Satirical Program Axed After Conservative Complaints

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a government-funded public broadcaster, has axed a popular weekly satirical current affairs program after one of its co-hosts, Corinne Grant, participated in protests against draconian changes to industrial relations laws. The axing of the The Glass House, which was rating well, follows complaints earlier this week by Liberal Party of Australia Senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells about Grant's opposition to the government's measures aimed at undermining the role of unions. In a statement the secretary of the Media, Entertainment Arts Alliance, Christopher Warren asked "has freedom of expression deteriorated so far in Australia that even satire is under attack, and entertainers must keep silent?" Wil Anderson, one of the other co-presenters, rejects the accusation that the program had an anti-government bias. "That's the thing about satire, you always attack those in power," he said. "You've got to attack the powerful. That's the point: they're powerful, why do they care?"