Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959
) is an Australian
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
social and
political commentator
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
. He has worked at the
News Corp
News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the News Corporation (1980–2013), original News Corporation, it was formed ...
-owned newspaper company
The Herald and Weekly Times
The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd (HWT) is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by News Pty Ltd, which as News Ltd, purchased the HWT in 1987.
Newspapers
The HWT's newspaper interests date ba ...
(HWT) for many years, for both ''
The Herald'' and its successor, the ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
''. His current roles include blogger and columnist at the ''Herald Sun'' and host of television show ''
The Bolt Report
''The Bolt Report'' is an Australian political discussion program hosted by conservative commentator Andrew Bolt, who focuses on conservative political and social comment in the form of opinion commentary, panel discussion and interviews. The pr ...
'' each weeknight. In Australia, Bolt is a controversial public figure, who has frequently been accused of abrasive demeanour, racist views and inappropriate remarks on various political and social issues.
Background
Bolt is a first-generation Australian who was born in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, his parents being newly-arrived
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
immigrants. He spent his childhood in remote rural areas, including
Tarcoola, South Australia
Tarcoola is a town in the Far North of South Australia north-northwest of Port Augusta. At the , Tarcoola had no people living within its boundaries.
''Tarcoola'' was named after ''Tarcoola'' the winner of the 1893 Melbourne Cup horse race. ...
, while his father worked as a school teacher and principal. After completing secondary school at Murray Bridge High School,
Bolt travelled and worked overseas before returning to Australia and beginning an arts degree at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
. Dropping out of university he took up a cadetship with ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', a Melbourne
broadsheet newspaper
A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid– compact formats.
Description
Many broadsheets measure rough ...
. His roles at ''The Age'' included sports writer, prior to joining ''
The Herald''. His time as a reporter included a period as the newspaper's Asia correspondent, based first in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and later in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
.
[ He worked for the Hawke Government on two election campaigns.][
]
Media career
Bolt has had various roles on numerous TV networks, radio stations and in the print media.
In 2005, Bolt released a compilation of newspaper columns in a book entitled ''Still Not Sorry: The Best of Andrew Bolt''.
Print
Bolt's column and articles are published by News Corp Australia in the ''Herald Sun'' and his column is published in ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', '' The Advertiser'' in Adelaide, ''Northern Territory News
The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from Monday to Saturday. It prima ...
'' and ''The Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...
''.
Internet
In May 2005, Bolt established a web-only forum in which readers could offer comments, feedback and questions in response to his columns. He posted some of these comments on the ''Herald Sun'' website. The forum changed to a more conventional blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
format in July 2006.
Radio
Bolt co-hosted a daily radio show, ''Breakfast with Steve Price and Andrew Bolt'', on the former MTR 1377
Melbourne Talk Radio (callsign 3MP) was a radio station in Melbourne that commenced broadcasting on 19 April 2010 until its closure on 2 March 2012. It replaced, and was later succeeded by, 3MP, which used the 1377 kHz frequency. The stat ...
.
He appeared weekly on radio station 2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE.
2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM.
In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...
in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
for ''The Clash'' with union leader Paul Howes
Paul Howes (born 23 August 1981) was involved in the Australian trade union movement from 1999 through 2014. His most recent position was as National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, the youngest person to serve in that position. In ...
and as of 2016 is a regular guest four nights a week on ''Nights with Steve Price'', which is broadcast on 2GB and Melbournes 3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.
The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co.
Hist ...
, 4BC Brisbane and network stations across Australia.
Television
From 2001 to 2011, he was a regular guest on '' Insiders''.
Bolt left ''Insiders'' in May 2011 to host his own weekly program, ''The Bolt Report
''The Bolt Report'' is an Australian political discussion program hosted by conservative commentator Andrew Bolt, who focuses on conservative political and social comment in the form of opinion commentary, panel discussion and interviews. The pr ...
'', on Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
. ''The Bolt Report'' ended on Ten in 2015 and, in 2016, Bolt became a contributor to Sky News Live. ''The Bolt Report'' subsequently resumed on Sky News Live in May 2016 as a nightly format.
He has also appeared on the ABC television show '' Q&A'' and ABC Radio National's ''Late Night Live with Phillip Adams
Phillip Adams, Philip Adams, or Phil Adams may refer to:
Sports
* Phillip Adams (American football) (1988–2021), American football cornerback
* Phillip Adams (sport shooter) (born 1945), Australian pistol shooter
* Phil Adams (cricketer) (born 1 ...
''.
Controversies, court actions and findings
Leak of intelligence document
In June 2003, Bolt published an article criticising Andrew Wilkie
Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Clark. Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Australian Army., Australian Parliament House Biographies; 19 Augu ...
in which he quoted from a classified intelligence document written by Wilkie as an intelligence analyst for the Office of National Assessments
The Office of National Assessments (ONA) was an Australian statutory intelligence agency established by the ''Office of National Assessments Act 1977'' as an independent statutory body directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as ...
. It was claimed, but never proven, that someone in Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...
's office had leaked the document to Bolt. A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police said that they did not have any evidence to identify the culprit.
Stolen Generations
Bolt has frequently clashed with Robert Manne
Robert Michael Manne (born 31 October 1947) is an Emeritus Professor of politics and Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a leading Australian public intellectual.
Background
Robert Manne was born in Melbo ...
, Professor of Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
at La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...
, about the Stolen Generation. Bolt has said that there were no large-scale removals of children "for purely racist reasons". After Bolt challenged Manne to "name just 10" children stolen for racial reasons, Manne replied with 50 names, which Bolt in response said included children rescued from sexual abuse and removed for other humanitarian reasons. Manne argued that Bolt and others were engaged in historical denialism
In the psychology of human behavior, denialism is a person's choice to denial, deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth. Denialism is an essentially irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical expe ...
despite "a mountain of documentary evidence and eyewitness testimony". Bolt noted many instances of contemporary Aboriginal children being left "in grave danger that we would not tolerate for children of any other race because we are so terrified of the 'stolen generations' myth."
Bolt has questioned the very existence of the Stolen Generation. Bolt stated that it is a "preposterous and obscene" myth and that there was actually no policy in any state or territory at any time for the systematic removal of "half-caste" Aboriginal children. Robert Manne responded that Bolt did not address the documentary evidence demonstrating the existence of the Stolen Generations and that this is a clear case of historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
denialism
In the psychology of human behavior, denialism is a person's choice to denial, deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth. Denialism is an essentially irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical expe ...
. Bolt then challenged Manne to produce ten cases in which the evidence justified the claim that children were "stolen" as opposed to having been removed for reasons such as neglect, abuse, abandonment, etc. He argued that Manne did not respond and that this was an indication of unreliability of the claim that there was policy of systematic removal. In reply, Manne stated that he supplied a documented list of 250 names. Bolt stated that, prior to a debate, Manne provided him with a list of 12 names that he was able to show during the debate was "a list of people abandoned, saved from abuse or voluntarily given up by their parents"; and that during the actual debate, Manne produced a list of 250 names without any details or documentation as to their circumstances. Bolt also stated that he was subsequently able to identify and ascertain the history of some of those on the list and was unable to find a case where there was evidence to justify the term "stolen". He stated that one of the names on the list of allegedly stolen children was 13-year-old Dolly, taken into state care after being "found seven months pregnant and penniless, working for nothing on a station".
The Bolt/Manne debate is an example of the adversarial arguments on the issue. There is focus on individual examples as evidence for or against the existence of a policy, and little or no analysis of other documentary evidence such as legislative databases showing how the legal basis for removal varied over time and between jurisdictions, or testimony from those who were called on to implement the policies, which was also recorded in the ''Bringing Them Home
''Bringing Them Home'' is the 1997 Australian ''Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families''. The report marked a pivotal moment in the controversy that has come to ...
'' report. A 2008 review of legal cases claims it is difficult for Stolen Generation claimants to challenge what was written about their situation at the time of removal.
Defamation case
In 2002, magistrate Jelena Popovic was awarded $246,000 damages for defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
after suing Bolt and the publishers of the ''Herald Sun'' over a 13 December 2000 column in which he claimed that she had "hugged two drug traffickers she let walk free". Popovic stated that she had in fact shaken their hands to congratulate them on having completed a rehabilitation program. The jury found that what Bolt wrote was untrue, unfair and inaccurate, but cleared him of malice.
Bolt emerged from the Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state.
The Supreme Court comprises ...
after the jury verdict, stating that his column had been accurate and that the mixed verdict was a victory for free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
. His statement outside the court was harshly criticised by Supreme Court Justice Bernard Bongiorno, who later overturned the jury's decision, ruling that Bolt had not acted reasonably because he did not seek a response from Popovic before writing the article and, in evidence given during the trial, showed he did not care whether or not the article was defamatory. Justice Bongiorno ordered that Popovic be awarded $210,000 in aggravated compensatory damages, $25,000 in punitive damages
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...
and $11,500 interest. The judge stated that the damages awarded were significantly influenced by Bolt's "disingenuous" comments he had made outside court and the ''Herald Suns reporting of the jury's decision. The Court of Appeal later reversed the $25,000 punitive damages, though it upheld the defamation finding, describing Bolt's conduct as "at worst, dishonest and misleading and at best, grossly careless".
Racial discrimination case
In September 2010, nine individuals commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court against Bolt and the ''Herald Sun'' over two posts on Bolt's blog. The nine sued over posts titled "It's so hip to be black", "White is the New Black" and "White Fellas in the Black". The articles suggested it was fashionable for "fair-skinned people" of diverse ancestry to choose Aboriginal racial identity for the purposes of political and career clout. The applicants claimed the posts breached the ''Racial Discrimination Act 1975
The ''Racial Discrimination Act 1975'' (Cth). is an Act of the Australian Parliament, which was enacted on 11 June 1975 and passed by the Whitlam government. The Act makes racial discrimination in certain contexts unlawful in Australia, and al ...
''. They sought an apology, legal costs, and a gag on republishing the articles and blogs, and "other relief as the court deems fit". They did not seek damages.
On 28 September 2011, Justice Mordecai Bromberg found Bolt to have contravened section 18C of the ''Racial Discrimination Act''.[.]
The case was controversial. Bolt described the decision as a "terrible day for free speech" in Australia and said it represented "a restriction on the freedom of all Australians to discuss multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
and how people identify themselves. I argued then and I argue now that we should not insist on the differences between us but focus instead on what unites us as human beings." Jonathan Holmes of the ABC's '' Media Watch'' described Justice Bromberg's interpretation of the ''Racial Discrimination Act'', and his application of it to Bolt's columns as "profoundly disturbing" because it reinforced concerns that 18C creates "one particular area of public life where speech is regulated by tests that simply don't apply anywhere else, and in which judges - never, for all their pontifications, friends of free speech - get to do the regulating." Bolt later commented that he believed Justice Bromberg's failed attempt to run for the Labor Party ten years prior had a role in the final decision.
Assault
On 6 June 2017, Bolt was assaulted in Lygon Street
Lygon Street is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, running through the inner northern suburbs of Carlton, Carlton North, Princes Hill and Brunswick East. Lygon Street is synonymous with the Italian community of Melbourne, forming ...
, Melbourne by two masked men, while a third apparently filmed the attack. Melbourne Antifa, a self described "anti-fascism" activist group, appeared to claim a connection in the incident on Facebook, posting that Bolt attacked "some of our family in solidarity ... while they were protesting today". Video footage of the assault on Bolt was described as 'alarming', with Bolt saying he was "sick of being targeted for his conservative beliefs and would pursue his attackers for justice and demand a charitable donation".
Immigration
Bolt has spoken out against the changing racial demographics of Australia
The population of Australia is estimated to be as of . The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation. Australia is the 55 ...
. In August 2018, Bolt wrote an article titled "Tidal wave of new tribes dividing us" in which he argues that a "tidal wave" of migrants are swamping Australia, forming enclaves and "changing our culture". He also said "Immigration is becoming colonisation, turning this country from a home into a hotel." This article prompted a press council complaint.
Defence of George Pell
In 2019, Bolt defended Cardinal George Pell
George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 ...
, who at that time had been convicted of child sexual abuse (he was later acquitted by the High Court), saying that "I am not a Catholic or even a Christian. He is a scapegoat, not a child abuser." He also stated that "In my opinion, this is our own OJ Simpson case, but in reverse. A man was found guilty not on the facts but on prejudice. ... Cardinal George Pell has been falsely convicted of sexually abusing two boys in their early teens. That's my opinion, based on the evidence." He went on to say that the successful prosecutions case was "flimsy" and that the conviction was the result of a "vicious" smear that formed part of a "sinister" campaign against the cardinal, adding that Pell was being made to "pay for the sins made by his church". Bolt reiterated his support for Pell when the appeal against Pell's conviction was dismissed in Victoria's Court of Appeal. On 7 April 2020, the High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
quashed Pell's convictions and determined that verdicts of acquittal be entered in place of all previous verdicts.
On 14 April 2020, Bolt interviewed George Pell on Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...
following his acquittal by the High Court. During the interview Bolt asked Pell if he felt ashamed of the way the Catholic church dealt with the ongoing sex abuse crisis. Pell replied that he did and described the crisis as a "cancer", also stating that failures for the church to act still haunted him. Pell said he didn't commit the alleged Melbourne sex abuse and didn't know why the accuser testified against him. He suggested the accuser may have been 'used'.
Comments regarding Greta Thunberg
In July 2019, Bolt made comments about Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.
Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...
in which he questioned the legitimacy of her views on climate breakdown due to Thunberg's autism. "I have never seen a girl so young and with so many mental disorders treated by so many adults as a guru", wrote Bolt. He went on to question why such leaders "treat a young and strange girl with such awe and even rapture". The comments were widely seen as ignorant. Later in the article, Bolt went on to describe Thunberg's younger sister as displaying "a spectacular range of mental issues". Thunberg responded to the article on Twitter, saying "I am indeed 'deeply disturbed' about the fact that these hate and conspiracy campaigns are allowed to go on and on and on just because we children communicate and act on the science. Where are the adults?"
Comments regarding Bruce Pascoe
Author Bruce Pascoe grew up knowing only of his British ancestry. In his 30s he came to recognise that he also has Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
heritage and identified himself as Koori
Koori (also spelt koorie, goori or goorie) is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from a region that approximately corresponds to southern New South Wales and Victoria. The word derives from the Indigenous language Awabakal. For some people ...
. Bolt objected to this apparent change in Pascoe's heritage following the success of ''Dark Emu
''Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?'' is a 2014 non-fiction book by Bruce Pascoe. It reexamines colonial accounts of Aboriginal people in Australia, and cites evidence of pre-colonial agriculture, engineering and building constr ...
'', a book written by Pascoe in 2014 that reexamines colonial accounts of Aboriginal people in Australia, and cites evidence of pre-colonial agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
and building construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...
people. Bolt suggested on his blog that Pascoe had succumbed to "the romance of the Noble Savage… the thrill of the superstitious".
In an earlier article in the ''Griffith Review
''Griffith Review'' is a quarterly publication featuring essays, reportage, memoir, fiction, poetry and artwork from established and emerging writers and artists. Each edition focuses on a contemporary theme, enabling pertinent issues to be aired ...
'' (2012, following ''Eatock v Bolt
''Eatock v Bolt'' was a 2011 decision of the Federal Court of Australia which held that two articles written by columnist and commentator Andrew Bolt and published in ''The Herald Sun'' newspaper had contravened section 18C, of the ''Racial D ...
'') titled "Andrew Bolt's Disappointment" (also reproduced in ''Salt: Selected Stories and Essays''), Pascoe had suggested that he and Bolt could "have a yarn" together, without rancour, because "I think it's reasonable for Australia to know if people of pale skin identifying as Aborigines are fair dinkum". He described how and why his Aboriginal ancestry – and that of many others – had been buried.
In early 2020, the feud escalated when Bolt published a letter provided to him by Josephine Cashman, which resulted in Cashman being dismissed from the Federal Government's Indigenous voice to government's Senior Advisory Group. In the blog post, Bolt said the letter had been written by a Yolngu elder, denouncing Pascoe and ''Dark Emu''. However the elder asserted that he had not written the letter, and it was also found to have paragraphs lifted from other sources.
Child sexual grooming comments
Bolt was widely condemned by child protection advocates who stated that he had minimised the seriousness of child sexual grooming
Sexual grooming refers to actions or behaviors used to establish an emotional connection with a minor, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. It can occur in various settings, incl ...
during a segment on his Sky News show on 18 February 2020. Bolt repeatedly used the phrase "hit on" to describe the sexual grooming of a year 9 school boy by his athletics coach at St Kevin's College, Melbourne.
Child welfare advocate Katrina Lines said "There is no consensual social situation in which it would be OK for an adult to 'hit on' a child. The adult was grooming the child and building an emotional connection so they could do what they wanted to him". The abused school boy later stated that Bolt and Gerard Henderson's comments made him feel "sick" and accused the pair of "trivialising" the assaults. Bolt and Henderson apologised for their comments in the subsequent days.
Climate change
In 2021, Bolt opposed the News Corp campaign to publicise the effects of climate change as 'rubbish'. Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive, Kelly O’Shanassy, commented that Bolt has "no credibility" on climate change.
Books by Bolt
*''Bolt: Still Not Sorry'', Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing, 2016.
*''Bolt: Worth Fighting For: Insights & Reflections'', Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing, 2016.
Personal life
Bolt is married to Sally Morrell, a fellow columnist at the ''Herald Sun''. They have been married since 1989 and have three children. Bolt is an agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
.
References
External links
Bolt's blog at the ''Herald Sun''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolt, Andrew
1959 births
Australian agnostics
Australian bloggers
Australian columnists
Australian conspiracy theorists
Australian people of Dutch descent
Bloggers from Melbourne
Conservatism in Australia
Conservative talk radio people
Living people
Online journalists
People from Adelaide
Sky News Australia reporters and presenters