Sky News Australia has announced The Adam Giles Show will be reviewed and placed “in recess” after it broadcast an interview with far-right extremist Blair Cottrell.
The channel’s chief executive, Angelos Frangopoulos, also announced that Cottrell, who has previously said he wanted a portrait of Adolf Hitler in every school classroom, would “not be back on the channel” after his invitation sparked outrage.
On Sunday night, Giles, the former chief minister of the Northern Territory, invited Cottrell onto his program to discuss his views on immigration and politics.
Cottrell has previously expressed an admiration for Hitler, has admitted to using “violence and terror” to “manipulate women,” and has been convicted of violent assault, intimidation and racial vilification.
The channel apologized on Sunday night, but after sustained anger yesterday, Frangopolous announced that the show would be placed “in recess” and Greg Byrnes, the channel’s news director, would be moved into a newly created role of acting program director.
Kaycie Bradford is to be the new acting news director.
“We deeply regret featuring the interview on our channel,” Frangopoulos wrote. “It was an error of judgement.”
Earlier yesterday, former Labor minister Craig Emerson announced he would immediately resign from his role as a Sky News commentator as a result of Cottrell’s interview.
“My father fought Nazis in WWII and was interred in a German POW camp,” he wrote. “The decision to allow Cottrell onto the channel was another step in a journey to normalising racism & bigotry in our country.”
David Shoebridge, a Greens party lawmaker, said he would refuse all offers to go on Sky “until it gives a full apology and clear commitment to never again air this man’s hateful views.”
He called on all MPs to follow his lead.
In the interview, Giles asked Cottrell what he thought about US President Donald Trump’s ideas and the mix of immigration in Australia.
He told Giles that Australia should accept only skilled migrants. He advocated taking all the white farmers from South Africa and stopping immigration from the rest of the world.
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