A prominent ABC presenter has been criticized for calling Australia “racist” and accused of bias after blaming the opposition.
The national broadcaster’s chief political correspondent Laura Tingle made the comment during a panel discussion for the Sydney Writers Festival on Sunday.
‘We are a racist country, let’s face it. We always have been and it’s very depressing,” he told his audience at Carriageworks.
Tingle repeatedly accused Liberal leader Peter Dutton of fanning the flames after he called for a reduction in immigration to ease pressure on the property market.
Tingle said he couldn’t remember the last time a major party leader was seen “saying…everything that’s wrong in this country is because of immigrants.”
The ABC presenter was appointed to the ABC board as a staff-elected director in 2023 and is required to “act in good faith at all times and in the best interests of the ABC”.
Laura Tingle (pictured), ABC chief political correspondent and elected board member, called Australia a “racist country”.
‘(I had) this sudden flash of people turning up to try to rent a property or at an auction and they looked a little bit different – however you define different – (and) that he (Dutton) had basically given them license to be mistreated and any circumstance where people feel like they’re missing out,” Tingle said.
Tingle accused Dutton of “dog whistling” and said his call to reduce immigration made “no rational sense”.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, said 2GB Ben Fordham live Monday that Tingle’s comments “create division.”
“I am truly disappointed by this continued narrative that is being pushed within our country that does not provide any sense of pride to our children,” she said.
“This is absolutely divisive and we had enough during the referendum.
“Prominent journalists, well, supposedly prominent journalists, like Laura Tingle, should know not to use that kind of rhetoric.”
Senator Price also accused Tingle of political bias, despite her duty to be impartial as a political reporter.
“She says ‘we’re a racist country, let’s face it, we always have been, it’s very depressing,'” he said.
‘That is not a reflection of the country, that is their opinion.
‘Laura has shown her bias and I think Kim Williams (ABC president) needs to explain why it is acceptable to have someone so blatantly partisan in the position of top political commentator.’
Fordham went on to read a list of comments submitted by listeners who unanimously disagreed with Tingle.
Tingle took aim at Peter Dutton’s comments that high migration is worsening the housing crisis, saying it has “given them license to abuse them” (pictured, queuing to view an apartment in Sydney).
‘I live in a block of units with neighbors of Indian, Filipino, Chinese and African origin, it’s not a problem, just great people. Laura is wrong,’ said one of the comments.
Another added: “Laura Tingle’s warped and miserable vision of this country ignores the fact that people come here in drones because it is the opposite of the picture she painted.”
Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program that she did not believe Australia was racist.
“I think it’s a fantastic multicultural country, but we have to protect ourselves against incidents of racism that occur in our community as they do in all communities,” he said.
‘My parents came to Australia after the Second World War from Europe and I am so grateful every day that Australia welcomed them and that we were born here and were able to grow up in this fantastic country.
‘Of course, there are Australians who have experienced racism. Of course that is absolutely true.’
Tingle also attacked shadow treasurer Angus Taylor’s speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday, which she moderated.
“I said (to Taylor), ‘so you’re saying we rely on migration for growth…what does that imply about growth if you’re going to reduce migration?'” he said.
“He (Taylor) said something about Labor and the unions buying all the houses, which I didn’t really understand.”
Tingle also appeared this month at the Melbourne Writers Festival, during which he accused Australian journalists of asking “questions that simply have no answers, in the name of political or media sport.”
Sydney 2GB radio listeners criticized Tingle (pictured) for making ‘divisive’ comments
She seemed less critical of the Labor Party: “It’s not just about whether they got rid of Scott Morrison, but they’re actually trying to govern, they’re trying to run a government, they’re actually trying to make policy.”
‘Whether you think politics is bullshit or not, that’s another issue.
‘We are not implementing the kind of stupid ideas we are now seeing in the Coalition from the platform of government.
“Don’t underestimate the value of not having to put up with all this absolute garbage that used to come out of the government on a day-to-day basis.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted ABC for comment.
