Jones announces next steps
Jones flagged his intention to resume his role at ADH TV but said his health needed to take priority.
“I have every intention of returning to broadcasting eventually. It is what I do. My work is my life. I could have retired but as I’ve often said if you stop you drop.
“However, I won’t be returning just now because of my latest medical assessments conducted in the last week.”
Jones said he sought urgent medical attention last weekend “to address traumatic pain, among other things,” with his doctors describing his overall health as “poor”.
Referencing his use of a walking stick over recent months, Jones said he had been putting off necessary for some time.
“My doctors are now urging that I address these issues now that I have no upcoming commitments.”
In May 2020, Jones announced his retirement from radio network 2GB on doctor’s advice. Behind the scenes, he was being forced out on commercial grounds as advertisers had boycotted his program over controversial remarks suggesting that then-New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern should have a sock shoved down her throat. 2GB is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.
In early November 2021, Jones’ contract was not renewed by Sky News, where Jones had been hosting a nightly television program.
Indecent assault allegations
The initial December investigation by the Herald and The Age canvassed the claims made by six men who allege they were targeted by the former talkback star.
A former 2GB employee alleged Jones would grope his penis while he was driving him from the networks Pyrmont studios to the broadcaster’s palatial apartment in Circular Quay. “What he did to me was a criminal offence. He cannot die without people knowing what he’s done,” the former employee said.
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Late businessman Alexander Hartman also made allegations to four journalists he was preyed on by Jones. Marcus Schmidt was 26 when Jones allegedly groped his penis while he was driving. Odin Childs alleged a drunk Jones fondled his penis without consent when he was 22 and working as a waiter at a South Coast restaurant. A fifth man, an aspiring musician, described being “scared shitless” when Jones allegedly pounced on him and began kissing him.
The investigation later revealed that police investigated a 2017 complaint by a schoolboy who alleged Jones indecently assaulted him at the broadcaster’s sprawling Southern Highlands estate.
Two specialist detectives later met the schoolboy and his principal at his high school in Wollongong, south of Sydney. The detectives later came to his house, where he provided a statement alleging he had just turned 17 when he was invited to spend a weekend at Jones’ Fitzroy Falls property in January 2017.
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At the time, Jones was the top-rating broadcaster on 2GB and had taken an interest in and was financially assisting the schoolboy and his mother as they battled numerous difficulties, including the death of the schoolboy’s sister.
The schoolboy alleges he and Jones, who was 75 at the time, watched a movie at the luxurious rural property before Jones passionately kissed him on the lips and placed his left hand on the schoolboy’s buttocks. He initially froze, then pushed Jones away. He said he didn’t make a scene because of anxiety that Jones might withdraw support for his family if he complained.
He told the police in writing that he went to the bathroom “with my loofah and soap and began scrubbing my mouth, inside and out, as much as I could”.
The police complaint was not progressed at the time but in the years since, one of the officers – who now holds the rank of inspector – has continued to counsel and support the family.
Health claims
In his newly released video, Jones said he would focus on his health and if “others want to continue to throw stones at me, that is their choice”.
“I hope I’m far from the end of life but I have been advised that I have a serious need of getting well and I must now take the medical advice and do everything within my power to preserve my existence in the most comfortable way possible,” he said.
Jones ended the video by reading a poem he said had been written by a viewer.
Source Agencies
