Alan Jones’ touching story

Former shock jock, ruthless powerbroker and alleged sexual predator Alan Jones has been pretty much untouchable for decades.

Earlier this week, Jones was arrested on 26 offences of aggravated indecent assault and inappropriate touching.

At the time of publication, the charges committed against nine alleged victims included 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault, 11 counts of assault with acts of indecency, two counts of sexually touching another person without consent and two counts of common assault.

Jones was released on bail. His lawyer, Chris Murphy, said that Jones “denies any misconduct” and intends to “assert his innocence appropriately in the courtroom”.

This is not the first time Jones has been accused of sexual misconduct or had unsavoury spats with the law.

In 1975, he was ‘persuaded to resign as teacher’ at Sydney’s exclusive The King’s School for boys after it was alleged Jones had a 'bad, very bad' influence over and inappropriate relationships with some of his students.

Then there was the London incident in 1988 when Jones was arrested at an underground public toilet and charged with "outraging public decency" and "committing an indecent act". Those charges were later dropped.

Alan Jones' 1988 arrest, as reported in the Daily Mirror

Jones’ chequered record also includes the time he incited the Cronulla race riots in 2005, for which he was fined.

In that particular escapade, among other choice expressions of racial hatred, Jones used his radio program to read out a text message encouraging people to:

“Come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge... get down to North Cronulla to support the Leb and wog bashing day."

Then there was the time the Australian Broadcasting Authority found that Jones had engaged in “cash for comment”, misleading listeners by presenting paid endorsements as editorial opinion.

There were also many verdicts against him and 2GB in defamation actions, including one in 2018, in which the judge found his behaviour 'vicious and spiteful' and ordered Jones and 2GB to pay over $3 million in compensation.

Socking it to shock jock Alan Jones

Executive editor Michelle Pini discusses shock jock Alan Jones' latest angry, misogynistic tirade.

Olden-style radio was also Jones’ main platform for his assorted public toilet-style misogyny, sprinkled with a few abusive tweets, including the following standout declarations:

"Women [specifically,Victoria Chief Police Commissioner Christine Nixon and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore] are destroying the joint”;
Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore should be hanged over Sydney’s George Street;
PM Julia Gillard’s father "died of shame”;
"they should shove [Gillard] and [Greens' leader] Bob Brown in a chaff bag and take them as far out to sea as they can and tell them to swim home";
Gillard should be "kicked to death";
(to Premier Gladys Berejiklian), “Your head is in a noose… one that will tighten once the truckies and the farmers start”;
(on former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern), “I hope Scott Morrison gets tough here with a few backhanders”, and
(again, on Ardern), “I just wonder whether Scott Morrison is going to be fully briefed to shove a sock down her throat.”

Until his retirement in 2020, when he was earning around $4 million per annum, such hate-filled, blatantly racist and misogynistic tirades formed the foundation of Jones’ massive following for his Sydney 2GB radio program.

Indeed, for this "service to the media", Jones even received an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) award.

His Liberal Party pedigree includes writing speeches for former PM Malcolm Fraser, several (failed) election bids and the appointment of a dedicated trouble-shooter known as “the Minister for Alan Jones” during former PM John Howard’s reign.

Apart from Fraser and Howard, Jones has counted among his high-profile friends former PMs Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison, and billionaire mining magnate and Liberal Party buddy Gina Rinehart.

Following Jones’ arrest on Monday, billionaire James Packer said:

“Alan is a dear, dear friend who I love and it’s a pleasure to support him.”

Alan Jones and Andrew Tate: The cancel culture mates

This week in Romania, infamous misogynist Andrew Tate lost his appeal to end his detention there and, closer to home, Alan Jones is having a garage sale.

Now that he no longer wields power on the airwaves, his other high-profile friends have not rushed to gush about their association with Jones, with most – including Abbott and Rinehart – declining to comment.

Interestingly, his name no longer appears on any of Ms Rinehart’s websites.

The charge of aggravated indecent assault, which he now faces, carries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment for each alleged offence and is the most serious on Jones’ rap sheet.

Nonetheless, Alan Jones is still a rich white man of influence, propped up and insulated by a solid network of prominent power brokers — and arrest is not synonymous with conviction.

Former shock jock, ruthless powerbroker and alleged sexual predator Alan Jones has been pretty much untouchable for decades.