![Nasser Mashni speaks to the crowd gathered at the steps of Parliament House on January 26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. [Darrian Traynor/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GettyImages-1961403208.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Australia’s public broadcaster is facing mounting criticism for removing an interview with a prominent Palestinian advocate amid growing scrutiny of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe today accused the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) of suppressing a “crucial Palestinian voice” after it reportedly pulled from its website an interview with Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).
“This morning I noticed the interview Nasser Mashni gave to ABC yesterday was pulled from their website without explanation,” Thorpe posted on X. “As the horror in Gaza escalates, it appears the ABC has chosen to suppress a crucial Palestinian voice. They should explain why.”
This morning I noticed the interview Nasser Mashni gave to ABC yesterday was pulled from their website without explanation.
As the horror in Gaza escalates, it appears the ABC has chosen to supress a crucial Palestinian voice.
They should explain why.https://t.co/I8pHQWwwjh
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) May 27, 2025
Mashni’s interview aired yesterday following comments by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning Israeli actions in Gaza. The interview was initially published on ABC’s website but had been removed by this morning, according to local outlet Crikey.
Albanese yesterday described Israel’s ongoing siege and blockade of Gaza as “completely unacceptable.”
“I made it very clear that Australia finds these actions as completely unacceptable, and we find Israel’s excuses and explanations completely untenable and without credibility,” he told reporters. “People are starving, and the idea that a democratic state withholds supply is an outrage. Now, that is my clear position.”
Senator Thorpe, however, dismissed the remarks as inadequate and accused the government of complicity.
“We’ve heard the cries of mothers and fathers as they hold their maimed children, while Israel continues its campaign of unrelenting psychological warfare and terrorism,” she said. “Yet Albanese still offers nothing but empty words and cowardice – choosing to remain an ally of Israel.”
She urged the government to take decisive action.
“We cannot wait for Gaza to be flattened – for its people to be slaughtered and displaced – before this government pretends they were always against it,” she wrote on X.
We cannot wait for Gaza to be flattened — for its people to be slaughtered and displaced — before this government pretends they were always against it.
They need to take clear, strong action now.
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) May 27, 2025
Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign in Gaza has displaced millions of Palestinians and drawn increasing international concern, with humanitarian agencies warning of worsening conditions for civilians as famine sets in.
The Israeli occupation army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
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