A furious Dick Smith has slammed the ABC for what he claims is a ‘treasonous’ attempt to shut down debate about population growth.
The entrepreneur was the subject of a segment on the panel show The Drum on Wednesday night which he claims was ‘full of lies’.
Mr Smith says the program portrayed him as anti-immigration when he is in fact in favour of immigration, and Australia’s national broadcaster is ‘verging on being traitorous’ by stifling discussion.
A furious Dick Smith (pictured at the ABC asking to speak to someone about the segment)) has slammed the ABC for what he claims is a ‘treasonous’ attempt to shut down debate about population growth
At one point during the panel discussion Toby Ralph, a marketing strategist, suggested Mr Smith (pictured outside the ABC asking to speak to someone about the segment) was planning to donate money to One Nation
The entrepreneur was the subject of a segment on the panel show The Drum (pictured is presenter Julia Baird) on Wednesday night which he claims was ‘full of lies’
At one point during the panel discussion Toby Ralph, a marketing strategist, suggested Mr Smith was planning to donate money to One Nation.
‘I’m very concerned he’s [Dick Smith] a guy who won’t vote for a party [One Nation] he is about to give $2million to.’
Mr Smith said he will not be donating money to any political party, but will instead run an ad campaign to support any party with a population policy.
Later in the episode the same panellist said: ‘It says on my ABC briefing right here that it is a stunt,’ after another panelist said Mr Smith’s comments accusing the ABC of bias were a publicity stunt.
Mr Smith (pictured) went to the ABC’s offices in Sydney at 4:30pm on Thursday asking to speak to a producer, but says no one would come down to see him
Mr Smith (pictured) says the program portrayed him as anti-immigration when he is in fact in favour of immigration, and the national broadcaster is ‘verging on traitors to Australia’ by stifling discussion
Mr Smith says this shows participants on ABC discussion panels receive biased briefing notes from the national broadcaster and succumb to groupthink.
The outspoken businessman told Daily Mail Australia population growth is a taboo topic on the ABC, and after raising it on a panel he has never been invited back.
Mr Smith went to the ABC’s offices in Sydney at 4:30pm on Thursday asking to speak to a producer, but says no one would come down to see him.
‘I don’t know if they are scared, they are so biased but I’m prepared to stand up to them,’ he said.
‘I don’t know if they are scared, they are so biased but I’m prepared to stand up to them,’ Mr Smith (pictured at the ABC on Thrusday) said
Mr Smith travelled to the ABC after being discussed on a segment of The Drum (pictured is panellist Alan Kirkland)
Mr Smith claims the panel was an example of ABC bias and accused the broadcaster of misreprenting him (pictured is panellist Mark Kenny)
The ABC segment began with a clip of Mr Smith speaking to Channel Nine with ‘Anti-immigration Ad’ in large capital letters.
Mr Smith says this is an example the of ABC’s methods of distorting his views and shutting down free and open debate on the subject.
He says he has spoken to politicians who agree with his views on population growth but if they mention population ‘the ABC will call them racist’.
‘It’s bad for democracy,’ he said.
Mr Smith (pictured) says he has spoken to politicians who agree with his views on population growth but if they mention population ‘the ABC will call them racist’
Mr Smith says his ad campaign (pictured) warns of uncontrolled population growth, and he would like to see Australia’s population level off at about 30 million
‘It’s intentionally done to intimidate and stop people from talking about the issue as they should.’
Mr Smith says he is a fan of ABC shows like Utopia, it is his favourite channel, and he likes ABC radio, but TV news and current affairs programs are ‘very biased’.
His manifesto for the Dick Smith Fair Go group calls for immigration numbers to return ‘to the long-term average of 70,000 per annum (it is now 200,000) and increase our humanitarian program to 20,000 per annum (from an average of about 14,800 over the last 10 years).’
Mr Smith says this was the norm under the Paul Keating government, and wanting immigration capped at 70,000 does not make him anti-immigration.
Mr Smith (pictured, right, outside the ABC on Thursday) says he is a fan of ABC shows like Utopia, it is his favourite channel, and he likes ABC radio but TV news and current affairs programs are ‘very biased’
Mr Smith (pictured) says he believes eight out of 10 Australians are in favour of a population policy, but their elected representatives refuse to deliver, partly because they fear being called racist by the ABC
He says his ad campaign warns of uncontrolled population growth, and he would like to see Australia’s population level off at about 30 million.
The entrepreneur also took exception to what he called a ‘distortion’ of his plans to run an advertising campaign in marginal seats before the next election.
Mr Smith says he believes eight out of 10 Australians are in favour of a population policy, but their elected representatives refuse to deliver, partly because they fear being called racist by the ABC.
He pointed to a poll conducted during an appearance on Today Tonight where 99% of respondents supported his position.
‘Normally politicians reflect what the public wants, but in this case politicians tell me they can’t mention it because they will be crucified, especially by the ABC,’ said Mr Smith (pictured, right, outside the ABC)
Mr Smith said he will not be donating money to One Nation (pictured is leader Pauline Hanson) as suggested on the panel
‘Normally politicians reflect what the public wants, but in this case politicians tell me they can’t mention it because they will be crucified, especially by the ABC,’ he said.
An ABC spokesperson said: ‘The Drum panellists are invited on to talk about a variety of topics, their opinions are their own and we don’t control what they say.’
‘The panellists last night – Georgina Downer from the Institute of Public Affairs,marketing strategist Toby Ralph, CHOICE CEO Alan Kirkland and Fairfax Media national affairs editor Mark Kenny – expressed a range of views on Dick Smith’s campaign on population and other topics. Mr Smith’s campaign on population was fully covered.’
‘It was a Nine Network graphic that used the term “anti-immigration”. The discussion around Mr Smith donating money to One Nation was based on Mr Smith’s comments, which have been widely reported on.’
An ABC spokesperson said: ‘The Drum panellists (pictured_ are invited on to talk about a variety of topics, their opinions are their own and we don’t control what they say’
‘The ABC did not distort Mr Smith’s comments. There was no such briefing note. The claims by Mr Smith concerning ABC News are untrue and not supported by any evidence.’
‘The ABC has no position on the issue of population growth, has no ban on reporting on this subject, and has issued no decrees or any other type of instruction to staff about reporting on this issue.’
‘The ABC regularly reports on Mr Smith’s views, including in long-form interviews, news stories and a documentary.’
‘In 2010 the ABC aired an entire documentary plus related online content on this issue, called “Dick Smith’s Population Puzzle”.’