18-07-2025
Media Watch refuses to investigate allegations ABC covered up involvement of presenter Myf Warhurst in violent altercation between neighbours
A woman who became embroiled in a neighbourhood feud with Myf Warhurst has taken aim at Media Watch after it ignored calls to investigate the ABC's alleged cover-up of the TV presenter's involvement in the confrontation.
The incident occurred in December 2022 when popular Spicks and Specks presenter and her then-partner, architect Brian Steendyk, raised concerns about a concrete wall being built along their shared boundary with neighbour Karla Martinez.
The couple claimed part of the structure crossed into their property.
Tensions boiled over on December 28, when Mr Steendyk used "a chainsaw and grinder" to cut through approximately 26 metres of the newly constructed fence, according to The Australian.
Ms Martinez alleged the incident quickly descended into chaos.
Warhurst claimed to the police she and her partner had been assaulted "by the neighbour".
A story, which has since been taken down, was published on the ABC's website in May 2024 and targeted the actions of Ms Martinez but didn't even name Warhurst for her role in the disagreement.
Ms Martinez reached out to Media Watch over the article in an attempt to expose "conflicts of interest, journalistic deceit, misrepresentation, manipulation and plagiarism" in an act "out of desperation" late last year, but was met with a message saying it was "not interested" in exploring the claims.
The mother of three is now prepared to sure the ABC for damages, following the effects the article has had on her life and career.
'I've faced a lot of tough things in my life – I came to Australia as a refugee from El Salvador in 1990 and had to work hard for everything I've got,' she told The Australian.
'But what I've gone through with the ABC is worse than anything else I have experienced – they've ruined my life while protecting their own employee, and they're refusing to take any responsibility for it whatsoever.
'I called and spoke to a producer at Media Watch about my treatment at the hands of the ABC and everything I had been through last December. But they said they weren't interested in having a look at it. I was very surprised.'
Ms Martinez reportedly spoke to Media Watch when the show was in between hosts after long-serving presenter Paul Barry left and before Linton Besser joined the program.
During the heated feud in 2022, police from nearby Eltham station attended the scene and separated the parties.
Mr Steendyk made a formal complaint, leading to Ms Martinez being charged with assault- a charge that was later dropped.
The conflict escalated in the weeks that followed, with both sides taking out interim intervention orders (IVOs) against each other.
An ongoing dispute over a new concrete wall Ms Martinez was building sparked the ABC's article about the woman but in the story, Warhurst wasn't named and was only referred to as an "ABC contractor" despite the fact her partner's police statement was quoted in it.
However Mr Steendyk was also not identified by name, but only as a "neighbour".
Ms Martinez has called for Warhurst to be suspended without pay but the presenter has denied knowing about the story until after it was published.
In a statement to the ABC said: "The ABC is assured it acted appropriately in this matter.
"Myf Warhurst had no involvement in publishing the story. Myf is highly valued by the ABC."
has also approached Ms Warhurst for comment.
