As the US government continues to antagonise and restrict news publishers, some Australian politicians may be tempted to follow suit – but could find locals won’t give them as much slack.
Last month, in between headlines on One Nation’s increasing popularity, party leader Pauline Hanson appeared to be caught calling a Guardian reporter a “nasty bitch” after a staffer told the same reporter to “shut up”.
This followed an incident weeks earlier in which local ABC reporters were ejected from a One Nation campaign event for “reporting back to ABC Canberra” (a decision made by One Nation chief of staff James Ashby, and which Hanson criticised).
A Guardian spokesperson told PIJI the publisher “is committed to independent journalism and holding power to account. Our reporters ask questions in the public interest and will not be deterred from doing their job.”
The ABC declined to comment, and Hanson’s office did not return requests for comment.
Journalists face insults, exclusion and persecution in many countries around the world.
But it is US President Donald Trump’s open hostility towards news media – often characterised by accusations of ‘fake news’, personal insults and blocking access – that is trickling into Australia as local right-wing politicians realise the behaviour appeals to some of their voters, Queensland University of Technology Digital Media Research Centre associate professor Stephen Harrington says.
He says for some politicians, “performative antagonism” toward journalists can be “an easy win”, especially because journalists may be reluctant to push back for fear of being seen as biased.
“I don’t think it’s any surprise that what we’re seeing at the moment is this trend taking hold,” Harrington tells PIJI.
“It is the case that a lot of One Nation themselves, but also to an extent the Liberal party [and] the National party in Australia, take a lot of cues from the United States and the Republican Party.
“If they see this is … what tends to play well with conservative audiences, they tend to follow the same sort of thing.”
This behaviour appeals to some voters wary of traditional media, especially when reporting does not align with their personal or political views, Harrington says. But there is “probably a natural limit”.
Overall, Australians expect politicians they’ve elected to office to be civil, open and transparent with journalists, University of Technology Sydney Centre for Media Transition co-director Monica Attard says.
She says apart from the odd clash, the relationship between Australian politicians and journalists has traditionally been civil, and in some cases, has even been accused of being too friendly.
But when journalists are insulted and locked out, it’s important for their colleagues to “show solidarity” and showcase the importance of the fourth estate.
Writing in response to the recent incidents, University of Melbourne Centre for Advancing Journalism senior research fellow Denis Muller criticised the industry’s reaction so far as “supine” and “shameful”.
“It’s extremely important that political parties understand the symbiotic relationship between them and the media, in a sense they need the media as much as the media needs them,” Attard says.
“A lot of politicians, particularly from the extremist end, would argue that they can bypass the media and communicate directly with their audiences on social media, for example.
“But by and large, it’s important in a democracy like Australia’s that they’re seen to be submitting themselves to scrutiny. If they don’t submit themselves to scrutiny, then people do begin to ask questions.”
Last month’s events were not a first, for One Nation or Australian politics in general.
Harrington says Hanson has had a “hostile” relationship with the media since she was first elected to parliament in 1996 and received ‘mocking and dismissive’ coverage over her “please explain” line in a 60 Minutes interview.
In 2017, Hanson said she would boycott the ABC following a Four Corners report on One Nation and an Insiders program on her planned trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the 1990s, then-Victorian state Premier Jeff Kennett told his ministers not to appear on the ABC’s 7.30 programme through much of his seven-year tenure.
In 2004, then-Prime Minister John Howard reportedly banned ministers from appearing on Network Ten’s Meet The Press over accusations of biased reporting during that year’s election campaign.
In 2015, then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott banned his frontbenchers from appearing on the ABC’s Q&A until it was brought under the broadcaster’s news division, after the program allowed a former terror suspect and convicted criminal to ask a question from the studio audience.
In 2024, then-ACT Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee raised her middle finger at a Region journalist following a press conference, and in 2025, federal MP Bob Katter threatened to punch a Channel Nine journalist after being asked a question about his Lebanese heritage.
– Sezen Bakan