# Alan Jones on trial: What we've learned so far

An episode of [7am](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1461999702), 5 Aug 2026, 16 min.

Audio: https://p.podderapp.com/2544644999/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/62723a1f-3e96-4fc4-882c-b25e0181da4d/99582147-e90c-468d-98c6-b49d006d6f4a/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=70f29d90-2a63-48aa-bf8f-b25e0181da70

Alan Jones is used to attracting attention. But not like this. At 85, the once-powerful shock jock who for decades acted as judge, jury and executioner in the court of public opinion, is now the one on trial. Jones is accused of historical offences involving the indecent assault and sexual touching of teenagers and young men – claims he’s always denied. Now, a judge will decide, with the trial slated to run over the next four months. Today, National Affairs Editor at Ten News, Hugh Riminton on how the first few days of the Alan Jones trial played out in court, and what comes next. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: National Affairs Editor at Ten News Hugh Riminton Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Are you feeling nervous? We are you going to keep walking?
[0:02] Speaker 1: Please talk about a four months siment.
[0:04] Speaker 2: Ellen Jones is used to attracting attention, but not like this.
[0:08] Speaker 1: Do you think you'll be here for every day of
[0:09] Speaker 1: the trial?
[0:10] Speaker 2: At eighty five of the once powerful shock jock who
[0:13] Speaker 2: for decades acted as judge, drury and executioner in the
[0:17] Speaker 2: court of public opinion is now the one on trial.
[0:20] Speaker 2: Jones is accused of historical offenses involving the indecent assault
[0:24] Speaker 2: and sexual touching of teenagers and young men, claims he
[0:28] Speaker 2: has always denied it.
[0:29] Speaker 1: I have never indecently assaulted these people.
[0:34] Speaker 2: The law assumes that.
[0:36] Speaker 1: I'm not guilty, and I am not guilty.
[0:40] Speaker 2: Now a judge will decide. Was the trial slated to
[0:43] Speaker 2: run over the next four months. I'm Daniel James, and
[0:49] Speaker 2: you're listening to seven AM today National Affairs editor at
[0:54] Speaker 2: ten years Hugh Remington on how the first few days
[0:58] Speaker 2: of the Ellen Jones trial played out in the court
[1:00] Speaker 2: and what's still the cane. It's Thursday, August sixth and
[1:08] Speaker 2: a warning, while we try not to get two graphic,
[1:11] Speaker 2: the following story does cover sexual assault. Take care listening
[1:17] Speaker 2: you Thanks so much for joining us. Alan Jones's trial
[1:21] Speaker 2: began this week in Sydney. He's facing charges of indecent
[1:24] Speaker 2: assault and sexual touching. You've been there in court every
[1:28] Speaker 2: day thus far. Can you describe the scenes, particularly on
[1:31] Speaker 2: that very first day as Jones arrived.
[1:34] Speaker 1: So there were really two elements that were a bit
[1:37] Speaker 1: unusual about this on the opening day. One is the
[1:40] Speaker 1: mere fact of Jones's arrival. He's not your normal defendant
[1:44] Speaker 1: in a criminal trial as you might expect. He arrives
[1:47] Speaker 1: in a Chofford limousine. He has security. As he turns up,
[1:52] Speaker 1: he walks in somewhat gingerly.
[1:56] Speaker 2: Have anything more.
[1:57] Speaker 1: To say about how you plan to.
[1:58] Speaker 2: Do the family child room.
[2:00] Speaker 1: He's an eighty five year old man who's got knee problems.
[2:02] Speaker 1: He goes with the walking stick that he leans on
[2:05] Speaker 1: as he proceeds into the court, and of course there's
[2:07] Speaker 1: a forest of cameras and mics and everything as he
[2:09] Speaker 1: turns up. Meanwhile, something else was going on, and that
[2:12] Speaker 1: is that this is despite the seriousness of the charges
[2:16] Speaker 1: and the reputational stakes for Alan Jones, it is a
[2:20] Speaker 1: relatively low order criminal matter. It is dealt with in
[2:25] Speaker 1: the local court. It's not in the higher courts. It's
[2:29] Speaker 1: a judge alone trial, no jury. There is a jail
[2:32] Speaker 1: option for the judge in this case, but at the
[2:35] Speaker 1: lower order for a summary offense. And so it's been
[2:38] Speaker 1: assigned to a relatively small court for a court three
[2:41] Speaker 1: point one on the third floor of the Downing Center
[2:43] Speaker 1: in Sydney, and they're plainly not enough seats for all
[2:47] Speaker 1: the interests that exists. And so there are a variety
[2:50] Speaker 1: of people who were just curious about Giones, curious about
[2:53] Speaker 1: the case, and or might have felt as if they
[2:55] Speaker 1: had some stake or interest in him, and they were
[2:58] Speaker 1: trying to queue up to get into the court. There
[3:00] Speaker 1: was never going to be enough room for them. They
[3:01] Speaker 1: weren't allowed to get into the court, so they were
[3:04] Speaker 1: quickly turfed out. So all of this made it more
[3:07] Speaker 1: of a spectacle than your average Downing Street Center event, not.
[3:10] Speaker 2: Your average coast all. So hadd the prosecution open its case?
[3:15] Speaker 2: What did they say about the allegations they're seeking to
[3:17] Speaker 2: prove against Jones.
[3:19] Speaker 1: So there are twenty two charges, and it should be
[3:22] Speaker 1: said that twenty of those charges are what's called technically
[3:26] Speaker 1: assault with an act of indecency in short form, indecent assault.
[3:30] Speaker 1: The other two charges are called sexual touching without consent.
[3:35] Speaker 1: Now in practice they are the same offense. They were
[3:38] Speaker 1: renamed a couple of years ago. There are six complainants
[3:42] Speaker 1: now they range from two people who had one brief
[3:46] Speaker 1: encounter with them didn't know it, and to other people
[3:50] Speaker 1: who came into his orbit. So the main accuser. So
[3:54] Speaker 1: nine of the twenty two charges relate to a person
[3:56] Speaker 1: who's called complainant Jay, and this is a person who's
[3:59] Speaker 1: been giving evidence. Initially complained that Jay first came into
[4:04] Speaker 1: jones orbit when he was twelve years old and met
[4:07] Speaker 1: him frequently from the age of about fourteen or fifteen
[4:11] Speaker 1: through sport, and Jones took an interest in him. He
[4:16] Speaker 1: was from a very poor background at a solo mum,
[4:20] Speaker 1: and he had a number of siblings and that had
[4:23] Speaker 1: no money, and Jones was willing to support him for
[4:27] Speaker 1: his sporting career by giving him money and later from
[4:32] Speaker 1: giving him a phone and giving him a car. So
[4:35] Speaker 1: the prosecution case was that he was subjected to a
[4:38] Speaker 1: series of indecent acts happening at Jones' Sydney apartment there
[4:43] Speaker 1: just by the Sydney Opera House, but also in the
[4:46] Speaker 1: worst cases that are being alleged at his farmer's state
[4:50] Speaker 1: down on the Southern Highlands, at a place called Fitzroy Falls.
[4:54] Speaker 1: So that's him, and then there are others who also
[4:57] Speaker 1: had these alleged defenses of a somewhat lower order, but
[5:02] Speaker 1: certainly that meet the threshold of crime if they were
[5:05] Speaker 1: to be found by the courts to have been proven.
[5:08] Speaker 2: Some of the testimony we've been hearing from Witness j
[5:11] Speaker 2: has been very detailed and very graphic in court and
[5:14] Speaker 2: pretty tough listening. And I'm sure viewing from wind the
[5:17] Speaker 2: court itself, what can you tell us about some of
[5:19] Speaker 2: the claims that Witness JA has made thus far?
[5:22] Speaker 1: Well, the most egregious, if you like, claims that Alan
[5:27] Speaker 1: Jones came to This is the allegation Alan Jones came
[5:31] Speaker 1: to say to him that he loved him, planted kisses
[5:36] Speaker 1: on him, would pull him in vigorously for hugs. He
[5:40] Speaker 1: invited him to his property in the Southern Highlands on
[5:45] Speaker 1: the way down. So it's alleged this young man was
[5:47] Speaker 1: driving he just got his driving license, so he was
[5:50] Speaker 1: driving Alan Jones Mercedes Benz and during the course of
[5:55] Speaker 1: this planet Jay says that he grabbed him by the penis,
[6:01] Speaker 1: and then once they got inside the house itself, he
[6:04] Speaker 1: says that Alan Jones told him to go and have
[6:07] Speaker 1: a shower and put on a robe and nothing else,
[6:11] Speaker 1: and complained that Jay portrays himself as being a young
[6:15] Speaker 1: man who felt trapped. He'd never had, he said, financial
[6:18] Speaker 1: support in his life. Alan Jones was giving him financial support.
[6:22] Speaker 1: He feared that if he made anything of this that
[6:25] Speaker 1: he would lose that financial support. He'd been given a car,
[6:28] Speaker 1: for example. He was afraid he was going to lose
[6:30] Speaker 1: the car. And he felt that He said he was
[6:34] Speaker 1: a heterosexual young man, he had a girlfriend, he wasn't
[6:38] Speaker 1: interested in men. He felt that this was something he
[6:41] Speaker 1: just had to deal with with Alan Jones. But on
[6:44] Speaker 1: that particular night in the Southern Highlands, it went beyond
[6:49] Speaker 1: grabbing and touching into an assault, which is very excruciating
[6:54] Speaker 1: to sort of detail inside a courtroom, and I'm not
[6:57] Speaker 1: about to repeat it, but it involved naked this bondying
[7:00] Speaker 1: penises and so on, and it was alleged that he
[7:04] Speaker 1: went back to his girlfriend, and his girlfriend later said
[7:06] Speaker 1: he came back from that trip looking like he had
[7:09] Speaker 1: seen a ghost, and that he was withdrawn and emotionless
[7:13] Speaker 1: after that trip, but he didn't tell his girlfriend or
[7:16] Speaker 1: anyone else for some time. So that is that's the
[7:19] Speaker 1: evidence in chief from complainant Jay.
[7:22] Speaker 2: As you've been at winning, you the court heard a
[7:25] Speaker 2: great deal about the money Jones gave witness Jay. How
[7:29] Speaker 2: important is that financial relationship to Jay's account of what happened.
[7:34] Speaker 1: Well, it's important to both the prosecution and the defense.
[7:38] Speaker 1: So the prosecution allegation, or at least his statement to police,
[7:42] Speaker 1: was that he was being grouped, and the prosecution says
[7:45] Speaker 1: there was a pattern of behavior by Jones of financial support.
[7:50] Speaker 1: So that forms part of the prosecution kind of setting
[7:52] Speaker 1: of the scene as to how Jones operated. But in
[7:55] Speaker 1: the opening address, jones lawyer Gabrielle Bisher sc said that
[8:01] Speaker 1: what you're going to see of Alan Jones is nothing
[8:06] Speaker 1: more than the behavior of a man who was quote,
[8:09] Speaker 1: unfailingly generous. So these are the two Joneses that you know,
[8:14] Speaker 1: the judges got to decide between. Is this a man
[8:16] Speaker 1: who's just unfailingly generous, who gives money to young poor people,
[8:22] Speaker 1: people on struggle Street. You know, the joke he used
[8:25] Speaker 1: to say about complaining Jay was that he did just
[8:27] Speaker 1: live on Struggle Street. He lived on number one Struggle Street,
[8:31] Speaker 1: and so that's why he was giving him financial support.
[8:35] Speaker 1: Another view of that was that there was an ulterior
[8:38] Speaker 1: motive to the money, and this is stuff that lies
[8:41] Speaker 1: at the heart of the contestation that the Joneses got
[8:44] Speaker 1: to sort out.
[8:51] Speaker 2: So he Jones's lawyers have now begun their cross exendining
[8:54] Speaker 2: of witness Jay what parts of his account of a testing.
[8:59] Speaker 1: So they have indicated that and this would be normal
[9:02] Speaker 1: in any defended criminal case. Is where you've got the
[9:06] Speaker 1: key witnesses where there are not or the key complainants,
[9:09] Speaker 1: if you like, the alleged victims, and there are not
[9:12] Speaker 1: witnesses to events that took place in rooms where there
[9:15] Speaker 1: was no one else. It becomes a case of who
[9:19] Speaker 1: do you believe? And so it is perfectly normal for
[9:23] Speaker 1: them to challenge the credibility of this alleged victim complainant Jay.
[9:27] Speaker 1: They've said that's what they're setting out to do. And
[9:29] Speaker 1: in their opening address they said they had received a
[9:33] Speaker 1: bundle of dynamite. Was, in the words of Gabrielle Basher,
[9:37] Speaker 1: the Council for Alan Jones, a bundle of dynamite that
[9:41] Speaker 1: would blow up the credibility of complained j Now, this
[9:47] Speaker 1: bundle of dynamite has been the subject of the cross
[9:50] Speaker 1: examination that happened on Wednesday, and so the full day,
[9:54] Speaker 1: effectively on Wednesday, was involved in the defense making the
[10:01] Speaker 1: case that complainert Jay was not credible. And we can't
[10:06] Speaker 1: say anything about that because the prosecution has already raised
[10:12] Speaker 1: an objection signaled an objection and they want that evidence
[10:16] Speaker 1: in that line of argument to be rendered inadmissible. The
[10:20] Speaker 1: judge says that he will reserve his decision on the
[10:23] Speaker 1: relevance and the inadvisibility, but he will hear it. But
[10:27] Speaker 1: in the meantime it's under a non publication order.
[10:30] Speaker 2: And so what do we know about Jones's defense? His
[10:33] Speaker 2: defense team claims he's facing trial by media and the Jones' rivals,
[10:37] Speaker 2: both within the media and across society and political circles,
[10:41] Speaker 2: are out there to destroy him. What have we learned
[10:44] Speaker 2: about the defense he will be running over the coming months,
[10:47] Speaker 2: because this thing will take months, won't it.
[10:50] Speaker 1: Well, we don't know the full extent of the defense
[10:54] Speaker 1: arguments and the way that that will play out, but
[10:56] Speaker 1: we do know from their opening that they are going
[10:59] Speaker 1: to make the that Alan Jones, of course, a devisive
[11:03] Speaker 1: figure in many ways, is the subject of rivalry. Rivalry
[11:07] Speaker 1: by the nine newspapers who launched the investigation that then
[11:12] Speaker 1: drew these complainants, these witnesses, Some of them came out
[11:16] Speaker 1: after it was being reported in the nine newspapers. So
[11:20] Speaker 1: there's a claim there that there was a media rivalry
[11:22] Speaker 1: that was involved. Part of that involves Peter fitz Simons.
[11:26] Speaker 1: So peterfitit Simons is a very well known columnist for
[11:29] Speaker 1: the Sittingmore and Herald, chiefly on sports, but he range
[11:33] Speaker 1: with feeling why and he's written a whole number of
[11:35] Speaker 1: best selling books and.
[11:36] Speaker 2: A formal ollaby that was coached by Jones at one.
[11:38] Speaker 1: Point, coached and dropped by Alan Jones. So we'll see
[11:42] Speaker 1: whether that will be whether he's you know, he burns
[11:45] Speaker 1: with fury over that to the extent I'm not going
[11:48] Speaker 1: to get ahead of where there arguments on that are.
[11:50] Speaker 1: So part of the claim is that at least one
[11:53] Speaker 1: of these complainants had a connection with Peter fitz Simons
[11:58] Speaker 1: and then somehow or other that wound up being part
[12:01] Speaker 1: although that the person who actually carried the stories at
[12:03] Speaker 1: the Sinning Morning Herald was Kate McClement, the investigation's reporter
[12:07] Speaker 1: invescular Reporter. The other arch rival, so called was Ray
[12:12] Speaker 1: Hadley at TGB, So one of the alleged victims worked
[12:17] Speaker 1: at TWOGB, and the case being made by the defense,
[12:21] Speaker 1: at least outlined in their opening statement is that this
[12:25] Speaker 1: gentleman went on to work for Ray Hadley, and so
[12:29] Speaker 1: Ray Hadley was involved, and that Ray Hadley was an
[12:33] Speaker 1: arch rival of Alan Jones. Gabriel Basheer, the lead counsel
[12:38] Speaker 1: for Alan Jones, says that the whole case is a
[12:41] Speaker 1: matter of rivalry, treachery, opportunism, hatred and desperation. She chucked
[12:47] Speaker 1: in double dealing as well for good measure, so she
[12:50] Speaker 1: doesn't have to absolutely make the case because of course
[12:54] Speaker 1: the burdener proof is on the prosecution, but she has
[12:57] Speaker 1: set out that she intends to make the case that
[12:59] Speaker 1: there are people there who, for various reasons, were motivated
[13:03] Speaker 1: to tell untruths about Allan Jones, and therefore they can't
[13:08] Speaker 1: be believed. The Crown in this case has an interesting challenge,
[13:14] Speaker 1: and that is because, to quote the great musical Hamilton,
[13:18] Speaker 1: you know no one was in the room where it happened.
[13:21] Speaker 1: They're relying on a process called tendency evidence, where it
[13:26] Speaker 1: may not be clear beyond reasonable doubt that a single
[13:30] Speaker 1: incident happened, but if there is a pattern of behavior
[13:33] Speaker 1: that's consistently happening, and a range of people who have
[13:37] Speaker 1: no connections with each other report similar behaviors, the criminal behaviors,
[13:44] Speaker 1: then the court is entitled to conclude that the person
[13:48] Speaker 1: has a tendency to behave in a particular way that
[13:51] Speaker 1: is unlawful, so therefore, taken as a whole, they can
[13:57] Speaker 1: be believed. And so this is particular approach in a
[14:01] Speaker 1: case like this, and the tendency elements of it will
[14:04] Speaker 1: be challenged by the defense as well.
[14:07] Speaker 2: Well. Thank you so much for speaking with us today here.
[14:10] Speaker 2: I know it must be grilling after a daylight today,
[14:13] Speaker 2: but once again thanks for coming on the show.
[14:15] Speaker 1: Great to talk to you.
[14:23] Speaker 2: Also in the news, Australian authorities are investigating what could
[14:27] Speaker 2: be the country's first far left terrorist attack after a
[14:30] Speaker 2: group allegedly firebombed the Melbourne defense manufacturer and threatened further attacks.
[14:35] Speaker 2: Lover of Technologies was allegedly targeted for its production of
[14:38] Speaker 2: parts for F thirty five fighter jets. Are links to
[14:41] Speaker 2: Israel's defense supply chain. Police say the group released a
[14:44] Speaker 2: video that claimed responsibility for the attack, threatened workers and
[14:48] Speaker 2: providing instructions for carrying out similar fire bombings. Australian security
[14:52] Speaker 2: agencies say there has been a rise in arson, vandalism
[14:55] Speaker 2: and violent protest by anti Israel activists targeting defense company,
[15:00] Speaker 2: but this is the first time such an attack has
[15:03] Speaker 2: been investigated as terrorism. And A four time section of
[15:07] Speaker 2: a SpaceX rocket has crashed into the Moon at eight
[15:10] Speaker 2: thousand kilometers an hour, prompting concerns that it could be
[15:13] Speaker 2: a precedent for the disposal of space drunk. The upper
[15:17] Speaker 2: stage was left drifting in space after launching two private
[15:20] Speaker 2: lunar landers from Florida in January last year. Scientists warned
[15:24] Speaker 2: that the impact could permanently alter and contaminate part of
[15:27] Speaker 2: the lunar surface, and say it highlights the lack of
[15:30] Speaker 2: rules governing space junk around the Moon's Uncontrolled collisions expected
[15:34] Speaker 2: to become more common. I'm Daniel James. Thanks for listening
[15:38] Speaker 2: to seven AM. We'll be back tomorrow.

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