The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) logo is seen in the press gallery at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 25, 2025. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has issued a public apology after airing an episode of its show Race Around the World that featured a contestant describing a graphic violent scenario targeting Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart.
In the July 12 episode, contestant Kate McGuinness narrated a short film about traditional Scottish stick weaponry before delivering a graphic description of violence directed at the mining magnate.
The segment drew widespread criticism and prompted legal threats from Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, which demanded an immediate retraction, a public apology, and a formal investigation.
On Aug. 6, ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks acknowledged that the broadcast fell short of standards.
“While the Ombudsman has found that the film did not breach the ABC’s editorial policies, the ABC acknowledges the episode has fallen short of community expectations,” Marks said.
“The ABC apologises to Mrs. Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film.”
The ABC has also removed the offending segment from the program, editing it into a new version without the comments regarding Rinehart.
Ombudsman Review and Public Backlash
The decision to issue an apology followed an internal review by the ABC Ombudsman, which determined the segment did not violate editorial policy because viewers were unlikely to interpret the creative work as a genuine call for violence.
“Having regard to the program format, the filmmaker’s established creative style, the surreal and hyperbolic nature of the film, the absences of any visual depiction of violence, and the criticism expressed by the judging panel … (audiences) would be unlikely to interpret the remarks as a genuine call for, endorsement of, or encouragement of violence,” the Ombudsman’s findings noted.
McGuinness herself later issued an apology, saying her films were “farcical” and that it was not her intention to promote violence.
Despite those statements, government ministers and corporate leaders pressed the public broadcaster to take direct responsibility.
Representatives for Hancock Prospecting warned that the content breached standards and posed serious safety concerns.
The ABC stated it will refine internal oversight to ensure future non-news programming better distinguishes between satire and unacceptable rhetoric.
