Australians expect their national broadcaster to report on controversial issues fairly and independently.

But recently released documents raise serious questions about whether activist organisations are influencing how gender issues are presented at the ABC.

Freedom of Information documents suggest the ABC worked closely with the trans lobby group ACON while pursuing “platinum” status in the organisation’s workplace equality scheme. 

Correspondence with ACON and the forms submitted to achieve platinum status demonstrate the broadcaster’s efforts to incorporate the group’s guidance into journalism, programming, and editorial processes.

When The Australian requested the documents behind those submissions, they were heavily redacted, and some were withheld.

Gender ideology is one of the most contentious public debates in Australia today, and it is grossly inappropriate for a public institution to adopt activist frameworks behind closed doors.

The ABC is funded by you, so you have a right to know what it is doing to appease activist groups pushing extreme gender ideology.

It also has a serious responsibility to be even-handed on controversial subjects, especially when the safety of women and girls is at stake.

The ABC has a long record of avoiding or playing down any stories that might not align with the trans activist agenda, so much so that it led to its own Media Watch program calling the ABC out.

Binary exists to defend biological reality and to ensure open discussion of issues affecting women, children, and society.

A healthy democracy requires honest debate, but when the ABC is deliberately aligning with an activist group like this, we’re not getting it.

The ABC should end its association with ACON and start telling the truth about gender and biology.