ABC managing director David Anderson has admitted the public broadcaster's Juanita Nielsen special included false claims that should never have aired.
The two-part documentary, which focuses on the 1975 disappearance of journalist and activist Juanita Nielsen, became the subject of controversy after information surfaced that contradicted claims made by interviewee John Innes.
Mr Anderson told Senate Estimates this week that the producers of Juanita: A Family Mystery had failed in their due diligence by allowing Innes' claims to be broadcast.
'Ultimately a decision was made to publish, given all the checks and measures that had happened to that particular point in time, with representations made by one of the people that were interviewed on that program,' Mr Anderson said.
'There is no doubt that they should have done more digging with regard to one of those participants that was interviewed and the undertakings that they provided as part of that program. There’s no doubt that that should have been better.'
Innes, who is a retired lawyer, claimed in the documentary he was 'placed' in Long Bay jail as an 'undercover investigator' to gather information from Eddie Trigg, who was a prime suspect in Nielsen's disappearance
Innes said in the TV special he knew 'where she was killed, how she was killed, who killed her, how much they got paid, and who paid him'.
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