Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says he will raise concerns with ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie about Four Corners' "odd" decision to reject an interview with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton following a controversial documentary on asylum seekers in Nauru.
Senator Fifield, the minister with portfolio responsibility for the ABC, said he was "troubled" the public broadcaster did not accept Mr Dutton's offer of a live interview during last Monday's program.
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Australia accused of torture
The treatment of refugees on Nauru is in breach of international law and amounts to torture, according to Amnesty International - but the PM rejects the claim.
Mr Dutton has said he will lodge a formal complaint with the ABC over the program, which he described as "one-sided and slanted" and based "on emotions and lies" rather than facts.
"They've turned themselves into political operatives and it's unacceptable for the national broadcaster," he said last week.
Critics of the program have accused the ABC of poor journalism by painting a dire picture of the conditions on Nauru despite not having visited the island and not seeking comment from the government of Nauru.
The Nauruan government, which rarely allows Australian journalists to visit the island, described the program as an "embarrassment to journalism".
Senator Fifield told Sky News on Sunday that the ABC needs to "continually examine" whether it is meeting its editorial standards.
"I was certainly troubled by the fact that Minister Dutton, who offered himself for a live interview at the conclusion of the program, that that offer wasn't accepted," he said.
"There's no reason why that shouldn't have be accepted.
"I did think it was odd Mr Dutton's offer to give a live interview wasn't taken up."
Senator Fifield continued: "I haven't yet raised the issue with Michelle Guthrie but I certainly will be."
Senator Fifield said various cultures exist within the ABC and that the current affairs division operates differently to the ABC's Canberra bureau, which is regarded as "straight down the line".
ABC head of news Gaven Morris said last week that Mr Dutton rejected Four Corners' offer to film a pre-recorded interview to feature in the documentary.
Four Corners declined Mr Dutton's offer of a live interview following the program because such interviews are not part of the program's format, he said.
Mr Dutton also declined offers to appear on Lateline following the program and on AM the day after it aired.
In an opinion piece for Fairfax Media, Mr Morris said: "We stand by the program and the journalism."
"Four Corners relied on a range of sources for its footage, including hiring a freelance camera operator on Nauru, as is routinely done on many stories," he wrote.
"The key interviews with the children were conducted remotely by our journalists.
"We checked the veracity of all supplied footage used in the story through a number of sources."
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