Cease and desist! ABC demands One Nation stop casting Bluey in its cartoons

The ABC’s managing director says the broadcaster will issue a cease and desist to One Nation after the political party depicted cartoon character Bluey running over former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

Hugh Marks said the party’s depiction of Bluey is a blatant use of intellectual property without permission and a “shocking use of Australia’s most loved character” during a Senate estimates hearing.

“It’s not a parody of any Bluey work. It’s not a minor use of the IP. In my view, it is an infringement of the intellectual property, number one,” Marks said.

The political party has depicted Bluey in several episodes of its Please Explain satirical video series.

“It’s also a shocking use of Australia’s most loved character. In fact, probably the globally most loved character in a video that is both shocking and disrespectful to the children of Australia who love that character so much,” Marks continued.

“We will be taking further action, I can assure you,” Marks said. “I would imagine that it’s a breach of intellectual property, and a cease and desist letter should be issued.”

The cartoon, which remains on YouTube where it has amassed 572,000 views, has come under scrutiny over the past week after independent MP Helen Haines was rammed by a car in an alleged attack in her electorate.

The 2024 Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain video titled The State of Melbourne depicts Andrews running over both Bluey and Robert Irwin in a car before Bluey later runs over Andrews.

Marks told the hearing that he understands One Nation did not seek permission from either Ludo Films, the BBC’s commercial arm which distributes Bluey, or the ABC, before using the cartoon’s likeness.

Marks and several ABC executives appeared in Canberra on Tuesday afternoon, facing a series of questions relating to the broadcaster’s hiring processes, particularly of former Four Corners journalist Mahmood Fazal, and proposed changes to its Indigenous content output.

Marks said the majority of staff involved in the work produced by Fazal during his time at the ABC have since left, including former ABC News director Justin Stevens. It was revealed that Stevens got a $353,000 payout when he abruptly exited the public broadcaster in May. The ABC has not said Stevens’ exit was specifically related to the Fazal saga.

It later emerged Stevens was already in the process of being superseded, with managing director Hugh Marks having already lined up his replacement, Simon Robinson.

One Nation was approached for comment.

Marks later said Stevens wasn’t aware the public broadcaster was in the process of replacing him before his eventual exit, which he told Radio National Breakfast was “inevitable” after the pair had disagreed on the right direction for Australia’s largest newsroom.

The figure, which could include leave and other entitlements, was revealed in the ABC’s annual report, released on Monday evening as executives from the broadcaster prepared to appear before a Senate estimates committee on Tuesday.

The ABC has experienced significant turnover in its senior ranks since the arrival of Marks. Almost his entire management team has been replaced, including the recent exit of chief operating officer Melanie Kleyn, who has been replaced by Trent Dickeson from Seven West Media. Kleyn was paid a full package of $869,771 in 2026 and is expected to have landed a severance package as well.

Marks was paid a total package of $1,199,856 in the 2026 financial year, which includes a base salary of $1,134,639. ABC chair Kim Williams was paid $226,000.

ABC staff expect major changes to its news division under Robinson. Last week, he told staff the broadcaster had axed The Business, a business news program that has been running for 20 years.

In the annual report, Marks hinted at the direction of future changes, saying the ABC will evolve its news offering to give greater emphasis on live, local and distinctive services, in particular by addressing “duplicated news outputs that compete for the same audiences”.

The ABC’s total radio network grew in the 2025-26 year, putting an end to four successive years of declines. While its beleaguered local radio network continued its downward trend, there was audience growth most noticeably for ABC NewsRadio, and triple j.

The ABC also grew its audience for weeknight 7pm news bulletins, up 7 per cent to 899,000 on average nationally across both free-to-air broadcast and live-streaming. Foreign Correspondent was the ABC’s standout performer, with audiences up 29 per cent compared to the 2024-25 year, while 7.30 also grew its audience by 6 per cent, giving it an average viewership of 864,000 each evening.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.