By REBECCA BILLS
OAM for Vaughan Hinton, 80, former ABC executive producer…
HE IS the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) recipient and Monbulk resident with an illustrious career and heart for helping.
Vaughan Hinton has been awarded the OAM for service to the media through television production, and to the community of Monbulk and said he was thrilled and humbled by the award.
The 80-year-old was the executive producer of the ABC’s program Compass for 14 years, the executive producer of outside broadcasts including the first television coverage of Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Battle of the Coral Sea and Anzac Day parades from 1994.
He was also the executive producer responsible for all religious programs from 1986, the Aboriginal programs Blackout and First Australians in 1987 and documentary producer for Prisoners of Hope and Man in Question as well as a radio broadcaster from 1963 to 1980.
“I had worked with the ABC on and off since I was 17, and in 1980 I joined the full time staff – shortly after that I became an executive producer and to my astonishment became in charge of all ABC religious programs,” Mr Hinton said.
“I did have some sought of background knowledge if religious affairs and had always been interested in how religious affairs have been covered in the Australian media.”
Mr Hinton said he found then, and to a large extent now, religious affairs to be covered in terms of doctrines, principals and beliefs that were usually articulated by the heads of the various denominations whether Christian or other.
“I was convinced that the ‘guts’ of Australian religion were more to be found in the capacity of ordinary Australians and how they talk about their beliefs in a way that wasn’t about doctrines and dogma but about their personal experiences.
“So shortly after I became an executive producer, I created a program called Compass with Geraldine Doogue and that program instead of covering religion and its hierarchies, it covered religion as people experienced it.”
In 1992, Compass broke the story about clerical sexual abuse in Australia.
“I’ve tried to be fearless rather than orthodox to the extent that Compass was the first media in Australia to expose sexual abuse by religious figures,” he said.
“Leading into that show, it was very scary and our main problem was we had researched it for over six months and we knew a lot of people, adults, who had been abused as children but at that point, we couldn’t find anyway with the confidence or support to speak publicly.
“We were on very shaky grounds when we first put it to air, but 12 months later the times had changed and the program itself had some influence in abused people starting to find each other and begin support groups with some even prepared to go to air with their stories.”
Mr Hinton said to this day he was astonished that Compass is still going and there are only two ABC television programs that have lasted longer, Playschool and Four Corners.
After retiring 10 years ago, Mr Hinton decided to move to Monbulk to be closer to his daughters and granddaughters and became the secretary at Monbulk Fire Brigade and is currently the auxiliary support member.
“I knew when moving here, I wanted to continue to do something in a voluntary area,” he said.
“I happened to walk into the station when they had lost a major administrative volunteer staff member, and they grabbed me and gave me a very big job.
“While I’ve been terribly busy in my role, my respect for those men and women who go out to both fires and accidents is beyond anything I’ve experienced before.”
Mr Hinton said he would be receiving his medal at an investiture from the Governor-General in a few months time.
In the Australian honours system, appointment to the Order of Australia confer the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service.
