Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has backed comments by Prime Minister Tony Abbott that "heads should roll" at the ABC after it rebroadcast Monday's episode of Q&A that featured a former terror suspect.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra on Friday that the government's escalating attack on the national broadcaster was entirely appropriate after Q&A allowed Zaky Mallah into the audience to ask junior minister Steven Ciobo a question on the government's proposed citizenship laws.
"I endorse the words of the Prime Minister that heads should roll because it was an inappropriate use of taxpayers' money," Mr Dutton said.
"Q&A clearly have lost the plot and something needs to happen and it needs to happen quickly."
The government has ordered an urgent inquiry into the ABC over Monday's episode and Mr Abbott has stepped up his rhetoric, accusing the broadcaster of "betraying" the country.
The Prime Minister on Thursday said it was "utterly incomprehensible" that the ABC had "compounded the mistake" by rebroadcasting the episode.
"Now frankly, heads should roll over this, heads should roll over this," he told reporters in Canberra.
ABC chief Mark Scott fired back in a speech on Thursday night, telling the audience the ABC was a "public broadcaster, not a state broadcaster" with a duty to air confronting views.
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull would not back the Prime Minister's choice of words when pushed in an interview on the ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday, telling host Leigh Sales: "I will decide what metaphors I use and the manner in which I use them."
"I'm not going to get into a debate about semantics about the Prime Minister's mode of expression. I just say this to you: there was a very serious error of judgment on a whole range of levels. And the management has to take responsibility for it.
But Mr Dutton said Mr Abbott's remarks were welcome and he believed the ABC was "long overdue for a shake-up".
"The ABC is a broadcaster paid for by taxpayers' money and they should represent a broad cross section of views within Australian society not just an elitist set from the left," Mr Dutton said.
"Conservative commentators, people with a right-wing view, people with a conservative view being booed and hissed within that setting is completely unacceptable."
Asked about Mr Abbott's "heads should roll" comments, Labor leader Bill Shorten said "I think you and I and most Australians know that Tony Abbott overreached with those sort of sentiments".
"I think if he had his time again Mr Abbott wouldn't use such clumsy language," he said.
On Thursday night, Mr Scott said that the ABC's role as an independent public broadcaster was vital for Australian democracy and should be fiercely protected.
While acknowledging it was a mistake to allow Mr Mallah to appear live on air, Mr Scott strongly defended the Q&A program.
"I hope no one seriously wants the ABC to be a state broadcaster," he said.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne accused Mr Scott of trying to "change the debate to something it isn't", rather than "fessing up" to the ABC's mistake.
"This is typical of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation," he told Channel Nine's Today program.
"The ABC is trying to pretend this is something to do with free speech. It isn't. It's about what's appropriate and not appropriate at the public broadcaster.
"They did the wrong thing, they should simply fess up to it and do the right thing next time."
