Channel Seven Sydney Pty Ltd will face sanction from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) over the broadcast of a fishing show that included highly inappropriate comments about domestic violence.
An ACMA investigation found the comments made on Step Outside with Paul Burt, shown on 7mate on 23 March 2025, breached clause 2.1.1 of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice (2015) classification rules for ‘PG’ content, which require themes of domestic conflict to be handled with care.
The program included an outdoor cooking segment involving Burt and guest ‘Bush Cook Ranger Nick’ Nicholas Small demonstrating how to cook battered field mushrooms.
Small instructed Burt to “give that a good beating, like you do with your missus”, then commented “Mine always likes, every now and then I just find I’ve gotta tie her to a tree and flog her with wire, you know?”
The authority said the program did not provide any context to justify the themes of domestic conflict of the kind conveyed by Small.
“While the guest appeared to be making an attempt at humour, the relevant statements were made with no warning and had no relation to the segment topic,” it said.
“The presenter appeared embarrassed and uncomfortable during the exchange, further emphasising the inappropriate nature of the guest’s comments within the program.
“While the guest’s comments were relatively brief, they were unexpected, unsolicited, and highly inappropriate.
“There were minimal attempts to address the serious nature of the comments or mitigate their impact.
“With an increasing awareness around domestic violence in Australia, there is a need for sensitivity and great care in dealing with this issue.”
The ACMA said the language was strong and violent in nature.
“Domestic violence is an issue of significant and serious concern in Australia and the ACMA considers that the impact of the dialogue exceeded the ‘mild’ impact level required for PG classification,” it said.
“The sudden introduction of the topic and the vivid references to domestic violence did not create an opportunity for parents watching with children to engage in their own conversation about domestic conflict and provide guidance that might mitigate the impact of the material.”
The ACMA rejected Channel Seven’s submission that the “brevity of the guest’s comments meant that they were not an exploration of the theme of domestic conflict and should therefore not be assessed against the Code provisions relating to the ‘treatment’ of that theme”.
The authority said it maintained its finding that the comments clearly fell within the theme of domestic conflict, including due to their graphic nature.
The investigation also considered whether the comments breached clause 2.6.2 of the Code, related to the generation of serious contempt or severe ridicule based on gender.
It determined that “an ordinary reasonable viewer would likely be concerned and upset by the comments, and not incited or provoked to intense dislike, serious contempt or severe ridicule against women”.
The authority is considering appropriate enforcement action.
Following the complaint, Channel Seven issued a public apology and removed the program from 7mate and 7plus.
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