Australia’s national broadcaster is preparing a cease-and-desist letter to One Nation over a political cartoon that uses Bluey in scenes of politicians being struck by an SUV. The three-minute animation, titled “State of Melbourne, ” was released in 2024 and has received about 1. 3 million YouTube views.
ABC managing director Hugh Marks told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday that he learned of the potential intellectual-property breach the previous week and sought legal advice. He said the use appeared to be a clear infringement and that the depiction was shocking and disrespectful to children who know the character.
The issue was raised by Western Australian Labor senator Varun Ghosh, who asked whether the ABC had taken legal advice about the video. The hearing occurred about a week after the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines outside her electorate office in northern Victoria, an incident that resulted in both of Haines’s legs being amputated.
The animation shows Bluey driving into former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and television host and conservationist Robert Irwin. In another sequence, Andrews drives while Albanese is in the passenger seat, and the vehicle runs over Bluey and Irwin before the politicians place their bodies in the SUV’s boot.
Marks said the ABC had contacted BBC Studios, Bluey’s international distributor, and Ludo, the Brisbane-based studio that created the series. He said One Nation had not sought permission to use the character. The ABC’s action concerns intellectual property held by Bluey’s rights holders, while Marks also said the video could create a misleading impression of endorsement.
The ABC has previously faced a separate legal dispute involving a One Nation cartoon that used Bluey and Robert Irwin in a video criticizing Queensland’s government. In that case, Irwin threatened defamation proceedings and demanded the video be removed; One Nation’s James Ashby said the party would not take it down. The current matter remains at the stage of planned legal correspondence, with no court ruling established.