Media watchdog clears Kyle Sandilands over Barnaby Joyce 'stream of invective'
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Version 0 of 1. Radio jock Kyle Sandilands has been cleared of any wrongdoing by broadcasting authorities for calling Barnaby Joyce a “wanker” and “just a gerbil of a thing” on his popular breakfast program on KISS 1065 FM. The agriculture minister’s office had complained to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) that Joyce was “subjected to a stream of invective” and was not given “an adequate opportunity” to respond to questions about Johnny Depp bringing his pet dogs into the country. Joyce had threatened to put down the Hollywood star’s dogs if he did not send them back to California because he had broken Australia’s strict biosecurity laws. “Mr Depp has to either take his dogs back to California or we are going to have to euthanise them,” Joyce said in May. “He’s now got about 50 hours left to remove the dogs.” Interviewed on Kyle & Jackie O’s breakfast program afterwards, Sandilands told Joyce he sounded “like an absolute clown” when he told Depp he would kill his dogs. Related: Johnny Depp's dogs: Barnaby Joyce wants Kyle Sandilands investigated “You sound like an idiot,” Sandilands told Joyce. “You should have reworded your statement. “Sound like a classy guy. You’re a government minister, not some idiot off the street mouthing off to a news camera. Have some decency.” Joyce responded: “Jeez Kyle, that seems interesting coming from you, mate. You’re the number one clown on radio.” After repeatedly talking over each other, Sandilands hung up on Joyce, calling him a “wanker” and a “loser”. Joyce was so incensed his office lodged a complaint with the ACMA. “Mr Joyce was also called ‘a loser’, ‘an idiot’, ‘a fool’, ‘a disgrace’, ‘an absolute joke’ and ‘a ponce’,” the complaint said. “After hanging up on Mr Joyce, Mr Sandilands described Mr Joyce as a ‘gerbil of a thing’, a phrase which has extremely ugly connotations.” But the ACMA ruled there had been no breach of the radio code of practice regarding generally accepted standards of decency or the code about the treatment of participants on air. “An ordinary reasonable listener would have understood from the broader context, including the framing comments and manner in which the interview was conducted, that Mr Sandilands held and expressed strong views about the public statements made by Mr Joyce, and that Mr Joyce wished to make particular points about the importance of the relevant customs regulations,” the ruling said. “The ACMA has previously noted that there is a culture of robust political debate and expression in Australia, including that directed from or at participants in such discourse. In this case, while the material within the broadcast did not reflect the courtesies or behaviours that many would prefer to see in public discourse, the absence of such courtesies and behaviours will not necessarily lead to a conclusion that material offends against generally accepted standards of decency. “In a robust interview on a subject of some political controversy, where a series of heated remarks were exchanged that escalated the tone and tenor of the language used, the phrases used by Mr Sandilands, while discourteous in terms of the conventions for political address, were not so threatening, abusive, vulgar or contemptuous that they were not suitable for broadcast.” Joyce criticised the decision: “Apparently you can now say what you like, when you like, to whomever you like. Slightly different to the 18C view, as long as you are Kyle Sandilands.” The minister questioned whether this was how those who advertise on the KIIS show wanted people to talk to their clients and customers. “Is this how their listeners want to be talked to by police, bank tellers, teachers, parents, or children?” he said. Depp’s Yorkshire terriers, Boo and Pistol, eventually left the country after an ultimatum from Joyce which warned the actor his pets must leave Australia or face being put down. |