ABC News director Justin Stevens says comments made by political journalist Laura Tingle at Sydney Writers’ Festival did not meet the organisation’s editorial standards.
Tingle, the chief political correspondent for 730, made the remarks last weekend when she appeared in her capacity as a writer in a panel discussion at the festival with other political journalists.
“We are a racist country, let’s face it. We always have been, and it’s very depressing,” she said during the panel.
She made the comments as the panel discussed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s budget reply, which included coalition policy measures on migration and the economy.
Mr Stevens said Tingle’s remarks “lacked the context, balance and supporting information of her work for the ABC and would not have met the ABC’s editorial standards”.
“Although the remarks were conversational, and not made in her work capacity, the ABC and its employees have unique obligations in the Australian media,” Mr Stevens said.
“Today she has explained her remarks in more detail to ensure there is a factual record of the relevant context and detail.
“The ABC’s editorial standards serve a vital role. Laura has been reminded of their application at external events as well as in her work and I have counselled her over the remarks.”
Mr Stevens went on to say that Tingle was one of Australia’s most experienced, knowledgeable and accomplished journalists.
Tingle laid out in a statement on the ABC website how she came to make the comment.
“I did indeed make the observation on Sunday that we are a racist country, in the context of a discussion about the political prospects ahead,” she said.
“I wasn’t saying every Australian is a racist. But we clearly have an issue with racism.
“For some months now, for example, The Australian newspaper has been devoting considerable space to its alarm about a rise in anti-Semitism in Australia.”
Tingle said she regretted that when she was “making these observations at the writers’ festival that the nature of the free-flowing panel discussion meant they were not surrounded by every quote substantiating them, which would have – and had – been included in what I had said earlier on the ABC”.
She went on to say that she was “proud of my work as a journalist at the ABC, on all its platforms, and I let that work speak for itself”.