When Pete Hegseth took the stage at a Pentagon press conference packed with revelations, fireworks, and biting critiques of the mainstream media, networks from around the world tuned in. It was a moment of geopolitical significance. Analysts were glued to their screens. Commentators were scrambling to interpret its implications.

But if you were watching ABC News 24 in Australia that night… you would’ve seen nothing.

The channel had effectively “clocked out.” While every major broadcaster was airing the briefing live, ABC News 24 had, in the words of Sky News commentator Jared Henderson, “gone out for a cup of tea.”

It wasn’t late. It wasn’t technical. And it certainly wasn’t justifiable. The conference began around 8:00 AM in Washington D.C., translating to 10:00 PM in Australia—well within prime-time programming.

So why did ABC skip it?

According to Henderson, it’s not about logistics. It’s about mindset.

“They don’t have the initiative,” he said. “They’re overmanaged, understaffed when it matters, and too cushioned by guaranteed public funding to feel pressure to perform.”

That sharp criticism draws attention to a deeper issue: accountability in publicly funded media. While commercial stations are pushed to deliver value to advertisers and audiences alike, ABC operates without the same stakes. If they underperform, there are no market consequences—only a quiet lapse in public service.

And this wasn’t an isolated incident.

Henderson recalls a similar moment of absence during the Bondi stabbing—a tragic, high-impact event that somehow slipped through ABC’s coverage radar because it happened outside the 9-to-5 news window.

“You’d think someone would say, ‘Hey, this is a major story.’ But nobody does. It’s like they’ve lost their journalistic reflex.”

But the criticism doesn’t stop at missed coverage.

In the same segment, ABC’s “Insiders” program was called out for airing a cartoon segment that—out of eleven different visuals—featured nine harsh criticisms of the United States and none of Iran.

The particular cartoon in question portrayed the regime in Tehran—the same regime accused of violent oppression of women, minorities, and dissidents—as a peace-loving “dove” under threat from U.S. stealth bombers.

“It’s obnoxious,” said Henderson. “If they’d portrayed Canada or France like that, maybe it would’ve made sense. But they’re showing sympathy to a brutal theocracy while vilifying the U.S.? It’s baffling.”

To many, this reflects an ideological echo chamber inside ABC.

“All the cartoonists they bring in, they all agree with each other. It’s a club. A closed circle,” he added. “ABC has become a conservative-free zone.”

Even their so-called experts, like the “Planet America” hosts, are being called out for questionable predictions. One of the most notable examples was the confident declaration that Donald Trump had peaked and would become a “lame duck” after 2024.

“We’re in July 2025 now,” Henderson said. “Trump is anything but a lame duck. He’s been explosive—agree with him or not—and he’s certainly not fading into irrelevance.”

The criticism here isn’t just partisan. It’s about credibility.

When public broadcasters start drifting from the pulse of real-time events, when they stop engaging with major global developments, and when their satire aligns more with propaganda than accountability, the public is left wondering:

Who are they really informing?

And more importantly—who’s holding them accountable?

At a time when trust in media is already eroding, ABC’s silence during pivotal moments speaks louder than any headline.

The questions being raised aren’t about left or right—they’re about responsibility, transparency, and whether Australians can still rely on their national broadcaster to show up when it counts.

Because if a taxpayer-funded outlet can’t be bothered to cover a Pentagon bombshell… what else are they missing?