ABC has again called on One Nation to immediately remove the depiction of Bluey from its cartoon, in which the character repeatedly runs over politicians with an SUV. The request was reiterated during Senate estimates hearings, and an ABC spokesperson spoke out on Wednesday.
ABC chief executive Hugh Marks said on Tuesday that he had learned of the potential intellectual property infringement by One Nation last week and had sought legal advice. ABC does not own the intellectual property for Bluey, but is considering available options. It believes the relevant cartoons should be removed from One Nation's platforms immediately and that further use should not occur.
Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that ABC was "entirely right to be concerned" about One Nation's use of Bluey. She described Bluey as "one of the biggest, most loved, most famous Australian export products".
In parliament, the prime minister admitted on Tuesday that he had made a mistake after telling parliament that a grant for the Marrickville golf club was intended to stop "raw sewage" flowing into a nearby river. Liberal member for Monash Mary Aldred asked why the infrastructure department had confirmed the funding was not for addressing sewage flows when the minister had previously said it was. Infrastructure Minister Catherine King responded that the decision brief for the project showed the funding was assessed against publicly available criteria and deemed value for money. The $6 million grant for the Marrickville golf club remains a point of contention for the Labor party.
National member Kevin Hogan asked the prime minister: "Why do Australians always pay the price because the prime minister can never admit he is wrong?" Anthony Albanese attempted to point to the conflict in the Middle East as Coalition interruptions followed. "We should lower the temperature and maybe people could stop interrupting," Albanese said. Speaker Milton Dick said: "Swearing in parliament is completely unacceptable and he will leave the chamber for three hours." He added: "Frankly, we will not allow this parliament to have such language. None of us will accept it. I will not accept it. Australia will not accept it."
Treasurer Jim Chalmers highlighted the impact of the Middle East conflict on inflation. He said that higher global oil prices had affected inflation, not just in Australia but worldwide, and that the biggest driver of inflation figures today was petrol prices. The government's digital duty of care bill passed the House of Representatives today. Anthony Albanese responded to a dixer on social media, saying that algorithms lead people towards more extreme positions and that this has an impact on society. Social media algorithms, he said, are deliberately designed to push people deeper into rabbit holes.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett began her late-night appearance at the Senate estimates hearing by noting the "weight hanging over Australia" following the alleged attack on independent member Helen Haines. The AFP warned that online hate is spilling over into the real world. "Lone actors are motivated by a convergence of personal grievances, mental health vulnerabilities and ideological issues," Barrett stated. She added: "What has helped us stay safe in recent times, such as our geography, analogue systems and distant criminals, has been hit by fully integrated technology, social media and artificial intelligence."
The source notes that the devastating effects of racism are heard daily from communities, and that many experiences remain unreported or unrecorded, with systems often failing to capture the full picture. It is not about collecting more data to prove that racism exists, as it is already known to exist. The goal is to make inequality visible, hold institutions to account and give communities greater control over their data.
