Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson has used her time in Senate Estimates hearings to quiz SBS executives on why Australians didn’t get behind Israel at Eurovision this year.
Senate Estimates allows politicians to scrutinise how government departments and agencies spend public money and administer policy. The sessions can be heated, particularly when public broadcasters ABC and SBS are asked to account for recent editorial decisions.
On Thursday, Senator Henderson questioned SBS executives on a range of issues, including the broadcaster’s coverage of the conflict in Gaza, its definition of antisemitism, and guidance provided to journalists on how to frame reporting related to the Israeli government and terrorist organisation Hamas.
The senator also raised concerns about the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision results are determined by a combination of public votes and jury votes. This year’s competition was won by Bulgaria, with Israel placing second overall.
Senator Henderson questioned why Australia’s jury did not show greater support for Israel’s entry, Michelle, performed by Noam Bettan.
“Zero votes were provided to Israel,” Senator Henderson said, referring to the jury vote. “Australia’s public vote also awarded zero votes to Israel. So Australia ranked Israel 25th out of 25 countries in the final.”
SBS Managing Director Jane Palfreyman said she did not have detailed information on the Eurovision judging process available at the hearing but confirmed that SBS selects the seven members of Australia’s jury.
This year’s Australian jury included choreographer Kelley Abbey, singers Erica Padilla and Indiana Massara, entertainer Hans the German, radio presenter Mitch Churi, musician Michael Ross from Electric Fields, and producer Millie Millgate.
While Senator Henderson sought further details about how the jury was selected, what guidance members were given, and how they assessed competing songs, SBS executives said they would need to review the process and provide further information.
Eurovision commentators and fans however quickly noted that Senator Henderson’s characterisation of Australia ranking Israel last did not align with publicly available voting data.
Under Eurovision’s voting system, each country awards points to its top 10 songs only. Countries outside the top 10 receive zero points, regardless of their precise ranking.
In Australia’s public vote, Israel was ranked 20th out of 24 countries able to be voted for, as countries cannot vote for their own entry. Germany received the lowest public ranking, followed by Austria, Lithuania and Belgium.
Australia’s jury also did not rank Israel last. The United Kingdom received the lowest jury ranking, followed by Austria, with Israel placed third from the bottom.
As with all participating countries, Australia awarded zero points to 14 entries that fell outside its top 10.
Senator Henderson’s questioning comes days after Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash made claims about an International Women’s Day event involving the Trans Justice Project. While Jackie Turner from the group was a guest speaker, the organisation did not run the event, which was open to all attendees regardless of gender identity.
Despite her criticisms, Senator Henderson praised SBS initiatives aimed at combating misinformation and disinformation in the public sphere.
Website Aussievission, which charts Australia’s involvement in Eurovision, offered some advice to Senator Henderson.
“Perhaps before questioning why Australians did not vote the ‘right’ way at Eurovision, the Senator should focus on understanding why voters are not supporting her own side politically.” they wrote.
