Our Very ‘Aussie’ ABC (Naked City)

With her sudden popularity of a few months ago now seemingly on the wane, Pauline Hanson’s political promises just become more extreme. One such One Nation vendetta bait that demands close attention is her plan to close down SBS altogether and greatly reduce the ABC, retaining some of its rural services but turning what’s left of its national output into a pay to view subscriber system.

Like many of her wild threats there is a complete lack of detail but it’s not hard to see why she is out to wield the axe.

Destroying multi-cultural broadcaster SBS falls exactly within her promotion of a monocultural society, often defined at her rallies by draping a good old Aussie flag around the neck and concluding with exalted cries of ‘Oi Oi Oi’. Like her t-shirts the flags are probably printed in Bangladesh, likewise the ‘Ois’ derived from another nation’s footy crowd chant. More about that later but here’s the real irony with One Nation’s threatened hatchet job on the ABC.

Pauline justifies it by saying the broadcaster is too left leaning, has been unfairly critical of One Nation and therefore needs to be brought to its editorial knees. As a promoter of all things iconically Australian she is blind to the fact that perhaps no organisation during the past fifty years has better defined this country than the ABC – through both TV, radio and its strong web presence. Whether it’s exposes of crime and corruption in numerous documentaries and programs like Four Corners – a current affairs perspective that is essential for any real democracy – endless cultural, light entertainment and sporting content and music shows like Countdown and Rage, the ABC is everywhere.

How many Aussie kids were raised on programs such as Play School and Mr Squiggle, not to mention the current hit series Bluey? Whilst ABC TV does run some foreign content, it prioritises local productions, unlike the commercial channels who rely heavily on imported American dross or the Australian franchise of the same. Good Lord, Hanson wants to rip off Mr Squiggle’s nose and drive it through the heart of our beloved Bluey, traumatising millions of kids around the country!

Her campaign speeches are often littered with references to those icons that she sees as quintessentially Aussie and will unite us all as “one” country. It’s like her mind is constantly rummaging through a tacky Australiana souvenir shop, always looking for that item or name to drop that will fire up the hearts of her MAGA like supporters. Often it comes back to bite her when she pulls out a line from “True Blue” John Williamson, who wrote two open letters criticising her stance on immigration or a mention of Paul Hogan who declared her a racist and a pelican to boot – unfair to pelicans of course.

The best Trump could do in recruiting musical celebrities for his rallies and other MAGA events were The Village People and Kid Rock – not exactly your top line acts and most of the music and movie communities in the US have turned their backs on him. The One Nation propaganda crew would dearly love a classic Aussie singalong ditty for their campaign anthem and Slim Newton’s Redback On The Toilet Seat just ain’t gonna cut it. Then again a lot of the anti-Hanson lobby have suggested a reworking of Joe Dolce’ top forty hit Shaddap Your Face with Hanson supporters feverishly belting it out, not quite realising they might be subconsciously telling their beloved leader to shut her silly trap.

Until then can they please explain what monoculturalism really means to us, unless of course were are talking about North Korea, Whilst I await an answer I’ll be heading straight to Cabramatta for the best Bai Mai sandwich in town. In the meantime let’s treasure an organisation that is very much the heart and soul of the nation along with its little sibling, SBS. Unlike the attention seeking shock jocks and extreme right wing commentators who populate other media outlets, pouring out all their cheap prejudices and bigotry, the ABC stands for a kind of common decency that all Australians should embrace. Sure it’s by no means perfect and always open to improvement but if you are looking for something that is “quintessentially” Australian, look no further.

As for Hanson and the battle cry of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi Oi Oi” that often concludes her rallies and meetings, couldn’t they have latched onto something more originally Australian? The ‘Ois’ are largely derived from a 1960s UK Rugby supporter chant, ‘Oggy Oggy Oggy’ although a popular Korean comic strip ‘Red Larva’, commonly adapted as an internet meme, often had its main character mouthing the phrase. Then there’s the long held historical reference that Norwegian pig farmers often blurted the phrase as they encouraged their boars to commence mating. Whoops, it’s all getting a bit multi-cultural, better not go there!

When ABC Radio broadcaster James Valentine died earlier this year a memorial was held at the Sydney Town Hall with a huge turnout of listeners and supporters in attendance to pay tribute. James typified everything that was positive about the ABC with his good natured, often quirky and humorous approach to current affairs and popular social issues. Long may that tradition continue!