfit that speaks for virtually no one. Its posture is little different from a handful of anarchists calling themselves the “Council for Western Civilisation.” That such a group was chosen to frame the first public question to Australia’s Special Envoy is telling. It suggests not a desire to inform or clarify, but to undermine and provoke.
This is not public broadcasting. It is editorial activism masquerading as journalism.

Let us be clear: antisemitism in Australia is surging. Since October 7, we’ve witnessed graffiti, bomb threats, violent protests, the desecration of Jewish schools and childcare centres, and physical attacks. The Jewish community is not crying wolf—it is crying out for help. Yet the ABC, whose taxpayer-funded Charter obliges it to reflect the diversity of Australian life, increasingly gives voice to those who deny, distort, or downplay that reality.
How can reasonable, open-minded Australians better understand antisemitism when even basic efforts to explain it are shouted down or sideswiped?

As a taxpayer, I can no longer support public money being used to fund this kind of bias. If the ABC cannot uphold its own Charter—if it cannot treat Jewish Australians and their concerns with the same respect it demands for others—then its role as a national broadcaster must be re-evaluated.
This is not a call to silence voices. It is a call to restore fairness, professionalism, and decency. The ABC need not agree with Jillian Segal. But it must afford her—and all Australians concerned about hatred and bigotry—the right to be heard without hostility.

Michael Scott CSC is the CEO and Founder of The 2023 Foundation, a charity focused on combating antisemitism through lived experience. Michael is not Jewish. The views expressed are his own and do not reflect the official positions of the Australian Defence Force or the Commonwealth Government of Australia.