The ABC's managing director has issued a formal apology to mining magnate Gina Rinehart following the broadcast of a fictional segment on the television series Race Around the World that graphically depicted violence against her — a controversy that has deepened scrutiny of the national broadcaster's editorial standards and triggered calls for policy reform.
What Was in the Segment?
The segment at the centre of the dispute aired on 12 July as part of Race Around the World. Contestant Kate McGuinness produced a short film titled A Very Relaxing Video in which she described a fictional future revolution. In that scenario, she made comments about participants potentially "mixing (Ms Rinehart's) guts up nice and smooth, to make one big sausage roll to make something out of nothing."
Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, responded furiously, describing the material as "appalling" and alleging it illustrated and graphically described Mrs Rinehart "being sodomised and tortured in a manner that would kill her." A spokesperson for Hancock said it was "nothing short of disgusting the ABC would encourage and normalise violence and murder by broadcasting, publishing and continuing to distribute this content," adding pointedly that the content "was not an unscripted live comment" but had passed through production, editorial and broadcast processes.
McGuinness, in a statement published by the ABC, defended her work as satirical and farcical in nature. "My writing is cartoonish and always satirical," she said. "Unfortunately, jokes do not land with everyone." She maintained the comments were not intended to be taken seriously and were not meant to promote violence.
ABC Managing Director Apologises — But Ombudsman Clears the Broadcast
Despite the ABC's internal Ombudsman finding that the segment did not breach the broadcaster's editorial standards relating to harm and offence, ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks issued an apology, acknowledging the episode had "fallen short of community expectations."
"The ABC apologises to Mrs Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film," Marks said in a formal statement. He also confirmed that the review had identified a need for policy change, saying: "As a result, the ABC will amend its guidance as it applies to violence."
The Ombudsman, whose office operates independently from ABC management, content teams and the board, concluded that the central question was not "whether the remarks were offensive or in good taste but whether any likely offence was justified by the editorial context." Taking into account the program's format, McGuinness's established creative style, the surreal and hyperbolic nature of the film, the absence of any visual depiction of violence, and criticism expressed by the judging panel on screen, the Ombudsman determined a reasonable audience member "would be unlikely to interpret the remarks as a genuine call for, endorsement of, or encouragement of violence."
Hancock Prospecting Hits Back at the Ombudsman Finding
Hancock Prospecting rejected the Ombudsman's conclusion in strong terms. A spokesperson said the internal finding "fails all Australian women and the millions of taxpayers who fund the ABC," and called for "significant improvement" to the broadcaster's editorial standards.
The company also criticised what it described as "ongoing silence" from the ABC board, specifically naming chair Kim Williams and deputy chair Lisa Caffery, saying "the buck stops with the heads of the ABC."
Hancock said it was still waiting for a "detailed account" of how the segment came to be aired and why it took 25 days for it to be removed. The spokesperson described the content as normalising "violent torture against a woman till death" and called it a concept "practised by terrorists" that "must never be regarded as art, or acceptable in our country, even by the ABC."
It is understood that Hancock had written to the ABC Board late in July requesting the video be taken down, along with a public apology and a comprehensive investigation into how it came to be published. A week after that initial call, Hancock said it had received no correspondence from the broadcaster.
Broader Turmoil at the ABC
The Rinehart controversy is unfolding at a particularly turbulent moment for the national broadcaster. Compounding the pressure on management, the head of ABC Investigations, Jo Puccini, has departed the organisation. Puccini's exit follows a separate scandal involving the flagship program Four Corners, in which claims emerged that a reporter who was a former bikie had relied on unreliable anonymous sources.
Together, the two controversies have placed the ABC's editorial culture and oversight processes under significant public and political scrutiny. Marks's decision to apologise to Rinehart — even in the face of an Ombudsman finding that cleared the broadcast — signals that management is acutely aware of the reputational stakes involved.
Hancock Prospecting said it would wait to see the "long overdue changes" to the ABC's editorial standards, specifically calling for rules that would prevent "sexual violence and torture-until-death episodes being shown or depicted in any form against any woman on the ABC, including under the pretence of satire or art or any other cloak."
