<\/p>\n
The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, wants a new \u201coversight\u201d committee to vet the ABC and SBS\u2019s Israel<\/a> coverage, she told the royal commission on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n Both the ABC and SBS<\/a> have an independent ombudsman to handle complaints.<\/p>\n Segal said a committee outside the organisation should have oversight and that there was a \u201ccommon and pervasive perception\u201d in the Jewish community that the public broadcasters\u2019 coverage of the war in the Middle East \u201clacked balance\u201d, that there was an overemphasis on Gaza compared with other conflicts, and that the coverage gave disproportionate voice to anti-Israel perspectives.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the perception of the Jewish community feeling constantly that they are being faced with reporting about the Middle East, about Gaza and about Israel in a way that paints Israel constantly in a negative light,\u201d Segal said.<\/p>\n Anti-Israel perspectives were those that are critical of Israel\u2019s actions, she said.<\/p>\n The ABC editorial director, Gavin Fang, disagreed with the claim the coverage was disproportionate.<\/p>\n He told the inquiry that the national broadcaster had covered the rise in antisemitism, and had a range of editorial policies that outlined \u201ca series of principles or series of higher standards that public media is often held to and which we accept\u201d.<\/p>\n The policies state the ABC must meet standards around not unduly favouring one perspective over another and around impartiality, accuracy and fairness, he said.<\/p>\n The ABC always takes audience feedback into account, Fang said, and would do the same with Segal\u2019s.<\/p>\n Segal outlined how an independent regulator could give coverage a \u201ctick\u201d or \u201cguidance\u201d to broadcasters and she spoke favourably of media watchdog Ofcom\u2019s role in the UK.<\/p>\n \u201c[Ofcom] has powers to open their own investigations. They can look at a story and direct the BBC to take it down, to look at things differently. They can fine the BBC,\u201d <\/em>she said.<\/p>\n Ofcom\u2019s website states<\/a> that as of this month it has a new responsibility to \u201cconsider and give an opinion on whether the BBC has observed the relevant editorial guidelines in its online material\u201d, but it has \u201cno enforcement powers\u201d for that material.<\/p>\n Jewish Australians were almost more frustrated with the existing media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma), than with the ABC, Segal said.<\/p>\n Fang said the ombudsman was functioning effectively, along with the board and Acma.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure how another oversight body might function in addition to that existing oversight body, which already has the power to review and to examine the ABC\u2019s content,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The ABC receives a \u201chuge amount of organised campaigns where the complaints are identical, or similar\u201d about the Middle East war, ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron told the inquiry.<\/p>\n From October 2023 to May 2026, her office settled 19,000 content complaints of which 42% (8,000) were complaints about the ABC\u2019s coverage of Israel and Gaza.<\/p>\n They were often very emotional, she said, and from \u201cinterested parties\u201d.<\/p>\n Cameron said an episode of Q&A after 7 October 2023 had nearly 2,000 complaints that were \u201corganised\u201d and alleged the program was pro-Israel.<\/p>\n She said since then there was a definite trend towards campaigns complaining that their coverage is pro-Palestine. About a dozen campaigns in the last six months have delivered 50 to 100 complaints at least weekly.<\/p>\n The ABC said in a statement this week that Middle East coverage generates more complaints than any other topic, and that no complaints of bias in ABC News had been upheld by the ombudsman or investigated by Acma.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the six months July-December 2025, 51% of complaints claimed the ABC\u2019s Israel-Gaza coverage was broadly pro-Palestinian and 47% claimed it was broadly pro-Israel,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis indicates that perceptions of bias are arising from strongly held views across the community rather than systematic editorial favouritism.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been five breaches of editorial standards found by the ombudsman.<\/p>\n The commissioner, Virginia Bell, asked Segal how a committee that included people with a particular \u201cbandwagon\u201d would affect people\u2019s trust in the ABC\u2019s independence. Segal said the committee could be appointed without a Jewish representative as long as the members understood antisemitism.<\/p>\n The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion was established in response to the Bondi beach terror attack<\/a>, where 15 people were killed at a Hanukah event.<\/p>\n One theme of the hearings so far has been how to define antisemitism, and how to avoid conflating it with criticism of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, which a recent UN commission of inquiry described as a genocide<\/a> \u2013 a finding Israel has categorically rejected.<\/p>\n This block of hearings has so far focused on social media, how quickly antisemitic material can circulate on the platforms, the challenges in detecting and stopping it, and how some platforms barely try.<\/p>\n\u2018Organised campaigns\u2019 of complaints: ombudsman<\/h2>\n
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