The ABC MELTDOWN Has Begun… Pauline Hanson Finally Snaps | Ep 218

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]The ABC has had this coming for years, and it's so good to finally see them be exposed for the leftist bias attacks that they are. They're not journalists, they're activists, and One Nation is locking them out of their press conferences and media engagements. This is so fun to watch because the ABC is now melting down over this treatment.

[00:00:18]We're going to tell you what's going on.

[00:00:19]That's today on the Dr. Joe Show.

[00:00:22]If you are new here, please subscribe to the channel. Uh the more people that subscribe, the bigger we become, our movement. And yeah, we want to take on the ABC. So this week, um, we learned that yes, One Nation is locking the ABC out of their press conferences. Uh, they've had this coming to them for years. We're going to look at a tantrum by Linton Bessa, our old friend. Do you remember him, James?

[00:00:47]>> I remember Linton Bessa.

[00:00:50]Remember him? Well, >> so Linton Besser, now we're the ABC's Media Watch. He is mounting down because Pauline Hansen and James Ashby, her chief of staff, have locked them out. Uh we're going to show you what they're saying and give you some background. So, let's get straight in.

[00:01:05]>> Yeah. And we're going to um we're going to take this guy down because he did not let me into my um >> cadet ship.

[00:01:12]>> Let's just dive straight in. He's joking.

[00:01:15]The victory in the actual electorate came about in spite or was it because of an ugly attitude towards the press in particular the ABC captured in an excruciating encounter just 24 hours before votes were cast.

[00:01:32]>> Bye-bye to the ABC.

[00:01:34]>> Pauline Hansen's chief of staff, James Ashby, taking it upon himself to boot the ABC from a media event on the eve of the Farah bi-election. See you later, guys.

[00:01:45]>> But had he run this executive decision by the boss?

[00:01:54]>> Thank you.

[00:02:04]Legend.

[00:02:04]>> Boss move.

[00:02:05]>> Yeah. So, I mean, we love Pauline, but we're on James. We're on team James for this one.

[00:02:09]>> Hell yeah.

[00:02:10]>> Yeah. Because I mean, they've had this coming for years. It's so infuriating.

[00:02:13]We pay for the ABC and we pay these enor they they get enormous salaries. They're all they're all from the left, like down to the the last person there. Like, it's it's it's it's just so universally biased in their coverage. And now, One Nation is on the rise. People aren't listening to the ABC. they have some power of their own. And what the decision there was was to say, "No, you're not you're not in here. We're not doing a press conference with you. We know you're going to report it in a in a biased, factually inaccurate way. Get out."

[00:02:44]>> Why should they be allowed in? I mean, they um they are like total corrupt um just scumbags.

[00:02:54]Not not every single journalist that works for the ABC, but the institution as a whole is so corrupt. like we've had them sort of um publish articles where they've actually cut pieces out of our quotes to make us sound like we're threatening politicians. I mean, it's like the the degree to which they will like bias doesn't even cover it.

[00:03:17]>> It's more like just like deliberate um anti-conservative slander. They're just horrific. And like, yeah, we can't control having to pay taxes and have that money go to funding the ABC, but yeah, you can control whether they're in your press um uh press, what do you call it?

[00:03:37]>> Press room. Press conference. Yeah, press conference or not. You know, >> you can see I'm not a real journalist.

[00:03:42]Um, >> Linton Bessa was on to something. I I think that um they have an agenda. They prosecute that agenda. We've shown on in the case of abortion uh particularly when Ro v Wayade was overturned, it was article after article and Instagram post after Instagram post being told from a proabortion perspective and um the minute that we got involved in the comments and exposed that they were lying, they would just turn the comments off.

[00:04:08]>> Yeah, they're ridiculation >> and they're not even commercial. Like they're government they're on the teeth of the government. Um they can do whatever they want. They don't have to um they don't even have to be commercially viable.

[00:04:23]>> Um I don't think you should treat them as a real news organization because they're not.

[00:04:27]>> They need to be defunded. Um it should be optin. If you want to subscribe to them, you should pay a fee. It they should not be funded by every single Australian. Like I think that's the case. Yesterday I had a call from an ABC journalist uh in South Australia about the bill that we're introducing to ban abortion after 25 weeks. And even the framing of the questions uh makes it abundantly clear the the position that they're taking, the normative position.

[00:04:52]So this journalist called me and he said um so you're going to be forcing women who have a mental health crisis to give birth after 25 weeks. And and I said to him, you know, uh could you please explain to me why injecting the baby's heart with potassium chloride after 25 weeks uh is a solution to a woman's mental health crisis? you know, how does injecting the baby's heart with poison fix her mental health? It it's not a a a mental health protocol in any hospital in the country and yet close to 75% of late term abortions in South Australia are likely signed off on for a mental health reason. So, it's a massive loophole that's allowing abortion up to birth for any reason. But that's the question he asks. Uh he he also uses the language of the woman is forced to give birth. You're going to force this woman to give birth. And I said to Thomas, "Well, don't you realize these women have to give birth anyway? The process of a late term abortion is injecting the heart with potassium chloride and then she delivers that baby dead but she has to give birth either way. The baby comes out and and then he the third question he asked was about um fetal anomaly. So he said you know you are going to be forcing women whose babies have a serious fetal anomaly to have to give birth. And again I turned around and said well I believe in a world where we don't discriminate against people because of their disabilities Thomas.

[00:06:09]And you know, you have to hit back at them uh with the truth and and assertively. And I think that's one thing I'm really liking from Pauline Hansen and James Ashby as opposed to uh the libs and and and Cory Bernardi is doing this as well. You you're seeing a bit of a Trumpian sort of kick back and that's what you want. The press should not be getting a free ride here.

[00:06:31]>> No. Why should they? If you can't defund them, then kick them out of your press club. Seriously, just just tell them to bugger off.

[00:06:37]>> And so the dispute between Paul and shouldn't be getting any funding. If they are getting funding, then they can bugger off and you just have nothing to do with them. Don't give them any exclusives. Don't give them any kind of any any sticks. Don't throw them a bone.

[00:06:48]Just treat them like they don't exist.

[00:06:50]>> Yeah.

[00:06:50]>> It's what they deserve.

[00:06:51]>> Yeah. The dispute between James and Pauline. Do you want to know what that was about?

[00:06:55]>> What?

[00:06:56]>> So Pauline's view is, okay, the regional ABC reporters aren't so bad, you know, in towns like Orange and Griffith and um Farah. Uh, >> but then he said, "Oh, well, they're feeding back to the to the other ones >> to CRA."

[00:07:11]>> Yeah, >> it's true though.

[00:07:12]>> Yeah, of course it's true. And we don't we I think we want the whole organization defunded and taken down.

[00:07:17]That That's got to be >> including this here who um has this program which is called Media Watch and he spends the whole time critiquing conservative politicians, conservative.

[00:07:28]It's media watch, mate. Like your your program is supposed to keep an eye on the media. There should be there needs to be a third like a second media watch to do episodes on you.

[00:07:37]>> But that's the Dr. Joe show.

[00:07:38]>> Yeah. But like Yeah. You're not going to see it on the ABC. But honestly, like this guy here is behaving unethically.

[00:07:48]>> Yeah.

[00:07:48]>> He should have his own segment about him.

[00:07:51]>> Yeah. like Media Watch, someone else on Media Watch should do a should do an episode about him because he shouldn't be using his um platform to expose politicians because it's not what it's designed for. When people when people click the TV on and they they see, oh, this is media watch. Let's see how journalists are behaving badly. And then it's all about how Linton Bessa doesn't like the way certain politicians are behaving. Then you're actually kind of misleading people. That's not I actually think that that's really unethical. M >> so you should be on your your own show >> but not like that featured. Yeah.

[00:08:25]>> All right, let's keep going. It gets worse.

[00:08:28]>> No, Pauline, they shouldn't have. But the confusion was perhaps understandable because her candidate for Farah, David Farley, had already had a good old chat with the ABC that very morning.

[00:08:40]>> One Nation candidate for Farah, David Farley, good morning to you.

[00:08:43]>> Good morning.

[00:08:44]>> And might the ABC jou swing by One Nation's election party? Jouro is welcome to pop in.

[00:08:50]>> Well, the best is to talk to my team over here. And if there's room, I'm sure they all >> David Farley, thank you very much for your time, mate.

[00:08:56]>> Which is why when the ABC reporter arrived at One Nation's press conference later that day, she assumed all was peachy, as she later told ABC Ilawa.

[00:09:06]>> So, we really did have that feeling of being blindsided and being shocked. That conviviiality evident too on polling day, this time out on the streets with One Nation supporters trying to block the ABC's camera.

[00:09:20]>> Me, please.

[00:09:20]>> I'm on public space.

[00:09:22]>> No, please don't. Please don't.

[00:09:25]>> So, you're denying me at ABC to get cuts, cutaways on a public property.

[00:09:33]>> Oh my goodness.

[00:09:34]>> To be fair, David Farley did say, "If there's room for you," and there's clearly just no room for them.

[00:09:39]>> Yeah. No room for the ABC anymore in modern day Australia. David's really growing on me. Yeah. Um I I really >> excited to see what happens with him in federal parliament. Um so I think that's that was interesting because uh just a couple of things that I picked out. Um so first of all, they just Sorry, I'm just going to get superficial straight up. They just look like leftists. Like the ABC presenter on radio looks like a leftist. Then the female presenter is is like, "So you I was just really blindsided and shocked." Like it's the singong voice that we've talked about in previous episodes that leftists use. And then um the another ABC reporter on site says, "So you're denying me the opportunity to get cutaways." And it's like, "Well, there's no human right to cutaways, mate. Like it it's just you don't get to tell your story because your story is cooked. It's just a hatchet job." So, I I I feel like um it's good they're getting a taste of their own medicine because I I mean this is sort of personal for me in some ways.

[00:10:39]Like I I feel like um in our abortion work, they've never given us a fair run.

[00:10:46]Like they they close Yeah. As James said, Stephanie Richards um acted completely unethically on quotes. And then when we exposed that, a senior ABC headon show, and you can check out the episode, called me to try and intimidate me to remove comments and take down the episode >> instead of disciplining Steph Richards.

[00:11:06]>> Yeah.

[00:11:06]>> She tried to take us down.

[00:11:08]>> Yeah. And and when I got banned from the SA Parliament under completely speurious grounds, like there was no proof, no evidence, no investigation, opportunity to respond. They just did hit piece after hit piece after trying to destroy my reputation with no opportunity to respond to those things. They They're not a media organization. And I'm glad they're getting a taste of their own medicine. I think I I'm really glad this is >> They expect to be able to do all of that >> like all of that like despicably unethical um behavior and then also be welcomed with open arms into your press conference. No, sorry.

[00:11:42]>> No, you can you can get lost.

[00:11:44]>> Yeah.

[00:11:44]>> Not in not in my room. like you go to a different press conference like knock yourself out. You're not coming to mine.

[00:11:49]Get lost.

[00:11:50]>> There's one ABC reporter in Adelaide Cat Birmingham who I do have time for. She has always been pretty fair. Uh and she's come over from the advertiser. She seems to always ask follow-up questions to me via text just to check that she's getting the details right. And I have felt that she is fair. But the organization itself, so I think there are probably a smattering of individual journalists. even David Beavenon when he was there.

[00:12:14]>> I still I'd still shut it down.

[00:12:16]>> I would shut down the ABC and I don't think Cat should be paid for by us. Like I just don't think that organization should be paid by us. I was going to say David Beavenon when he was there. He had me on twice uh and both times gave me a really fair run.

[00:12:26]>> Yeah, but people like him are a very endangered species. He's gone and there's no one who's replaced >> and the new guys just Yeah, they've done several hit pieces on us on ABC radio.

[00:12:37]that yeah um David retired and probably at that point yeah one of the Alexander Der wrote a thing for the press saying you know I think an article in the Australian about how um at that point when David Beavenon retired probably the only ABC journalist in the country who really went above and beyond to show both sides had now left the building >> that's right and and by the way when we say a fair shot we're not talking about like a puff piece David asked lots of really hard questions and and he was he he really did present the other time he played lots. He interviewed other people on the show, read their comments online, on air, etc. Um, and he hit you with like the most hard-hitting accusations um, in order to get your response, >> but he just didn't go out of his way to screw you over. I mean, that's all we're after here. We're not We The bar is very, very low, and the ABC misses it like every time. They just can't Yeah. They just can't do it. They can't help themselves.

[00:13:38]>> So why was Australia's national broadcaster shown the door by One Nation on the eve of a knife edge bi-election?

[00:13:45]Could it be what happened 7 weeks ago when it South Australian election campaign was soiled by this ABC corker?

[00:13:54]>> One Nation candidate Aoi Baxter wanted in the UK. A UK court has confirmed that Ai Baxter, also known as Trent Baxter, was charged with sexually touching a woman without consent.

[00:14:06]>> Forced to dump its preferred candidate, the Party of Grievance added another to its ever growing list.

[00:14:13]>> One Nation doubles down on ABC ban.

[00:14:17]>> I don't want to talk to them. It's bad enough. I got to pay their wages. The >> I mean, you can see why they're not talking to them. the the ABC calls them racist or a party of grievance. On at the same point on election night that this is all going down, Patricia Cavellis on ABC says uh the Liberals should never have preferenced them because it's legitimizing them as a party. The ABC believes that the close to 40% of people in Farah who gave first preferences to One Nation gave it to an illegitimate political force.

[00:14:53]you know, if it was up to them, these guys would be in jail. They wouldn't exist because, you know, they're racist and and so party of grievance, illegitimate political party. Why should One Nation engage with these people?

[00:15:05]>> And then they actually use their media watch program to like spend a whole five minutes on a segment that's just designed to criticize One Nation >> instead of criticizing the media, which is what they're supposed to do.

[00:15:19]>> Yeah. And and and to rehash old allegations about Trent Baxter being a rapist. He was a candidate for them at an election. This has happened across the political spectrum. The parties over time have been surprised. They've done their background checks on their candidates and something has come up.

[00:15:35]>> Acrimony still fresh when the ABC set about reporting another bi-election in the Victorian state seat of Nepion with One Nation hopeful Darren Herkus responding to one ABC interview request with this. Unfortunately, due to the ABC's lack of impartiality, I am unwilling to discuss the Nepan bi-election. Another ABC reporter, Alisia Thomas Sam, receiving similar treatment.

[00:16:02]>> Do you want to speak to the ABC >> at the moment? No. Thanks, Allie. No, >> this is a national program.

[00:16:06]>> Yeah, I know. I know, Rally.

[00:16:08]>> It's pretty funny because you can just see they just But this is a national program because in their bubble, everybody watches the ABC. Like at where I work at the university, everybody watches the ABC. They read the Guardian, the SMH, that's where they get their new.

[00:16:21]>> She's like, "But we're the ABC." It's like, "Yeah, I know, Ellie.

[00:16:25]I don't want to talk to you. Go away."

[00:16:27]>> And and I think what's really incredible is we're living in a cultural moment where now the party that is polling the highest and and winning seats like this in Farah, they're not talking to the ABC, >> you know. So, so it's exposing that the ABC isn't a legitimate media organization.

[00:16:46]>> That's right. which is hopefully a foreshadowing of what might happen if they get the power to do something about the ABC >> and I hope they shut it down.

[00:16:54]>> Yeah.

[00:16:55]>> Neither One Nation nor the ABC would comment, but One Nation's animosity should really come as no surprise.

[00:17:02]Pauline Hansen's swingali having voiced his displeasure for years over unflattering pictures.

[00:17:09]>> Pauline Hansen had a tick bite or a wasp bite on her face. They continued to use that shocking image for almost a year.

[00:17:16]>> And allegations the ABC gives the PM an easy run.

[00:17:20]>> Well, we know the ABC's been biased for at least a decade now.

[00:17:23]>> Reporting an election is among the most sacred of responsibilities for the press and vital to the body politic. If One Nation is blocking the ABC because it suffered some tough reporting, or worse, because it believes it's lit upon some kind of cunning electoral ploy, alarm bells should be ringing. Not least for those other journos who stood and watched the ABC ejection and raised not a word of protest. Because if modern-day America is any guide, the fake news prescription, the enemy of the people designation, may very quickly be hurled at others, too. No, just at you, Linton.

[00:18:04]Like just at your crooked organization and others as well when they when they behave like the ABC. Look, here's the way I think it works. Linton Bessa AB the ABC is the standard for how to be a crooked and corrupt um media alleged media enterprise. Um and so you immediately throw them out and put them in the bin and then you compare other media organizations and say are you behaving like the ABC and um and then you and then that's your that's your kind of standard for how to be a um a dodgy fake reporter. So maybe that's a better framework. Um, and then yeah, you can criticize other um other journalists and other media organizations and say, "Look, I'm going to be honest with you.

[00:18:46]You're behaving a little bit like an ABC reporter right now, so you need to get in line, please." Okay.

[00:18:53]So, yeah, I think that's probably the framework.

[00:18:56]>> I loved his moralizing about, you know, reporting an election is one of the most sacred duties that the press has. You know, it's true. Like, elections are fundamental to democracy. And what the ABC has done um for at least a decade is threaten democracy by being incredibly corrupt and biased in its reporting.

[00:19:16]>> Yeah. What he what he said is true, but what he failed to mention is that the ABC is not the press.

[00:19:21]>> That's the thing. They're just government. They're just like leftist hacks who are trying to push an agenda.

[00:19:26]So you're not the press. That's the thing, Linton.

[00:19:30]>> So yes. Yes, it's very important to report on an election. I actually agree with that. By the way, this is one of this is the reason why I hate the ABC.

[00:19:38]It's not because >> um it's not because I dislike their scrutiny. Like I I believe that um without journalism we are completely screwed. That's why I hate the ABC because they don't they're not journalists.

[00:19:54]>> They they're they're fake. They're just um leftists masquerading as journalists.

[00:20:00]and with with like with the standard that they set and with their behavior, I really do believe that we can't have democracy.

[00:20:09]Like it is it is really gravely threatened by this organization.

[00:20:13]>> So that's why we shut you out because you're not real journalists. We should start doing this too.

[00:20:17]>> Yeah, I I love this. I'm totally going to take some cues from this. Um I think for me >> it underscores that James Ash is a legend.

[00:20:28]finally backbone and they I don't know if you saw what Linton was doing there.

[00:20:33]He tried to make it sound he used a clip from May 2024 to try and make it sound like this is just all very petty. It's because they've shown unflattering images of Pauline. Okay, that's one thing that the ABC has done. But it is so much more than that and any ordinary Australian >> Yeah, we've got our own battle stories and we're tiny.

[00:20:53]>> Imagine Pauline Hansen if they did an episode like this. My goodness.

[00:20:57]>> 30 years in politics. It's not just about a swollen face after a mozzy bite.

[00:21:01]Like it's it's it's >> imagine Steph Richards times 100, you know.

[00:21:05]>> Yeah. What Pauline has endured and One Nation as a result of this publicly funded broadcaster is ginormous. And what Bessa tried to do then was make it sound like, oh, it's just petty and insignificant. Um, shout out to James because in the recent Queensland bi-election where One Nation didn't run a candidate in the seat of Stafford, uh, the press, the Koua Mail had a big story about One Nation in it. And, you know, I I really appreciate that James actually wrote or he gave a comment to the journalist that said um, Mr. Ashby said that Mr. Christa Foley, who's the Queensland premier, was doing an okay job, but had fallen short on several policy areas. Energy for one exploring the need for additional coal firepowered stations in this state were also deeply disappointed about the late term abortion bill he's flatly rejected any of his MPs debating. So he mentions two issues. One of them is the abortion gag by this supposedly conservative Queensland government in the abortion capital of the country. I mean that to me signals the commitment that One Nation is beginning to really show on this issue. M nice one, James.

[00:22:14]>> Yeah, and it's something that the Liberals would never do. You know, not only have they gagged it in Queensland, but across the board, the timidity on this, they're all going on about um >> and they would never kick the ABC out of a press conference either.

[00:22:27]>> And this is this is why >> um the Liberals are falling behind One Nation um everywhere you look >> because people like real stuff. They like real people doing real stuff and they're sick of the Liberal Party just like pretending to be conservative but then just being so timid that they're just always looking to their peers side to side. Oh, what are the what do the polls say? Oh, what are people oh what is um you know ex sort of expert or whatever.

[00:22:54]>> Well, I think now they're just looking at what's Pauline doing. Let's copy that. Uh >> which is equally as pathetic.

[00:23:00]>> Yeah. I mean recently with the Sal Grover decision in Giggle versus Tickle in the full federal court uh in New South Wales. It's interesting because Angus Taylor's come out with a very strong statement about you know women's spaces, women's sport, all of it. But Alex Sante from his own party has been introducing private members bills for years on this. No support from anyone in the libs that they're only doing it now because the zeitgeist has shifted and people are outraged at what's happened to S. Whereas you know and that's going to be the case on abortion as well. feel like at some point they're going to be as brave as James Ashby and Pauline on this, but they're not there yet because >> No, they won't be as brave. They'll wait until it's safe to go.

[00:23:39]>> Exactly. Sorry, that's a better phrasing. Yeah, they won't be brave.

[00:23:42]They'll read the tea leaves and they'll see that things have shifted and then they'll say something. But Australians are just they're seeing through that now. Like why would you you know the problem with the Liberal Party is they've been Labour light for so long now they're just one nation light. Why why would you ever vote for the shadow of the real thing? If you're a leftist, you vote for Labor and the Greens. If you're conservative, you just vote for One Nation.

[00:24:05]>> Yeah. And you know that they're going to throw you under the bus on the next social issue that comes along as well.

[00:24:09]If they are always going to wait until someone else leads the charge, then they won't lead lead the charge the next time we need them. So, don't trust them.

[00:24:16]>> If if that's what they show that they only ever come to the party after someone else has made it safe, then they're useless.

[00:24:22]>> All of this to say, exciting times. Uh the political dynamic in this country is really shifting and we're going to see more leftist meltdowns as this goes on.

[00:24:32]Um >> Linton Besser and his colleagues are going to be a a wealth of uh content for us going forward. Thank you so much for joining us. Uh remember subscribe to the the channel. Like if you watched the entire episode and you liked it, subscribe to the channel. We've also launched a membership. So please do become a member. I think it financially supports us to keep going and doing what we're doing. Uh, also please do not forget we now have two, not just one, but two historic bills in New South Wales and SA parliaments to to to do something about abortion up to birth in this country. Um, I say historic because both of these bills are so close to being passed in a house of parliament that would make history. No pro bill has ever passed in a in even a single house of parliament in this country. Um, so June 2nd outside the New South Wales Parliament at 6 PM, massive rally uh for the babies there. Please put it in your diaries. June 17 at 5:30 p.m. outside the SA Parliament. Uh, both are really important. We're encouraging people to fly in for both, to prioritize both, to do whatever they can to attend both. Uh, thank you so much for watching and that's today on the Dr. Joe Show.