Daily Mail misconstrues Ray Martin’s contempt for ‘nonsensical’ no slogan and Ampol fuels Walkley scholarship

Ray Martin was clear about his contempt for the slogan “If you don’t know, vote no” when he spoke last week at an Indigenous voice to parliament yes rally. “What a stupid, nonsensical slogan that is,” the veteran TV presenter said. “If you don’t know, find out what you don’t know. What that asinine slogan is saying is if you’re a dinosaur or a dickhead who can’t be bothered reading, then vote no.”

Several days later the Daily Mail got its hands on the video of the event at the Factory theatre in Marrickville and claimed Martin had targeted no voters rather than the no campaign’s slogan. The story led to three days of attacks on the multiple Gold Logie winner from everyone from the usual shock jocks to the opposition leader, Peter Dutton.

“Ray Martin launches extraordinary three-word attack on Voice to Parliament No voters”, was the headline on the Daily Mail report which said Martin had labelled no voters dinosaurs and dickheads and had “ripped into no voters”.

Martin told Weekly Beast his point had been misconstrued in “exactly the same” way the no campaign claimed Marcia Langton had branded no voters as racist or stupid last month, an allegation the Indigenous leader also vehemently denied.

Martin said he had sent a journalist from the West Australian his full speech so it would be clear what he was saying – “as against what the Daily Mail is saying”.

The former host of A Current Affair was invited back on the show that made him a household name, only to be confronted by Allison Langdon editorialising that Martin had created division with his “inflammatory” words. Langdon repeatedly asked whether he regretted his comments or the language he used. The story was promoted as Ray Martin’s rude rant.

Martin gave no ground. “What I found offensive is the stupid slogan saying ‘If you don’t know, vote no’ – that is an endorsement of ignorance,” he told an indignant Langdon.

“If you don’t know, find out what you don’t know. It’s such an important vote, please find out what it’s about and vote accordingly.”

Martin told Beast “dickhead” was not the most offensive thing he’s ever said and the Nine radio hosts Ray Hadley and Ben Fordham use the term “all the time”.

“I said to Ally, with respect, it’s not exactly neo-Nazi stuff,” Martin said. “And she kept saying, ‘Would you like to take it back?’ And I said no.”

Seven brings back the ‘worm’

Martin, who in the early 1990s discovered that his great, great-grandmother was a Kamilaroi woman, returns to the tabloid TV fold on Sunday when he will be one of four panellists on Seven News’ Spotlight: The Voice Final Pitch. Alongside Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Martin will argue the yes case against senators Lidia Thorpe and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price who back voting no.

For the election-style event, Seven is bringing back the “worm”, which it has called the pulse, an interactive tool to gauge undecided voters’ reactions in real time. The worm made its first appearance in 1993 during a TV debate between the then Labor prime minister, Paul Keating, and the opposition leader, John Hewson.

Sky News Australia’s leading no advocate, Andrew Bolt, has criticised Martin’s inclusion on the panel, asking if he is “really Aboriginal in any meaningful way”.

Petrol giant fuels Walkley scholarship

The Walkley Foundation had no choice but to mention its controversial sponsor, the fossil fuel company Ampol, in an announcement of the winners of the inaugural Walkley opportunity scholarship this week.

“The scholarship has been introduced, with support from Ampol, to address a lack of employment pathways and career opportunities for journalists from socio-economically disadvantaged communities in Australia,” the Walkleys said.

But the presence of Ampol has caused the Walkleys a major embarrassment as cartoonists, led by John Kudelka, boycotted the awards in droves.

The foundation is yet to announce the result of a review of its sponsorship policy which allowed the petroleum giant to pump tens of thousands of dollars into the journalism awards.

For now Ampol’s managing director and chief executive, Matt Halliday, is part of the Walkleys community. “Journalists and the media play a critical role in shaping society today and tomorrow, which is why it’s so important to nurture and invest in our media commentators of the future,” Halliday said.

“Congratulations to the two deserving recipients of the Walkley Opportunity Scholarship. We hope they make the most of this brilliant opportunity as they undertake their respective placements.”

Nyibol Gatluak and Liam Murphy will undertake 10-week placements at SBS and AAP in Sydney in early 2024.

Neighbours’ poor ratings

Just three weeks into its second life Neighbours has been bumped by Channel 10 after poor ratings.

The long-running Australian soap opera stopped broadcasting in July last year and was resurrected by the streaming giant Amazon for a new series which launched on 18 September in a 4.30pm time slot. But on Monday the revamped Neighbours had just 99,000 metro viewers and local broadcaster Ten decided the long-running US soapie The Bold and the Beautiful was a better lead-in to the 5pm news bulletin. From Monday Neighbours will screen at 4pm.

Chris Lilley finds a home on Binge

Three years after Netflix removed four comedy series created by Chris Lilley from its platform in Australia and New Zealand, the comedian’s hit shows have been brought back into circulation by the News Corp-owned platform Binge.

There was no media announcement, just a few posts on social media, which were well received by fans.

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement Lilley was criticised for racial stereotyping and “brown face” characters including Jonah from Tonga and African American rapper S.mouse.

“Watching Summer Heights High more than a decade ago, I felt sick with disgust that a white man was commissioned to depict a specific diasporic Tongan identity of a young disadvantaged boy of low economic status and challenging circumstance,” Tongan performer, presenter and educator Seini F Taumoepeau wrote for Guardian Australia.

Originally produced by Princess Pictures for the ABC, the four programs which were removed were Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes and Jonah From Tonga.

Is three years long enough in the wilderness after being cancelled, we wondered?

A Binge spokesperson said: “This week, Binge made several shows by Chris Lilley available on the platform. Binge aims to provide entertainment for all tastes, and as an on-demand streaming service, viewers have the choice to watch the content they want.”

Lilley’s Jaime Private School has also been made available on Nine-owned Stan.

Joe Aston closes a career window

The Australian Financial Review has announced the departure of its Rear Window columnist Joe Aston after 12 years.

Aston occasionally made headlines himself, including when his employer was ordered to pay damages and costs to venture capitalist Elaine Stead after the columnist called her a “feminist cretin”.

A former media adviser to the former Liberal minister Joe Hockey, Aston was not a member of the union and wrote about working when his fellow Fairfax Media colleagues were out on strike.

Aston earned the ire of News Corp by poking fun at Rupert Murdoch and his editors, a move which was followed by the company sending a snapper to stake out his apartment in 2015.

Editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury was effusive in his praise and said Aston was leaving “with our best wishes”. There was no hint of what Aston, who is leaving within a week, will do next.

But Aston did give Stutch a big rap on his way out, saying “there is no editor in Australia like Michael Stutchbury and I am supremely grateful for his backing over the years”.

We would have to agree that Aston was happy with his editors – he appeared to have carte blanche to say whatever he liked.