Channel Seven has attracted criticism for reporting on a meeting of far-right activists in Melbourne and interviewing one of the movement’s ringleaders, Blair Cottrell, while failing to mention Cottrell’s criminal history, which includes racial vilification. He has also expressed admiration for Hitler and claimed to have manipulated women “using violence and terror”.
On Sunday night Seven reported exclusively on a meeting of far-right groups which was attended by Cottrell, the head of the United Patriots Front. The reporter told viewers that “Seven News was the only news organisation invited inside the meeting”. The report said the members of the group did not not call themselves rightwing activists but described themselves as “patriots”.
“They have come together to help average Australians deal with what they are calling an immigrant crime crisis,” the report said. “They’re hoping to create a kind of neighbourhood watch.”
The segment then showed footage from an interview with Cottrell, who criticised the Victorian government and police for failing to address what he described as “a problem in this country”. The report failed to mention Cottrell’s criminal history, or to provide context to the meeting, including concerns that the African community is being targeted by far-right groups.
Federal politicians have attacked the Victorian government and judiciary for failing to tackle the issue, despite the Victorian police deputy commissioner Andrew Crisp stating that only a relatively small number of people of African background were being convicted of crimes.
Channel Seven initially declined to comment on the record when asked about the interview. Later on Monday Seven News director Simon Pristel said: “Seven News has reported on many meetings in the past couple of weeks held to discuss the African gang violence crisis, including governments, community leaders and police. Sunday’s meeting was newsworthy, so it was reported.”
Cottrell was convicted in 2012 and 2013 0f offences including arson, burglary and damaging property, and has expressed pro-Nazi views. In September he was one of three far-right activists found guilty, convicted and fined under Victoria’s racial vilification laws for inciting contempt, revulsion or ridicule of Muslims. These offences were not mentioned in the Channel Seven report.
This month the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, said people in Melbourne were “scared to go out to restaurants” because of “African gang violence”. Police statistics show the majority of crimes in Victoria are committed by people born in Australia. About 1.5% of offenders in Victoria are Sudanese-born, the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria says, although it cautions that the statistics are far from comprehensive.
The lead author of the Monitoring Racial Profiling report from the Australian National University, Tamar Hopkins, said many mainstream media outlets were taking an “uncritical approach” to crime.
“And that is quite scary when you have what is basically white supremacist vigilantism at work and other perspectives aren’t being put forward,” she said.
“It’s a really strange time we’ve entered into where the media can get away with this kind of behaviour ... What keeps getting missed in all of this is Africans are already heavily discriminated against and here we have an organised group planning to target them. Dog-whistling by Dutton seems to have given licence to news agencies to carry on with these kinds of stories.”
My father fought against nazis, spent years in a German POW camp and watched them take all the Jewish POWs away - it turns out to Auschwitz. He wouldn’t be happy with Seven promoting Jew-hating neo-nazis. https://t.co/qnPtyhJzd9
— Craig Emerson (@DrCraigEmerson) January 15, 2018
According to Channel 7, he's not a nazi - he's just being neighbourly. 😒 "United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell details criminal history https://t.co/qh2Hogm6HG
— Karen Wyld (@1KarenWyld) January 14, 2018
Hey @7NewsMelbourne stop repeating Dutton’s racist talking points.
— Francis Awaritefe (@FrancisAwartefe) January 14, 2018
This is disgraceful journalism.
There is no ‘African youth crime crisis’ in Melbourne. @VictoriaPolice has confirmed as much. https://t.co/SCGgnd185j
Hey @7NewsMelbourne did you broadcast the expert local opinion of a guy who says Jews are parasites? Good job. Great newsing. Or...maybe...Get your shit together. https://t.co/mJPxieuqZp
— Charlie Pickering (@charliepick) January 14, 2018
