Andrew Bolt, the News Corp columnist and critic of the ABC, will appear in a “provocative” documentary about Indigenous recognition to be screened by the broadcaster in 2017.
Bolt, a prominent critic of Indigenous recognition in the constitution, announced the surprise move on his popular blog on Tuesday.
The ABC confirmed Bolt would appear in the one-off independent documentary, I Can Change Your Mind About Recognition, in which two people with opposing views on the topic travel the country and debate the issues. Bolt’s sparring partner will be Indigenous politician Linda Burney.
Commissioned by the ABC last year and funded by Screen Australia, the 55-minute film is being produced by Simon Nasht and Ruth Cross.
In 2012 the ABC screened a similar project by Nasht, I Can Change Your Mind About Climate, in which “two passionate, intelligent and successful Australians go on a journey of mutual discovery to see if they can change each other’s minds”.
The film starred the former Liberal senator Nick Minchin and the then chair of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Anna Rose.
“I am going to be very busy on a project for the ABC, of all things, over the next couple of weeks,” Bolt announced on Tuesday afternoon. “I will drop in now and then when mood and events dictate.
Screen Australia described the program as a “provocative one-off documentary” which “follows two fierce individuals who travel the nation with opposing views about the referendum on Indigenous recognition”.
Bolt left his semi-regular spot as a commentator on the ABC’s Insiders program in 2011 after a decade-long stretch. The Bolt Report on Channel Ten, his New Corp-funded TV vehicle, will remain on air.
On his last appearance on the ABC in 2011 Bolt said: “It’s nearly 10 years that we’ve been on air and I’ve come to really appreciate and rely on the support I’ve got. I love ABC viewers, thank you very much.”
The ABC is one of the commentator’s favourite targets. “No healthy democracy can afford a state-funded media this big,” he wrote last year. “The ABC has four TV stations and five radio stations in every city, as well as an online newspaper, bookshops and a publishing house.
“SBS has two TV stations (three, including the Indigenous one) and four radio stations. This an overwhelming presence. No private media comes close in size. In fact, there are laws against it.
“This megasize would be a problem even if the ABC and SBS were balanced and not relentlessly pushing the left’s creeds of global warming, ‘reconciliation’, mass immigration, multiculturalism, same-sex marriage and the predictable rest.”
- This article was modified on 9 December 2015 to include the identity of Bolt’s sparring partner once it became known.
