By Alan Austin
An interview on the 7.30 Report in November asserted falsely that poverty in Australia was worsening under the Albanese Government. That segment, as shown in an earlier analysis last month, reported that 22% of Australian renters are now living below the poverty line and 50% of renters in social housing are in poverty. Dreadful!
Additionally, unemployed workers are experiencing multiple deprivations at five times the rate of the general population, and young people on JobSeeker are 14 times more likely to be going without a substantial meal a day. Appalling!
The ABC failed to disclose, however, that the shameful research findings it presented were collected several years before Labor took office.
The official response to the complaint makes even more damning admissions regarding the profound ignorance of ABC News personnel. The full text of the response has been published in the comments section of another journal here. It prompted this corrective.
Open letter to the ABC
Dear ABC Ombudsman’s Office investigating officers,
Thank you for your email of 3 December following the complaint about the 7.30 interview with ACOSS Chief Executive Cassandra Goldie.
Regrettably, your reply raises more concerns.
First, there is no basis for claiming “that viewers would understand that the data presented in the report is based on a longer-term study”. Nowhere in the program was it disclosed that the damning situation described prevailed between 2014 and 2021. The entire discussion was in the present tense.
This is a major deception, and should be a sackable offence.
Second, its is blatantly false to claim “that Ms Goldie’s comments are based on the latest available data”. They most definitely were not. The Bureau of Statistics and multiple other agencies have tracked the recent reductions in poverty and surges in wealth. None of these was referenced in the segment. No current figures were quoted.
Your most astonishing comment is “we are not aware of any evidence to suggest that the figures quoted have changed substantially in the last two years.”
That is frankly appalling. Extensive evidence proves Australia’s economic situation today is vastly different from two years ago.
Australia’s economy has gone from close to the worst-managed in the OECD, according to data from the IMF, the UBS, the World Bank, the OECD, Trading Economics and elsewhere, to near the top today.
The ABC’s unawareness of these major shifts is an indictment on its inability to monitor critical data.
The following are just 19 datasets which expose the falsity of the 7.30 segment, chosen from a much larger list. Click the links for the original data.
1. Age pensions lifted
The single-age pension is up from $967.50 fortnightly when Labor took office to $1,144.40 now, an increase of 18.3%. Inflation over that period has been 10.3%.
2. Higher incomes for the disadvantaged
The fortnightly single youth allowance for living away from home is up from $430.40 in 2022 to $663.30 today, a lift of 54.1%.
The Guardian described these reforms as ‘the biggest lift in decades’. The ABC and ACOSS should know this.
3. Inflation controlled
Monthly inflation was 2.15% last October, down from 6.12% in May 2022. The headline rate has been within the Reserve Bank’s optimum band for three months now. See chart below.
4. Record wage rises
Average weekly earnings increased 5.85% in the year to May 2024, the highest annual rise since records began.
Weekly minimum wages were lifted 12.6% in 2022, from $812.60 to $915.90, the strongest real increase on record.
5. Wages outpacing inflation
Wage rises over the last four quarters have all been above the inflation rate, reversing the situation Labor inherited.
6. Surge in financial wellbeing
Bureau of Statistics data released several weeks before the 7.30 Report’s mendacious segment showed household wealth had risen in the 2024 June quarter for the seventh consecutive quarter to a thumping $16.48 trillion. This was 13.2% more than two years prior and 23.7% – almost one quarter – higher than three years ago. See chart below.
7. Greater share of the world’s wealth
The UBS global wealth report shows Australia’s median wealth per adult is now US$261,805. This ranks second in the world, up from fourth in 2020 and 2022.
8. Workers’ share of the national pie
The share of gross national income going to employees is up from 49.3% in June 2022 to 53.5% last September. That’s the highest since September 2016. See chart below.
9. Enhanced support for the disadvantaged
Social benefits paid to needy Australians have averaged 6.08% of GDP over the last four quarters. That contrasts with 5.44% in 2018 and 2019.
10. Best jobs outcomes
The employment to population ratio has been above 64.1% for the last six months. This is the first time this has been achieved since records began. The job participation rate hit 67.0 % for the first time last July and has stayed there since.
11. More hours remunerated
The underemployment ratio fluctuated between 8.4% and 14.5% through 2015 to 2020. It is now down to 6.3%.
12. Lift in quality of life
Household spending hit a record $220.1 billion for the 2024 September quarter, 8.9% higher than two years earlier.
13. Spending boom confirmed
Consumer spending hit 16.5% of GDP last June, then reached 16.7% in September, both all-time highs.
14. Record luxury item purchases
Expenditure on cosmetics and dining out hit an all-time high 21.0% of all retail sales in May 2023 and has remained at or above that level since.
15. Overseas travel
Residents returning from trips abroad in the year to October 2024 numbered a record 9.84 million.
16. More new home loans
Housing finance exceeded $90 billion in the 2024 September quarter, up 22.1% on the previous year.
17. Unemployment dramatically reduced
JobSeeker claimants have been below 5.5% of the labour force for more than a year, the lowest on record. This was 6.6% when Labor took office.
18. Emergency accommodation clients declining
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows homelessness has declined every year since Labor won office. Homeless clients declined from 117.4 per 10,000 population in 2018 to 105.1 in 2024.
19. Demand for emergency assistance
Calls to the National Debt Helpline are now substantially below historic levels and continue to decline.
Calls for help in 2024 totalled 148,607, well under the 2016 tally of 150,917 when the program began, and 15.8% below the 2018 high of 176,472.
These outcomes confirm the Albanese Government is succeeding impressively in shifting wealth and income towards the majority and is reducing poverty dramatically.
Please ensure that newsroom staff are aware of all these databases so false narratives such as that aired by the 7.30 Report last November are not repeated.
Yours faithfully,
Alan Austin
This open letter was first published in Independent Australia.
See also:
Democracy and diversity: media ownership in Australia
Amy Remeikis access debate divides
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Ah but that all sounds too good to be true and such a hard sell when a cheap slogan like ‘Cost of living crisis’
Cost of living crisis
Cost of living crisis
cost of living crisis
cost of living crisis
cost of living crisis is a far more compelling slogan than actually looking at boring facts. Having to actually look at DETAIL.
No, cost of living crisis, cost of living crisis, cost of living crisis…… etc.
It would be interesting to see the demographic of those who watch the 7:30 Report, how many of them are oldish, sitting on substantial assets. How many of them are feeling the ‘cost of living crisis’ the ABC has continued to headline both on the 7:30 report and in their news broadcasts…. and even how many of their presenters are suffering under that ‘cost of living crisis’.
If Newscorp hacks keep being appointed to senior management positions, what the fuck else could we expect?
The only advantage Aunty has over the shit media is no ads.
Agree, underpinned by a collective or RW MSM and influencers on social media, to campaign vs. ALP on the LNP being better economic managers.
Further, the ‘cost of living’ trope is just that and transnational in the Anglosphere, while for many middle and lower income it’s permanent, like 24/7/365 anti-ALP campaigning.
Worse with the ABC etc. is how RW MSM business/economics journalists bypass their own specific disciplinary boundaries, and defy rules of social science 101 used to argue vs. renewables, immigrants and ‘woke’.
Comes down to suboptimal data, finance and science/research process literacies e.g. incomes and demography. The latter in media focuses on temporary NOM churn over (int’l students) mislabelled as ‘immigration’ for nativist media headlines and dog whistling, but ignores the long term elephant in the room, an ageing permanent population and rising old age dependency ratios (65+ years/20-64).
In turn our statistically inflated estimated population, with 100s of thousands of students, backpackers etc. supporting working age cohort, but diluting per capita income or GDP; then RW MSM making invalid international comparisons defying both social science and stats 101.
A Canadian former ALP consultant and a local indie journalists complained how Australian media are ignorant of how the issues they present or talk about are transnational, neither unique nor valid.
The axis of fossil fuels/renewables – woke – cost of living crisis – housing criss – immigration/population; worse is how many educated of the right through left fall for it…..
PS Anecdotes on cost of living one has heard seem more like Oz middle age/class/income victimhood e.g. swanning around Europe, complaining about cost of living crisis, electricity prices, ‘high immigration’ etc., but shocked to be asked how they can afford to travel? Robotic or reflexive whining….
The ABC radio in particular like to slip in a hard-luck story most mornings but many of these stories don’t stand up to scrutiny.
Shortly before Christmas ABC RN reported that ‘a single mother of three with one on the way’ was finding it hard to buy Christmas goodies for her family. My wife pointed out that if she had three kids with one on the way, surely she could not be considered a single mum ?
Last week they breathlessly reported that senior citizens were selling up their homes and migrating to houseboats to live on and save money. One person interviewed stated that her mooring birth was costing $900 a month and “where would she be able to rent an apartment for that sort of money?”. For a start she had evidently sold a home-unit and purchased the houseboat so ‘rental’ comparisons were irrelevant. Secondly, the mooring cost is just the start, the connection for such watercraft by way of electricity, water and importantly sewerage are substantial and ongoing as are the maintenance costs associated with a houseboat.
The ABC seem to have adopted Mark Zuckerberg’s philosophy of not doing any fact-checking or even exploring the content of their reporting.
This is how Tramp and the MAGAts stole the USAnian election: false reporting in mainstream media about economic conditions. It worked there and it will probably work here. Lies, lies, and more lies and far too few people and institutions prepared to call out the liars.
sadly Harry almost true for the abc has plenty of ads.
The abc 24 show began july 2010 at the height of the rabbott’s bullshit. Being a recent retiree, I was excited at the extension of ABC news and being recently retired took to watching.
But from the start it was a tool for the libs and easily controlled by the media savvy rabbott. The commentators had modelled themselves on and were copies of the 7/9 autocueists. The norm was attack gillard with ‘have you stopped beating you hair dresser’ and treated the Rabbott with deference ‘would you like me to nod whilst you talk, MrRabbott?
The defining moment came when a camera crew spent a whole morning camped in front of a house in melb with frequent crosses in case Mr Rabbott was coming out to speak. After 4 or 5 hours of waiting he came out introduced the candidate and left. It is at best marginally better than 7, 9, 10 or sky.
Leaving, only 4, 30 minute snippets, where an ABC interviewer showed he had researched his questions, only he showed an ability to listen to answers and follow up with fact based questions. How I miss him still and wish for his ilk on the ABC.
PS
Well said, Cockoo,
The ABC crawler notes META, in the honour of free speech, will not fact check trump, musk or AI. By Adam’s letter the ABC has already accepted a fact unchecked policy
IF is such a little word.
IF those from Aunty had been doing their jobs properly, as in providing UNbiased, true assessments of critical information spouted by various political and other influential persons, Australia would be in a far better position.
Nucular would not be a thing. Interest rates would be down (a bit) already. The Robodebt taskforce would have had heads on stakes for all to see. Ms Murphy’s gambling reforms would have sailed through in full, and the liarbrals would be unelectable regardless of who leads them.
But why should the truth be allowed to get in the way of a good headline/story/ratings?
It’s all about the cliks and likes.
Ever since mr Newman was made chairman we have been in trouble, regardless of what comes out of their mouths.
ABC News & Current Affairs has become a stink show of dissembling, lies and lies by omission and biases favoring the LNP or dissing Labor, on all matters that affect or are of Oz politics. On almost every occasion, when Labor make an announcement, they only obtain commentary from the LNP or their flunkies, without reply to that commentary by Labor.