ABC to demand that One Nation stop using Bluey — The Guardian

Australia’s public broadcaster ABC plans to send the right-wing populist One Nation party a demand to stop using the character from the children’s animated series “Bluey” in a political animated video. The Guardian reports.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks said at Senate hearings that he learned of the possible intellectual property rights violation last week and sought legal advice. According to him, the broadcaster considers the use of the character an infringement of intellectual property rights and intends to take further action.

The State of Melbourne video

The dispute concerns a three-minute cartoon, State of Melbourne, published in 2024. The video has received about 1.3 million views on YouTube. It shows Bluey driving an SUV and running over animated depictions of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, as well as TV presenter and conservationist Robert Irwin.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

In one scene, Andrews drives a car with Albanese as a passenger and deliberately runs over Bluey and Irwin. Marks called it a shocking and disrespectful use of one of Australia’s most famous children’s characters.

Contacts with rights holders

According to Marks, ABC contacted the series’ international distributor, BBC Studios, and Brisbane-based studio Ludo, which creates “Bluey.” He also said that the One Nation party had not sought permission to use the character.

The issue concerning the video was raised during the hearings by Labor Party senator Varun Ghosh. BBC Studios, Ludo and One Nation were asked to comment.