CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses alleged sexual abuse.
For decades, Alan Jones was one of Australia’s most powerful men. The former 2GB radio host, Wallabies coach, and ministerial speech writer had the ears of Canberra. He dominated Sydney’s airwaves, with prime ministers and captains of industry alike scared to get on his bad side, lest they be on the receiving end of one of his infamous blasts.
As of today, he’s an accused sexual abuser.
Early on Monday morning, police arrested Jones, 83, at his Circular Quay property, charging him with 24 offences a few hours later. He stands accused of indecently assaulting, groping, or inappropriately touching eight young men between 2001 and 2019.
Accusations of Jones’ misconduct were in the public domain since December 2023, when The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age (owned by Nine, also the owner of this website) published a bombshell expose on the media veteran, claiming he used his position of power to prey on young men.
He vehemently denied the allegations in 2023. He has yet to comment on today’s charges.
The investigation into the allegations against Jones has been described as “very complex and protracted”, due to the time-span and high-profile nature of its subject.
So how did Jones rise to power in the first place? How did we get here?
Who is Alan Jones?
As a conservative shock jock, Jones has been on the giving and receiving end of controversies for most of his long-standing media career. He’s come under fire for comments about Julia Gillard, COVID-19, and has multiple instances of breaching the media regulator’s code of standards.
However, today Jones faced his biggest scandal yet when he was arrested and charged over allegations he had indecently assaulted, groped, or inappropriately touched eight young men between 2001 and 2019.
It’s this Alan Jones — the 2GB shock jock — that most of us born before 1980 are familiar with. However, he actually began his career as a teacher, and later a sporting coach.
Jones was born in 1941 and grew up in South-east Queensland. After finishing school, he became a teacher at two schools in Brisbane in the 60s, while he completed a Bachelor of Arts, and found success as a sporting coach.
By 1970, Jones moved to Sydney after being offered a position at the prestigious King’s School in Parramatta. He worked there for some years, coaching the school’s rugby union team while teaching English.
During the 70s he studied at Oxford in England, then returned to Australia to work on a career in politics. He campaigned several times as a Liberal candidate but failed to get elected across various seats.
By the mid-80s his prowess as a rugby coach had been rewarded, and he went from coaching local teams to professional ones. Between 1984 and 1987, Jones was head coach for the Wallabies and led the national squad to 86 wins in 102 games. This achievement landed him in the Sports Australia Hall of Fame.
It was only in 1985 that Jones entered the media landscape as a radio host. Over the next 30+ years, Jones became one of Sydney’s most successful radio presenters. During this time he also became a columnist for various newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, and in his later career was a pundit for Sky News.
As a media personality, Jones was an expert shock-jock, who expressed often-conservative views and didn’t shy from controversy. In 2012 he came under fire for saying that Julia Gillard’s late father “died of shame”, and in 2019, he said that Scott Morrison should “shove a sock down the throat” of Jacinda Ardern.
With a career spanning multiple decades and industries, Alan Jones has rubbed shoulders with Australia’s most powerful people, and in doing so became one of them himself.
Speaking to ABC Radio following his arrest, highly-awarded investigative reporter Kate McClymont said that “nobody can underestimate the power Alan Jones has wielded”.
“He was the number one rating broadcaster. He had the ears of prime ministers, premiers, police ministers, and politicians,” McClymont said.
“He was a person that people were afraid of. So for this to happen to someone is really quite a stunning moment in both media and law enforcement.”
Why is Alan Jones being charged now?
Jones has acquired wealth, status, and power over his life, which makes investigating allegations against him a tricky task.
Back in December of 2023, investigations by police began when a report by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age alleged Jones used his position of power to prey on young men. At the time, Jones denied the allegations and threatened legal action.
In March 2024, a police strike force was formed, and Jones was arrested nine months later.
“This person has held this enormous place in this society, and for this to happen to Alan Jones of all people is quite breathtaking,” McClymont told the ABC.
Despite facing occasional allegations over the years that have never been followed through, this arrest is a huge blow against Jones as the 83-year-old approaches the end of his life.
Which, according to McClymont, is why the alleged victims have spoken out. The reporter shared that the reason the alleged victims have brought their testimonies forward comes as a result of the unidentified men not wanting Jones to receive a state funeral upon his death.
“At least two of them said, ‘I want this out there before Alan Jones dies’, and Alan Jones is now in his early 80s,” McClymont told A Current Affair last December.
“One of them… said ‘I don’t want him to die without people knowing what he did. I don’t want him to have a state funeral where prime ministers will come and sing his praises. I want justice’.”
Jones has made no public statement following his arrest. He has been granted conditional bail, and is set to appear in court on Wednesday, December 18.
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