Why it's taken 30 years for Don Burke to be exposed.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s more than two million Australians would tune in to watch Don Burke share his love of gardening. His hands, black with earth, would wave about as he explained the properties of some flower or fern; one elbow resting on the spade he’d use to dig the hole beside his feet.

As we learned Monday morning, it seems he’d been digging a much larger one all along.

A stunning joint investigation by Fairfax Media and the ABC presented allegations by dozens of men and women that the popular television presenter had sexually harassed, bullied and intimidated employees during his time as host of Channel 9 lifestyle juggernaut Burke’s Backyard.

But why now? Why did it take three decades for rumours to turn into headlines?

Protecting an asset.

At its most basic level, Burke’s alleged behaviour occurred out in near-perfect conditions: he was powerful, he was influential, valuable and, because of that, protected.

At the height of its success Burke’s Backyard was a ratings-winner for Channel 9, and routinely raked in audiences in the high one millions – the kind of numbers we’d expect of a blockbuster Masterchef or My Kitchen Rules finale today. Burke himself was estimated by BRW to have earned $7.2 million in 2004, the same year the show was unceremoniously axed over falling ratings after 17 years on the air.

Popular. Rich. A TV “legend”. An OAM recipient. All worked against anyone who tried to come forward, to suggest that he was anything other than Australia’s beloved garden guru.

According to Kate McClymont, reporter behind Monday’s exposé, several tried. David Leckie, the former chief executive of the Nine Network, conceded that multiple complaints were made about Burke’s behaviour, but no action was taken and Leckie indicated to the Sydney Morning Herald that all complaints he’d heard were “second hand”.

As researcher Louise Langdon told McClymont, “There was an institutionalised acceptance of his behaviour and it was actually not just an acceptance, it was an institutionalised enabling.”

The kind that kept even more women silent out of fear of retribution, both personal and professional; in the words of Tracey Spicer, the journalist who instigated the story, many had “internalised society’s misogyny – a culture of victim shaming and blaming.”

So unafraid, so brazen, so untouchable was Burke at the time that he reportedly didn't even feel the need to censor his behaviour in front of press.

According to McClymont he allegedly spoke to one young entertainment reporter about sex positions, commented on her breasts, referred to the size of his genitals, even told her he purchased a horse for a young relative "because I love watching her rub her c*** on its back". A tape was rolling for that comment.

Yet when the journalist delivered the recording to Channel 9 publicity, her complaint was reportedly met with a bunch of flowers. "He was a very, very big star back there," the woman told Fairfax, "and I think that's what people need to take into account".

The Weinstein Effect

In a twisted way, heavyweight Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has allowed for Burke's exposure. When the world witnessed that retribution against a harasser of such power and influence was in fact possible, the ground shifted and a tsunami swept across the entertainment industry. Comedian Louis C.K., actor Kevin Spacey, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, and dozens more were caught and carried in the whitewash.

Because of this, ordinary women around the world were inspired and emboldened to say "#metoo", to break the silence about their own experiences of harassment and sexual assault; more than 12 million of them, according to Facebook.

Australian journalist Tracey Spicer decided to seize on this unprecedented moment. As she told Mamamia's No Filter podcast, "It occurred to me that I personally knew of a lot of offenders within my own industry, and that a lot of us journalists have been negligent by not digging deep on those stories. But I thought ‘really it is my responsibility now, to tell these stories'."

And so she published a simple tweet: "Currently, I am investigating two long-term offenders. Please, contact me privately to tell your stories." Then came the flood.

Tracey Spicer talks to Mia Freedman about sexual harassment in the Australian entertainment industry. (Post continues.)

With advice from police, support from the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance and resources from ABC and Fairfax, she began to triage the responses. More than 500 people came forward to report the behaviour of 65 industry figures. But according to Spicer, one name came up more than any other: Don Burke.

Even the man himself knows the Weinstein effect allowed for the allegations to be unearthed. Although he insists they are unfounded.

In a statement denying the allegations, the 70-year-old said the story is "opportunistic and intended to severely damage my reputation, by trying to link my alleged behaviour with the appalling behaviour of Harvey Weinstein, which has gained a lot of media traction.

"The bitter irony is that I have had a lifelong opposition to sexism and misogyny. Burke's Backyard was a lone bastion of anti-misogyny from its inception in 1987."

He said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said...

You can read Kate McClymont's full story here. ABC's 7.30 program will air its report tonight.