'I tried to': Did Hugh Marks actually apologise to Gina Rinehart?

The video depicting violence against Gina Rinehart aired by the ABC earlier this year continues to make headlines.

During the senate estimates last week, senator Sarah Henderson asked ABC CEO Hugh Marks whether he had also “apologised personally to Mrs Rinehart”.

“Senator, I tried to contact Mrs Rinehart, but she was not ... she would not make herself available,” Marks said, according to The Australian.

“I thought the public apology was the correct step to take,” he said before adding he had “not been asked for a private apology”.

Gina Rinehart/ A still from Kate McGuinness's clip. Image: Instagram
 

Hugh Marks has not yet apologised to Rinehart

The expectation for Marks to apologise to Rinehart stems from the broadcaster's airing of a clip in July, depicting violence against the billionaire, made by creator Kate McGuinness, when she was a contestant on Race Around the World. 

The ABC initially stood by the clip as “satire”, but intense public backlash, and legal threats from Rinehart via her company Hancock Prospecting, saw it finally deleted. She had asked for an apology; but now says she had no record of Marks contacting her.

In August, Hancock Prospecting sent legal letters to the ABC's Chair Kim Williams, Deputy Chair Lisa Caffery and Managing Director Hugh Marks.

The letters “list a series of serious civil and criminal breaches” which it is claimed appeared in a violent video about Hancock in the ABC's Race Around The World, and the broadcaster's subsequent refusal to delete the clip from its platforms.

Hancock Prospecting demanded an apology from the ABC, describing the video as “nothing short of disgusting."

Hancock said in a statement at the time: "On 23 July 2026, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (Hancock) wrote to the ABC Board regarding the publication and continued publication of material concerning its Executive Chairman, Mrs Gina Rinehart AO.

"Hancock called upon the ABC to immediately remove the material from all ABC platforms, publicly apologise to Mrs Rinehart, and undertake a comprehensive investigation into how the material came to be commissioned, approved and published, together with full accountability for those responsible.

"One week has now elapsed. The ABC’s Board and senior management have provided no substantive public response, nor any substantive response to Hancock or Mrs Rinehart, and have taken no steps to remove the material from ABC platforms, despite widespread public condemnation and the serious risks its publication and continued publication pose to Mrs Rinehart.

“Hancock has now formally placed ABC Chair Kim Williams AM, Deputy Chair Lisa Caffery and Managing Director Hugh Marks on notice of detailed allegations of serious contraventions of multiple Australian criminal and civil laws arising from the ABC’s publication and continued publication of the material.”

The matter was referred to the ABC's ombudsman, who agreed it was “unacceptable" and the clip be deleted.