Big Brother Australia 2006 - Controversy

Controversy

This season of Big Brother Australia proved to be highly controversial. Big Brother – Adults Only ended its run early after politicians warned Network Ten that its screening of the show could harm its push for media reforms. An alleged sexual assault during which John (real name Michael Bric) held down Camilla Severi on her bed while Ashley (Michael Cox) pushed his crotch into her face in the house on 1 July 2006 resulted in the ejection of the pair from the show. The incident sparked calls for the series to be investigated for possible breaches of broadcasting laws, and calls for the cancellation of the series by several commentators and politicians, including then Australian Prime Minister John Howard and opposition leader Kim Beazley. The incident and in particular the Prime Minister's comments, were reported internationally, running on CNN and the BBC and in various other international publications.

The incident sparked a high level of discussion on Internet forums where commentators were split over whether the incident was playful fun or actual assault. In many forums there was overwhelming censure of the Big Brother series itself, with many calling for the show to be cancelled. Subsequent to the controversy the program's ratings showed an increase, however this proved to be only a temporary boost; the show's regular ratings did not show a significant overall increase and the Daily Show continued to rate significantly lower than its competitors on other commercial networks. Network Ten indicated that they planned to continue producing the series despite the barrage of criticism. In the wake of the controversy, several former housemates came forward with descriptions of audition processes that require potential housemates to parade nude, and the frequent occurrence of sexual acts in the house similar to the one that the two housemates were ejected for.

Following the removal of the two offenders the show continued as normal, with housemate Gaelan evicted via the usual procedure the following day. In an interview, Gaelan claimed that the Big Brother producers had not advised housemates on how to deal with sexual tension. On the night of 3 July, Network Ten broadcast an interview with the ejected housemates John and Ashley speaking to Big Brother host Gretel Killeen. The two stated that the incident was only "out of fun", and that they "did not mean to hurt Camilla", as they have "a great deal of respect for her".

As a result of the incident, a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority was compiled a few days after the incident. The report concluded that loopholes in broadcasting rules should be closed, and Internet content regulations tightened. It was found that Big Brother itself could not be penalised as the footage was never broadcast by Network Ten but was seen only via web streaming, and the Internet falls outside ACMA's authority. Websites running the footage would not be penalised under other regulations governing web broadcasts as they had removed the footage when requested. Rival network current affairs programs A Current Affair on the Nine Network, and the Seven Network's Today Tonight, both broadcast the footage in full. Neither show faced a reprimand from ACMA as they can argue the footage was used as part of a news story. Presenting the ACMA report, Communications Minister Helen Coonan said that legislation to broaden the authority's regulatory powers to cover the Internet and mobile phone broadcasts, would be introduced into Parliament as soon as possible.