ABC sources toldThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age the episode was blocked after news director Gaven Morris “upwardly referred” it to Mr Anderson for final approval. The sources said the story was originally set to run in May and had been approved by the corporation’s legal department and its head of investigations,John Lyons. Questions about the episode were put to the Prime Minister’s office earlier in the week.
The QAnon conspiracy theory centres on discredited claims about an international paedophile ring involving politicians and celebrities.The Guardianreported in 2019 that a family friend of the Prime Minister is a key follower of the movement.The Age and theHerald have not seen any evidence of a relationship between Mr Morrison and a QAnon supporter and does not suggest that one exists.
An ABC spokesperson said the public broadcaster does not comment on upcomingFour Corners episodes.
“The ABC did not ‘pull’ a story from broadcast. Any suggestion to the contrary is misleading and mischievous,” the spokesperson said. “All ABC content is subject to the same rigorous editorial decision-making processes before being published. The decision to publish is only made once all requirements,including editorial and legal requirements,have been met and it is appropriate to do so.”
The episode could still air at some point in the future.
The ABC sources,who spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the matter,said the decision was made days after Mr Morris received a call from the Prime Minister’s office. The call was about a range of matters includingFour Corners’ episode about Mr Porter and the upcoming episode about Mr Morrison,the sources said. A spokesman for the Prime Minister declined to comment.
Another ABC source said theFour Cornersteam had asked political editor Andrew Probyn to question the Prime Minister on its QAnon story at his press conference in Canberra on Thursday. When contacted,Probyn declined to comment. At the press conference,he did not ask about QAnon,but instead about the Victorian lockdown.