Letter from the Australian War Memorial regarding the Four Corners episode

Letter to Mr Kim Williams AM, Chairman, Australian Broadcasting Corporation from The Hon Kim Beazley AC, Council Chairman, Australian War Memorial

Letter from the Australian War Memorial regarding the Four Corners episode (PDF)

20 March 2025 

Mr Kim Williams, AM 

Chairman 

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

GPO Box 9994 

Sydney NSW 2001 

 

Dear Chairman 

RE: Editorial Breach 

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding the Four Corners program “Sacrifice”, which aired initially 10 March 2025 on the ABC, and concerns the Australian War Memorial. 

The program breached the ABC’s Editorial Guidelines through misrepresentation, bias, and lack of impartiality, leading to a misleading and inaccurate portrayal of the Australian War Memorial’s Development. 

Beyond breaches of editorial policy, the ABC’s failure to fairly report may constitute defamation. 

Australian defamation law protects individuals from false statements that harm their reputation. 

1.     Misrepresentation of audio – falsely suggesting construction noise during the Last Post Ceremony 

The program misled viewers by inserting construction noise into the Last Post ceremony, creating the impression that ongoing works disrupted a solemn commemorative event. In reality, the Australian War Memorial enforces a contractual obligation prohibiting any disruptive or noisy works during commemorations, meaning no such construction noise could have occurred at that time. 

This deliberate audio manipulation violates: 

• Standard 2 (Accuracy, ABC Code of Practice) – Content must not be misleading or distort reality. 
• Standard 4.4 (Editorial Policies) – Audio must be used responsibly and not alter the true nature of events.

2.     Failure to provide Right of Reply

 The ABC Editorial Policies explicitly state that subjects of serious allegations must be given an opportunity to respond. The Four Corners report asserted that Wayne Hitches “did not answer” why he had not filled in a conflict of interest declaration. 

This claim is demonstrably false. The AWM provided a response from Mr Hitches by e-mail to Jonathan Miller at the ABC at 9:50am on Thursday, 21 November 2024, which was omitted from the program. His response was both relevant and material, directly addressing implications of the issue raised. This omission constitutes a failure to adhere to

• Standard 4.1, which mandates the gathering and presentation of news with due impartiality. 

Furthermore, the ABC’s own editorial guidelines emphasise fairness and transparency. Mr Hitches was never formally approached for an interview, nor given a meaningful right of reply before the allegations were aired. The segment misled audiences into believing he had refused to answer when, in fact, his response was available but deliberately excluded. He was never asked to be interviewed even though he had met the Reporter, Producer and the Director on site when they were filming a piece to camera. 

3.     Misrepresentation and bias 

The report’s narrative unduly favoured an incriminating perspective while disregarding exculpatory evidence. 

The ABC Editorial Policies demand that perspectives 

• must not be misrepresented (Standard 4.4) and 
• that coverage should not unduly favour one perspective (Standard 4.5). 

The Four Corners report failed on both counts. The report did not refer to the fact that ANAO report found no actual wrong doing or malfeasance, or the Hansard of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit – Inquiry into the contract frameworks operated by Commonwealth entities, which included among other things a quote from Senator Reynolds “I was very impressed to see how you're managing such a large project. It's important to note that, with all of the contracts that we're looking at today, I think that you've done an outstanding job”. 

The report further insinuated that Mr Hitches gave feedback information to Lendlease that assisted them in securing a contract. I can confirm that debriefing sessions are afforded to our unsuccessful tenderers as required by the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines paragraph 7.17 relating to why they were unsuccessful. This does not extend to pricing and was falsely represented as a unique benefit afforded to Lendlease. 

4.     Lack of impartiality – One-sided narrative 

The segment heavily favoured overused critics of the Memorial’s expansion while excluding or diminishing opposing perspectives. Three of the known critics were former staff members who had direct involvement in the curation, development or building the former Anzac Hall. Their bias in opposition to it being demolished was not mentioned during the program. 

The only pro-development voices used were minimised, reinforcing a singular viewpoint rather than allowing balanced discussion. 

The segment used selective imagery to sensationalise the development, showing extensive footage of destruction without contextualising the reasons for change. The lack of images highlighting new spaces for veterans, families, and education further skewed audience perception, and the program did not advise that the bulk of imagery was from October 2024. The Southern Entrance and the Bean Building and Research Centre are now all open to the public and have been received most favourably. 

This violates: 

• Standard 4.1 (Impartiality, Editorial Policies) – The ABC must present issues fairly and without bias. 
• Standard 4.5 – Coverage must not unduly favour one perspective. 

The soundness of the Memorial’s management of the Project was also demonstrated through the receipt of two major awards in 2024 (and another in 2023) that the ABC was aware of but did not acknowledge: 

• The Asia-Pacific Project Controls Expo 2024 award for Transformation Project of the Year; 
• 2024 Department of Finance Commonwealth Procurement and Contract Management Awards for Excellence ‘Gold Award’ for Encouraging Environmental Sustainability through Procurement; and 
• 2023 Department of Finance Commonwealth Procurement and Contract Management Gold Award for Generating Broader Benefits to the Australian Economy through Procurement with the Memorial’s Veterans Employment and Opportunity Plan. 

Given these breaches, I formally request the ABC take the following corrective actions:

1.     Issue an immediate on-air and written correction acknowledging that Mr Hitches provided a response to the conflict-of-interest question, which was omitted from the program. This correction must be given the same prominence as the original false statement. 

2.     Issue a formal apology for failing to uphold the principles of accuracy, fairness, and impartiality, and for misrepresenting both Mr Hitches and the circumstances of the development. 

3.     Correct the misrepresentation of audio by publicly clarifying that the program falsely suggested construction noise occurred during a Last Post ceremony when, in reality, a stop-work order was in place. 

4.     Conduct an internal editorial review into the journalistic failings of this program, including its failure to adhere to ABC’s own Editorial Policies on accuracy, impartiality, and right of reply. 

5.     Ensure future coverage complies with ABC’s Editorial Policies by mandating a more rigorous adherence to impartiality, balance, and factual accuracy in reporting on the Australian War Memorial. 

The Memorial has, to this point, not raised these concerns publicly, but we reserve the right to do so, including posting this letter on our ‘on the record’ page of the Memorial’s website. 

Finally, I close with a view that should have appeared in the Four Corners piece, as the contrary view to the detractors presented. At the official opening of the new main entrance on 3 February 2025, to which the news media were in attendance, Prime Minister Albanese said the extension was “magnificent” and “an addition that is both true to the spirit of the Memorial, and an enhancement of it”. 

I look forward to your response. 

Sincerely, Kim Beazley