It comes in the wake of the incredible diatribe of disgust and debate over the incident two weeks back when a real mug punter, a young hothead and Muslim ranter, whom everyone, including us, agrees shouldn’t have passed muster for a seat in the studio audience, got to sling some silly stuff at a politician over terrorism and proposed new citizenship-stripping laws.

Some media have attacked the national broadcaster like a pack of raving loonies and circling sharks. Pollies have been beside themselves, although Barnaby has stopped short of agreeing with his PM that “heads should roll” over the debate debacle.

There’s been a lot of condemnation and inflammatory overreach, but community cohesion has been rent, and some less-than-constructive debate inflamed it all. There was poor editorial control and a screaming error of judgment. Get over it.

The broader questions of free speech, independence and the question of outrage from a government that doesn’t like scrutiny or criticism remain.

Anyway, the young bloke erupted when Liberal MP Steve Ciobo’s in-your-face comments fired those flames of fury. Extreme views need some measured, respectful reaction. The pollie threw back provocative, confrontational and aggressive rejoinders. 

Perhaps, if they’d been measured and sobering, the debate might have actually thrown up some more value from young blokes at risk of radicalisation, the one thing the government scares us with. Instead, it catapulted the conversation into hysteria and hatred and incited the fury.

The silly throwaway lines, the scare tactics and the terror tantrums only serve to wedge the community, to inflame the ignorance and the idiots and to shroud the legality and the social responsibilities we have in a world that is changing too fast for us all. 

Other observers suggest the government defends those with whom it agrees. It has another principle for those with whom it takes umbrage.

Mr Joyce, who can be as hotheaded as the best of us, but is always a sure bet for a colourful turn of phrase, is as worried as many about religious extremism.

If he boycotted the program, he would lose that national voice the Nats crave. In the bush, the ABC is often the media of choice for the Nationals, because they can’t get a gig on commercial airwaves too often.

While it provides him with exposure, it also gives voters the chance to get a better image of who is leading us.