First Palestinian MP condemns SBS’ ‘interventionist’ Palestine policy

Basem Abdo, the first federal member of parliament of Palestinian Arab descent, called out SBS’s decision to continue referring to Palestine as the Occupied Palestinian Territories; The public broadcaster claimed that its staff had no issues with this decision.

Abdo, the Labor MP and member for Calwell in Victoria, told the House of Representatives on Thursday that SBS’s updated editorial guidance, reported by this imprint on Wednesday, was contrary to the government’s historic move to recognize the State of Palestine and its stated role to promote multiculturalism in Australia.

“SBS, a multicultural, multilingual national public broadcaster of which Australians are rightly proud, an institution dedicated to hosting Australian multiculturalism and intended to support and contribute to our social cohesion, has actively chosen to pursue a rigid editorial approach, a hands-off, activist approach,” Abdo said.

“Multiculturalism is not just about cuisine and costumes. If multiculturalism stops at the buffet table, it is performance, not participation. The news should be what it is.”

While SBS journalists are allowed to state that Australia now recognizes these territories as the State of Palestine, the broadcaster’s editorial style guide update of 22 September, seen by this imprint, does not allow journalists to refer to it as such or unqualifiedly in editorial copy.

The term Palestine is allowed in certain contexts, for example in direct quotes in which a person identifies himself as Palestinian, in official names such as the Palestine national football team or the Palestine Olympic Committee, or in historical references to the region known as Palestine before 1948.

Mandi Wicks, SBS’s director of news and current affairs, dismissed claims of unease among staff over updated broadcast guidelines as she chaired a Senate estimates committee hearing on Wednesday.

“I have spoken to all senior editorial leaders in our news and current affairs division, and although we have ongoing editorial conversations with our staff every day, we have not actually received the overly negative feedback from our staff regarding this that has been suggested,” Wicks said.

Responding to questions from Greens deputy leader Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Wicks said: “We continue to talk to them about the fact that this is a situation that is under constant review, and we hope to continue to change and evolve that language.”