The ABC is now without a chair or a managing director after its chairman, Justin Milne, was forced to resign in the face of damaging allegations he compromised the independence of the public broadcaster.
But Milne denied there had been any interference by the government in the ABC and said the “interests of the ABC have always been utmost in my mind”.
Milne’s resignation came just four days after the shock sacking of the ABC’s first female managing director, Michelle Guthrie, halfway through her five-year term, a move she said had “devastated” her.
The decision also came in the face of a departmental inquiry into his actions and enormous public pressure to resign, including from the public broadcaster’s angry staff, who are understood to have been considering industrial action had the chairman remained in his job.
Guthrie’s sacking was followed by a stream of sensational allegations leaked to the press about Milne allegedly calling on Guthrie to fire the chief economics correspondent, Emma Alberici, and the political editor, Andrew Probyn.
“They [the government] hate her,” Milne wrote in a leaked email in reference to Alberici. “Get rid of her.”
After initially vowing to stay on as chairman, Milne quit on Thursday after the board asked him to step aside pending the government inquiry.
After an emergency board meeting, held without Milne, the ABC board thanked him for his “experienced leadership”.
“The board thanks Mr Milne for navigating the ABC through challenging circumstances and is grateful for his willingness to put the ABC first in coming to his decision to resign,” the board said in a statement.
Milne said the Alberici email, first published by Fairfax, had to be explained “in context”.
“When there is an issue of editorial independence and accuracy it’s appropriate for the chair to be involved – it’s the chair’s job,” he told the ABC’s 7.30 program. “I have never sent an email to Michelle Guthrie, or anybody else, which says you must sack Emma Alberici or Andrew Probyn or anybody else.”
Milne said his resignation did not signal that he had failed to uphold the editorial independence of the ABC and he denied anyone from the government had ever tried to influence him.
“Absolutely 100% not,” he told 7.30 host Leigh Sales. “In fact I feel that the interests of the ABC have always been utmost in my mind and, just to get it on the record for you, there was absolutely no interference in the independence of the ABC by the government.
“Nobody from the government has ever rung me.”
“Clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation and, as always, my interests have been to look after the interests of the corporation.
“It’s clearly not a good thing for everybody to be trying to do their job with this kind of firestorm going on.”
The dramatic events have raised serious questions about the independence of the ABC board and its politicisation, which has seen direct appointments by the minister in recent years ignoring the recommendations of an independent panel.
Leigh Sales (@leighsales)My Qs for the other members of the ABC Board, all of whom have so far remained publicly silent:
September 27, 2018
1. Why did they agree that Michelle Guthrie had to go?
2. Why, if they saw the "political interference" email/conversation records last week, did they not act until that became public?
Questions will also likely be asked about the rest of the directors on the board if it is verified that they were aware of Milne’s alleged editorial interference but backed his decision to terminate Guthrie anyway.
ABC staff have welcome Milne’s resignation and union sources said if he had not quit industrial action was likely.
Sally Sara (@sallyjsara)V relieved that Chairman of the ABC Justin Milne has resigned. Many staff were shocked and disappointed by his lack of commitment to uphold the independence of the ABC.
September 27, 2018
Milne’s resignation came hours after an indication from the communications minister, Mitch Fifield, that he no longer had the support of the government.
Asked if he believed Milne should stay in his position following the revelations, Fifield said: “Well, it’s a matter for every high office holder to continually assess whether they retain the capacity to effectively discharge the duties of their office.”
Fifield was talking at a press conference in Melbourne where he said it had been a difficult week for the ABC and he reiterated the government’s commitment to the independence of the broadcaster.
The minister responsible for the ABC also said neither he nor the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull had ever asked for a reporter to be sacked.
“Let me speak, firstly, to myself,” Fifield said. “I have never sought to have any employee of the ABC removed from their position. That has never happened. Can I also say that I had never heard the former prime minister seek to have any employee of the ABC removed.”
Later Fifield said in a statement: “The government will appoint an acting chair and will also commence the legislated process to appoint a permanent chair.
“The ABC act lays down an independent nomination panel process to be followed for appointing the chair of the ABC. The inquiry being undertaken by the secretary of the Department of Communications and the Arts will continue.”
The acting managing director, David Anderson, a veteran of the ABC and a strong candidate for the job, moved to reassure staff that ABC independence was paramount.
“Our staff should feel confident they can do their job without interference and Australians can continue to trust their national broadcaster as they always have,” Anderson told staff.
“As stated already, the ABC is quite clear that it is the duty of the board to ‘maintain the independence and integrity of the corporation’. The act also requires the board to ensure that ABC reporting is ‘accurate and impartial’ and that policies and processes are in place to guarantee independence and impartiality.
“I understand the upset and disquiet caused to many of our people through these events and want to offer you my support and that of the ABC leadership team in every way.”
Guardian Australia revealed Milne regularly spoke to ABC executives directly, including the corporation’s news director, Gaven Morris, about contentious stories or content he didn’t approve of and referred to Guthrie as ‘the missus’”.
A close friend of Turnbull, Milne behaved more like a managing director than a chairman, sources said, and had strong views about the ABC’s reporting and programming.
News Corp revealed Milne asked Guthrie to “shoot” Probyn because Turnbull hated him.
“He told me I was putting the future of the ABC at risk as we are asking the government for half a billion dollars for Jetstream and we won’t get it unless I do what I’m told,” Guthrie told the board in one account. “I told him you can never make the government happy, even if you wanted to.”
The Community and Public Sector Union ABC section secretary, Sinddy Ealy, said there needed to be a full independent inquiry into the level of political interference at the ABC.
“We need a forensic examination, not mere denials from the outgoing chairman and Coalition politicians to have confidence that the ABC is being allowed to operate in the interests of Australians not in the interests of the Liberal party.”
