Fear of cuts, but no political interference in ABC sacking.
A Senate committee delivers its findings on the great ABC saga of 2018.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
A Senate committee into the sacking of Michelle Guthrie at the ABC has found the the decision to fire her was not due to political interference, but fears of funding cuts were at play within the broadcaster and has blasted the ABC Board for the way they handled the events.
“The inquiry found no evidence of political interference by the Government or the former Prime Minister,” the committee said in its findings.
“Not one director gave evidence that there was Government interference, that they were put under pressure by the Government, or that they had been contacted by the former Prime Minister or Government Ministers to seek to influence the ABC in operational, staffing, or editorial matters.”
However it also found, “The committee considers that the Coalition government has been complicit in the events of 2018 and beyond, by using funding as a lever to exert political influence in the ABC.”
The committee also criticised the way the Board handled complaints raised by Guthrie in a dossier citing her deteriorating relationship with chairman Justin Milne.
“The committee is astounded that the ABC Board did not make further inquiries — both before and after presentation of the dossier — about the source of this tension that was so clearly impacting the corporation and which clearly could have, and did jeopardise, the independence of key personnel.
“Throughout the inquiry, ABC Board Directors emphasised their absolute commitment to the independence of the ABC. However, when presented with allegations against the Chair —by no less than the MD— the first response was not to prioritise and investigate those allegations but to proceed to deal with another issue which had arisen about the same time.”
“Had the allegations raised by Ms Guthrie in her dossier not leaked to the media the board may never have suggested Mr Milne consider his position, the action which led to his resignation.”
But the committee also found political interference — or the prospect of it — is experienced “to varying degrees” throughout the ABC.
“While Australians have considerable trust in the ABC, this trust is not blind.
“Should Australian Governments continue to undermine and erode the independence and integrity of the corporation, the ABC’s status as a trusted institution will be significantly diminished.”
The committee also recommended the ABC’s selection criteria for board members be amended to ensure applicants with substantial media experience and that the Government acknowledge the “benefit and desirability” of stable funding as a guard against political interference.
In a statement, an ABC spokesperson said the public broadcaster’s leadership would review the report.
“This is a report to Government and the bulk of the recommendations go to government process,” the spokesperson said.
“The ABC Board will review the report and consider the findings that relate to it.”
One Response
… a predictable outcome … “Let’s get rid of the current ABC Board and replace them with people more to ‘our’ (Greens/ALP) way of thinking”. Of course, that’s not political stacking, only the other mob does that (conveniently forgetting that Gough Whitlam sacked the entire ABC Board when he came to power, replacing them with ALP “mates” and then changing the rules so Malcolm Fraser couldn’t do the same). A pox on all their houses!!!