AUKUS: ABC editor lashes out at Paul Keating over attack on journalists


The ABC’s political editor has slammed Paul Keating over the former PM’s attacks on several journalists during last week’s fiery National Press Club speech.

On Wednesday, Mr Keating blasted some of the nation’s most senior journalists as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong following the multibillion-dollar nuclear submarine deal under the landmark AUKUS agreement.

The 79-year-old came down hard on reporters who questioned his claim that China was not a threat to Australia. The wild appearance was mocked by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Friday as like a “crazy old uncle abusing family members”.

Speaking to The Australian, ABC political editor Andrew Probyn suggested Mr Keating had crossed the line, particularly in his treatment of Sky News political reporter Olivia Caisley and Nine journalist Matthew Knott.

“I thought the dismissive manner in which he dealt with younger, especially female journalists, who all asked perfectly decent questions, was very poor indeed,” Probyn told Media Diary.

During the appearance, Mr Keating told Caisley one of her questions was “dumb” and “hardly deserves an answer”, while ripping into Knott over The Sydney Morning Herald’s recent series of articles warning of war with China.

“You should hang your head in shame,” Mr Keating said.

“I’m surprised you even have the gall to stand up in public and ask such a question, frankly. You ought to do the right thing and drum yourself out of Australian journalism … if I were you, mate, I’d hide my face and never appear again.”

The ex-PM also hit back after Probyn countered his claim that China was not a threat by pointing out it had waged economic warfare on Australia through tariffs on exports including wine, coal, timber, barley and lobster.

Mr Keating said Probyn was “silly enough to think” China’s economic sanctions equated to “threat meaning invasion”.

“I have no issue with the backhanded way in which he dealt with my question, even if I disagree with his attempt to define ‘threat’ from China as being a threat of invasion,” Probyn told Media Diary.

He added that the National Press Club “would be best served not repeating that format”.

It comes after the event host, National Press Club president Laura Tingle, was criticised for allowing Mr Keating’s abuse to go unchecked.

“It is a pity that Keating was too busy attacking Australian journalists at the National Press Club this week to mention Australian journalists locked up by the authoritarian regime he was defending,” news.com.au columnist Joe Hildebrand wrote over the weekend.

“It is even more shameful that Twitter’s supposed hero of Australian journalism Laura Tingle, the president of the NPC and facilitator of Keating’s abuse, let this diatribe run free.”



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