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Credlin challenges Clennell over One Nation insult on News24

Peta Credlin told Andrew Clennell during a News24 segment that Pauline Hanson, not James Ashby, had called him a “dickhead.” Clennell challenged Credlin over what he said was her failure to defend him, and the two clashed on air.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 independent reports from 4 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 2 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 7 entries
4 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 3 · R 1
File photo
Photo: Christian Ursilva / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Clennell said Credlin had not defended him after he was called a “dickhead” in comments linked to One Nation.
  • Credlin told Clennell that Pauline Hanson, not James Ashby, had made the comment.
  • Ashby texted Clennell that Hanson was cancelling a scheduled appearance on his show after his comments about One Nation cartoons.
  • Clennell said Ashby had cancelled an interview with Hanson after Clennell criticised cartoons depicting violence following an alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines.

The brief

Peta Credlin told Andrew Clennell that Pauline Hanson, not James Ashby, had made the “dickhead” comment at the centre of a dispute on News24. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Clennell opened a segment by challenging Credlin over what he said was her failure to defend him after the insult, which he linked to One Nation. The two then clashed on air.

Clennell said Ashby had appeared on Credlin’s show the previous night and had defamed him. He also cited Ashby’s position as One Nation’s national director and said Ashby’s actions merited scrutiny. Clennell referred to Ashby’s conviction and fine 20 years earlier for threatening and abusive phone calls.

Credlin’s account of who made the insult differed from Clennell’s description of it as a comment by Ashby. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Credlin told Clennell that Hanson was responsible for the remark. The outlet’s account does not resolve that disagreement; it records Credlin’s statement and Clennell’s complaint about the alleged insult and her response.

The exchange also involved a scheduled interview with Hanson. Ashby texted Clennell that Hanson was cancelling an appearance on his show after Clennell’s comments about One Nation cartoons. Clennell said Ashby had cancelled an interview with Hanson after he criticised cartoons depicting violence following an alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s account thus links the on-air argument to Clennell’s complaint about the insult and to the cancelled interview, while preserving the differing descriptions of who made the remark. The Age, Brisbane Times and Daily Mail also characterized the televised exchange as a fiery clash over a One Nation comment.

Their headlines do not add further detail about the disputed insult or the cancellation.

Separately, the Sydney Morning Herald reported nd-desist notice over the party’s use of children’s character Bluey in a cartoon series, which Marks called “disgusting.” The outlet reported this as a separate development; it does not establish that the notice formed part of Credlin and Clennell’s exchange.

Why it matters

  • The dispute centers on a public allegation: Clennell said Credlin failed to defend him after an insult, while Credlin attributed the comment to Hanson rather than Ashby.
  • Clennell said Ashby cancelled an interview with Hanson after Clennell criticised cartoons depicting violence following an alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald reported over its use of Bluey in a cartoon series.

What to watch next

  • Whether One Nation receives the cease-and-desist notice .
  • Whether the scheduled Hanson appearance on Clennell’s show is cancelled, as Ashby’s text to Clennell said.
  • Whether Credlin or Clennell makes any further public statement about who made the “dickhead” comment.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets · 2 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 3 Center · 1 Right
Where the outlets are based: Asia 75% · US/Canada 25%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
3 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (3 of 4 rated sources); comparatively few Left-rated outlets have published on the event.
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Asia (3 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Pauline Hanson argued for sharply reduced immigration in her maiden speech to Parliament.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Pauline Hanson founded One Nation.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The party first contested a federal election in 1998, winning one House of Representatives seat and 11.1 per cent of the national vote.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. Hanson returned to federal Parliament as a Queensland senator in 2016.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Credlin, a former chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, began hosting her Sky News program in 2017.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Independent Helen Haines won Indi, succeeding Cathy McGowan.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. James Ashby texted Andrew Clennell that Pauline Hanson was cancelling a scheduled interview.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Before the on-air dispute, Andrew Clennell had criticised cartoons depicting violence after an alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines. One Nation national director James Ashby texted Clennell that Pauline Hanson was cancelling a scheduled interview; Clennell later said Ashby had appeared on Peta Credlin’s show and defamed him.

One Nation’s origins lie in Hanson’s removal from the Liberal Party before the 1996 federal election. She won the Queensland seat of Oxley as an independent on 2 March 1996, then founded One Nation in April 1997 with David Ettridge and David Oldfield.

Original sources

3 of 4 articles · Asia · Show all

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