ABC investigations boss leaves, as Four Corners investigation continues

ABC investigations boss leaves, as Four Corners investigation continues Thu 6 Aug 2026 at 5:22pm , updatedThu 6 Aug 2026 at 5:31pm In short Award-winning ABC investigations boss Jo Puccini is leaving the public broadcaster after a 25-year career. She had oversight of Four Corners and Background Briefing, which recently removed three programs by reporter Mahmood Fazal over accuracy concerns. What's next The ABC Ombudsman's investigation into Fazal's reporting continues. The ABC's head of investigations and current affairs, Jo Puccini, is leaving the public broadcaster, the ABC has announced. In an email to ABC staff, acting news director Donna Field said Puccini had shaped significant public interest journalism, leading to numerous Walkley awards. "We wish Jo every success in whatever comes next," she said. The announcement comes alongside a deepening investigation into the work of sacked Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal. The long-running current affairs program falls under Puccini's oversight. Storied career for Puccini Puccini joined the ABC in 2000 from the Seven Network, working at Media Watch as a researcher, before moving to Four Corners, where she won three Walkley Awards. She held senior roles at Media Watch, Lateline, 7.30, the National Reporting Team and ABC Investigations. Puccini said it was time for a new chapter in her career. "I'm proud of the journalism I've helped produce and the impact it's had on helping our audience understand the issues and events that affect them," she said. "It's been an adventure and a privilege to work at the national broadcaster, an institution where I've made lifelong friends. It's now time for a new chapter in my career. "I'll be watching and cheering you all on to great success and important journalism that will continue to benefit the Australian public." Accuracy concerns over Fazal's reporting Three stories by Fazal have been withdrawn by the public broadcaster in recent weeks over concerns about their accuracy. Other senior managers at the broadcaster at the time of Fazal's reporting have already left the broadcaster for unrelated reasons, including Four Corners executive producer Mathew Carney, news director Justin Stevens and managing director David Anderson. Once a member of the Mongols bikie club, Fazal switched careers, becoming an award-winning journalist specialising in crime, violence, imprisonment and terrorism. He was terminated last year after an ABC investigation into his appearance on a podcast with a former underworld figure. In recent weeks, the two Four Corners episodes Cocaine Nation and Meth Highway were removed by the ABC due to accuracy concerns, along with a Background Briefing episode titled "Remy was 12 when she became a drug dealer". On Monday, Media Watch reported on claims that "Remy", who purported to be a cocaine dealer in the Background Briefing and a Four Corners episode, was self-styled Sydney rapper Charissa Habkouk, who said the core of her story was invented. Ms Habkouk told Media Watch she considered Remy "an acting role and a favour to Mahmood". "All of that … is a complete fable … there's no validity to [it] … [Fazal] knew I could play the part and look the part," she said. Media Watch also alleged the Mercedes-Benz that "Remy" and Fazal drove around in the Four Corners episode was hired by the ABC and not owned by "Remy" as the program implied. In a response to Media Watch, Fazal rejected Ms Habkouk's claims and said he stood by the "integrity of my reporting and the editorial processes that underpinned both programs". "I reject the suggestion that I fabricated, staged or knowingly published information that I believed to be false," Fazal said in a statement. The ABC has previously said Fazal's episodes were removed "following concerns identified about the veracity of sources used in the three programs". "The ABC Ombudsman is already conducting an independent review of whether the Four Corners programs complied with the ABC's editorial standards," it said in a statement. Apology to Gina Rinehart Puccini's departure comes on the same day the ABC has apologised for a Race Around the World episode containing remarks about mining magnate Gina Rinehart, despite the ABC Ombudsman finding it did not breach editorial standards. The episode featured contestant Kate McGuinness describing a fictional scenario that involved a violent attack on Mrs Rinehart. Managing director Hugh Marks said the segment fell short of community expectations. "While the Ombudsman has found that the film did not breach the ABC's editorial policies, the ABC acknowledges the episode has fallen short of community expectations," Mr Marks said in a statement. "The ABC apologises to Mrs Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film." Mrs Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, wrote to the ABC Board on July 23 calling on the ABC to immediately remove the material, publicly apologise and investigate how the material came to be published, with full accountability for those responsible, a company statement said. McGuinness released a statement through the ABC last week, apologising to anyone she offended and saying the sense of humour featured in her films on Race Around the World was "farcical". "In no way was it my intention to promote violence," she said. "My writing is cartoonish and always satirical. "Unfortunately, jokes do not land with everyone. Its purpose was never to be taken literally."