The ABC Has Axed Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s Show And The World Is Officially Trash
The ABC says it has nothing to do with the Anzac furore, but Scott Ludlam's calling them out.
The ABC has this afternoon announced it’s axing documentary show Australia Wide as part of an ongoing network restructure.
That may not seem like the biggest news, but when paired with the facts the show is hosted by engineer, author and former Young Queenslander of The Year Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and that the news comes one month after Abdel-Magied posted a seven-word Anzac Day post that caused Australian media to completely flip out, it seems a little more controversial.
For anyone lucky enough to avoid the extreme outrage over her post, it all started when Abdel-Magied made the mistake of both pointing out Australia’s ongoing human-rights issues on a day of supposed remembrance while simultaneously being a proud, young Muslim Australian woman.
The ensuing national response was depressing but unsurprising, with an avalanche of scathing thinkpieces and condemnations. Coalition MP George Christensen called for Abdel-Magied to be sacked and added that “self-deportation should also be considered”. Julie Bishop was also forced to defend Abdel-Magied place on the government’s Council for Australian-Arab Relations, amidst calls from Eric Abetz to sack her.
That ABC fiercely defended Abdel-Magied — who is employed as an occasional presenter — but Fairfax are now reporting that unnamed ABC sources claim the decision to axe her show was influenced by political pressure. An ABC spokesperson has denied this outright. Instead, they claim the show has been under review for months now, and the network is still keen to engage Abdel-Magied in future projects:
“This decision has been under consideration for some time and was not to do with any controversy over presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied,” the spokesperson said. “Yassmin was aware the program was under review, and we are discussing with her future opportunities at the ABC.”
Either way, cancelling the program in this climate is a loaded move and people are reacting accordingly. Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has publicly called out the ABC on its timing.
by stunning coincidence, the ABC drops this right before they’re due to face abetz in #estimates. craven and wrong: https://t.co/fAS3DiHXyU
— Scott Ludlam (@SenatorLudlam) May 24, 2017
This news comes just one day after conservative publication Quadrant used the Manchester tragedy to quite literally wish for a terrorist attack on the ABC. Many on social media have been drawing comparisons between the author of that piece (online editor Roger Franklin) and Abdel-Magied. It’s not hard to guess which controversy is centred around a white dude when you compare the resulting furore.
yassmin: war is bad
the right: BEYOND THE PALE
quadrant: bomb the abc
the right: hmm, gotta hear both sides— plant dad (@alanvaarwerk) May 24, 2017
I wonder if we'll get a team of politicians lining up to condemn the Quadrant piece, in the vein of Yassmin-gate
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) May 24, 2017
Yassmin Abdel-Magied chose not to comment for this piece, but directed us towards previous social media posts in which she’s spoken highly of the cancelled show.
The community-focused Australia Wide saw Abdel-Magied present local news and current affair reports, and touched on everything from a repurposed timber mill in Scottsdale, Tasmania to innovation in the dairy industry.
You can check out the most recent episode on iview, or check out a particularly stellar look at an unsolved murder in regional South Australia below.
The onus is now on the ABC to put their money where their mouth is and demonstrate that Abdel-Magied’s career is not unfairly tarnished by the controversy.