ABC's 'biased' coronation coverage under investigation

• By Avi Yemini

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The ABC’s coverage of King Charles’ coronation will be investigated by the broadcaster’s own ombudsman after outrage at perceived bias.

The ABC was inundated with complaints about the coverage which criticised the monarchy for colonisation and genocide against Indigenous people.

At one point in the coverage, Australian Republic Movement boss Craig Foster said the Crown was “at the heart of the wound in this nation”.

Other panellists - Q&A host Stan Grant, and Indigenous lawyer Teela Reid - were scathing in their view of the Royal Family.

The ABC reportedly received more than a thousand complaints, with many people accusing the national broadcaster of breaching its editorial guidelines.

The complaints will be investigated by the ABC ombudsman's office which will report its findings to the board, chaired by Ita Buttrose.

Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who was the sole monarchist on the ABC’s coronation coverage panel, said the ABC “got it wrong”.

“To have only one of four panellists as supporters of our existing constitutional arrangements meant there was little opportunity for a panel discussion that reflected the warmth and respect Australians have for King Charles,” he said.

The Australian Monarchist League national chair Philip Benwell said the ABC’s pre-Coronation programme was “specifically designed to attack the Constitution and the Crown”.

Melbourne radio broadcaster Neil Mitchell said the public broadcaster needed to be held accountable for badly misreading the mood of the nation.

“Somebody in the ABC needs to be accountable for this, as the national broadcaster it should have been the place you go to see the coverage of the coronation, instead you see all this bitterness about our Indigenous history,” he said.