A Triple J segment describing the Israel-Gaza war as a ‘genocide’ has been slammed by the national broadcaster’s own watchdog.
Fiona Cameron, the ABC Ombudsman, found the November 24 episode of the Hip Hop Show, guest-hosted by Indigenous musician Miss Kaninna, had breached the national broadcaster’s impartiality standards.
Ms Cameron’s report said Miss Kaninna’s comments about the Middle East conflict were ‘not duly impartial’ and would not have been aired if senior management had been notified.
During the program, the host played a 2009 single from anti-Zionist rapper Lowkey titled ‘Long Live Palestine’, followed by a rant where she recited a popular pro-Palestine chant: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.
The ombudsman’s office received 10 complaints about the program which claimed Miss Kaninna’s comments were ‘offensive and lacked impartiality’.
Triple J has come under fire after a guest-host on the Hip Hop Show, Indigenous musician Miss Kaninna (pictured), described the Israel-Gaza war as a ‘genocide’
‘Somehow if you listen to that track every single thing that that brother is talking about you would think that he wrote it yesterday,’ Miss Kaninna told listeners.
’12 years later the genocide, the oppression and the continued hate towards Palestine people on their indigenous lands is wild.’
Miss Kaninna, who was nominated for Triple J’s Unearthed artist of the year three weeks prior, then asked the audience ‘when is something going to change? When are we going to wake up?’
‘As an Aboriginal sovereign woman I stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters of Palestine,’ she continued.
‘From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free.’
Ms Cameron’s report, which was released on Wednesday, noted that while the comments were framed as her own opinion as a show of solidarity, they breached the ABC’s rules on covering current affairs.
‘The ABC standards require that all news and information is presented with due impartiality and takes into consideration the nature of the content, likely audience expectations and the contentiousness of the subject matter,’ the report reads.
‘In this context the comments were not duly impartial.’
Ms Kaninna finished her brief rant by reciting a popular pro-Palestine chant, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ (pictured, the phrase on a sign at a pro-Palestine protest)
The ABC Ombudsman received 10 complaints about the program and found the comments had breached the broadcaster’s rules on presenting news impartially (pictured, Miss Kaninna)
The report laid blame on the program’s producer as Miss Kaninna was an ‘external contributor’ and most likely not privy to the broadcaster’s rules on impartiality.
Ms Cameron said the producer had not followed the proper editorial process by being the sole decision-maker in including the segment.
The report referred to ABC standards that state the producer should have notified a senior manager of the segment that was ‘likely to cause controversy’.
‘If this step had been taken, the material would not have gone to air in the form that it did,’ Ms Cameron’s report reads.
As a result of the ombudsman investigation Triple J has accepted the segment breached the ABC’s standards.
Part of that acceptance includes staff who did not raise the segment with senior management being ‘disciplined’ and the program being deleted from online platforms.
The station has also agreed to axe any future guest-hosts from its line-up and to train staff on the ‘importance of upward referral for contentious or controversial subjects’.
The ombudsman noted that an on-air acknowledgement of the breach during following episodes of the program ‘would have been desirable’.