Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh calls for ABC execs to apologise for ‘disgraceful’ comedy show

Australia’s Shadow Communications Minister says ABC executives should apologise over a “disgraceful” comedy show she claims is “further fuelling division” and featured children in spit hoods with references to the Ku Klux Klan.

Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh has labelled ABC’s “Always Was Tonight” program which aired on the taxpayer-funded broadcaster this week as “distasteful and divisive”.

The program is a satirical news special hosted by ABC star Tony Armstrong, which has been transparent about its ambition to be an attention-grabbing “sharp satirical special … set to decolonise the news”.

Despite being a self-titled “ABC comedy show” Armstrong delves into serious topics, including culture wars, colonisation and incarceration rate among Indigenous children.

Ms McIntosh was scathing of the program by executive producer Rowdie Walden. She labelled it “rubbish” which was “further fuelling division” at a time when “social cohesion” was needed in the community after the Bondi Beach terror attack on a Jewish event.

“Now, our national broadcaster is further fuelling division in our communities with this rubbish,” the Liberal MP said.

She claimed the content didn’t promote social cohesion or “the multicultural character of the Australian community”.

However, in a statement provided by the ABC, a spokeswoman said it had aimed to build understanding, not division.

“’Always Was Tonight’ examined Indigenous Australians’ lived experiences through satire, social observation, and comedy,” she said.

“The program was creative, insightful, and sometimes challenging.

“It sought not to divide but to highlight the perspectives of Indigenous Australians to contribute to a shared understanding.”

Ms McIntosh also pointed to a segment where Indigenous children were filmed wearing hoods in a detention centre singing a parody of the iconic Qantas anthem “I Still Call Australia Home”.

She also flagged a Triple J logo being changed to Triple K which said she “is known to depict the Ku Klux Klan”.

“The program, whilst promoted by the ABC as satire, was deeply offensive. We must not tolerate further division,” she said.

“To know that children would have been encouraged and coached during the filming of this disgraceful segment is grotesque.

“We can and must engage in difficult conversations about Australia’s history and present challenges, but children should never be placed at the centre of such content.

“Serious questions must be asked about how this content was approved, and whether appropriate consideration was given to the impact on children, families and the broader community.”

An ABC spokeswoman confirmed to The Nightly that the appropriate consent and adequate supports were provided throughout filming.

“The safety, wellbeing, and protection of the child actors involved were treated with the utmost seriousness,” she said.

“Careful and responsible steps were taken to ensure that children and their guardians were fully informed, supported, and protected throughout the production, with a clear duty of care upheld at every stage.

“An Indigenous psychologist was present, and the shoot was registered with the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian.”

Ms McIntosh has called for Communications Minister Anika Wells and Australian Media and Communications Authority to investigate the content.

“The ABC Board and Managing Director should apologise to all Australians for their decision to allow this show to be broadcast,” Ms McIntosh said.

The broadcaster had openly acknowledged before the premiere that it would challenge its audience on key debates, with the ABC promoting the show as “landing squarely in the ongoing national conversation around January 26”.

“This fast, funny and unflinching 30-minute special has an agenda to go where no other news show dares,” the ABC stated in an online description.

It’s not the first time Ms McIntosh has voiced criticisms of the ABC, accusing the broadcaster of being “divisive” last Australia Day for a news story referencing an “Invasion Day” protest.

“There was a story about Invasion Day and that perspective, but not about Australia Day. If there is any divisiveness in broadcasting, then that is an issue,” she said, in an interview with The Australian newspaper in January 2025.