Not-so-great Scott needs to be reined in

ABC editor-in- chief Mark Scott has given serial cause to be sacked for ­incompetence during his exorbitantly paid tenure at the head of the ­taxpayer-funded broadcaster — and probably would have been if he had answered to a board with any courage. On a salary of more than $800,000 including super and bonuses — $300,000 more than the prime minister — Scott could reasonably be expected to perform the duties attached to his title. Those might include a regular attendance at the daily conferences of key news managers and producers when the news line-up is discussed. Editor-in-chief Scott is not only a no-show, but his participation has never been discussed. Nor does he take part in the commissioning conferences at the decision-making level where ABC programming is planned. One of the things usually attached to a CEO’s big ­salary is a modicum of ­responsibility for the ­performance of the organisation he or she is paid to run. Scott hasn’t shown he understands that side of the deal. He obviously can’t control The Chaser or its crew, though he is ultimately ­responsible for the garbage they produce. As editor-in-chief he must take responsibility for the content of the ABC’s news and current affairs, as well as its other programming. This week, the Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption has heard evidence that would strongly suggest ­former PM Julia Gillard was given money obtained from a union slush fund by her ­­­­ex- boyfriend Bruce Wilson, which she used to pay for renovations to a house she owned in Melbourne. Ms Gillard has denied all allegations of any impropriety. The same commission also heard allegations that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made threats to a former senior officer of the AWU, Bob Kernohan, and that ­Kernohan, who had been handed pre-selection to a safe Victorian state Labor seat, subsequently lost that endorsement (it went to Shorten but he withdrew). Further, Kernohan was sent bullets in the post and was viciously bashed in a manner that was not unlike the punishing bruising meted out to former NSW state Labor MP Peter Baldwin when he stood up to the NSW Right machine in 1980. Most news organisations, let alone their editors-in-chief, would consider allegations naming a prime minister or an opposition leader worthy of leading their ­newspapers or bulletins. Not so the ABC under Scott’s leadership. After the ­astounding allegations were made on oath in the commission’s sitting in Sydney on Wednesday, they didn’t even make it to the first half of the ABC’s NSW evening television news. But the ABC (and later Fairfax) had made much of a leaked statement made by Gillard’s former boyfriend Wilson, which made unsupported and subsequently unanimously rejected claims about some of the witnesses testifying against him. The ABC’s flagship ­current affairs program, 7.30, prosecuted a ferocious line of interrogation against retired lawyer Harry Nowicki, who formerly represented the deregistered Builders Labourers Federation, but failed to substantiate any of Wilson’s allegations. It appears to have been running a defence for Wilson and through that, also for Gillard. That’s not surprising. The ABC is well-entrenched among the supporters of the women-only political slush fund Emily’s List, who ­uphold the view that Gillard was unfairly criticised ­because she was a woman, not because she was demonstratively incompetent. Though it is nearly nine months since Gillard was dumped by the voters, her shadow still looms large over the ABC mindset. Thus it was no surprise to see aged US Democrat congressman Henry Waxman used as a prop by ABC ­reporter Sarah Ferguson to beat up a story about Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s ­policy to dump the ineffective carbon tax. It’s just a question of joining the dots. Waxman’s link to Australia is Bruce Wolpe, a vocal global warmist, who happens to have been a senior adviser to Gillard (and still lists that role on his Linkedin profile). Wolpe is a former communications director at Fairfax, where he shared the views of most inmates of that sheltered workshop. He worked for Waxman between his gig at Fairfax and in Gillard’s office, where he was charged with liaising with the business. His ­success can be gauged by the business community’s unanimous rejection of the Gillard government’s economy-­destroying policies. In reality, what goes to air on the ABC is not decided nor vetted in any practical way by the editor-in-chief or senior management. In the ABC, Australia’s Big Collective, such decisions are taken at program level and at best the ABC operates more like a university with inter-program fights taking the place of inter-faculty ­rivalries as key on-air presenters and producers, many of whom have spent their ­entire careers within the ABC and built their own mini empires, jostle to present their leftist version of events. Only after the shows have aired does the editor-in-chief and the other highly paid ­executives on the 14th floor of Ultimo HQ discover what their organisation has broadcast. Scott is an engaging ­fellow but has never cleaned out the clique of former Fairfax, former Labor staffers who make up his inner circle. There have been a couple of appointments from News Corp recently, but until the complacent ABC board ­decides otherwise, no one will be permitted to be the CEO of “our” ABC unless they are compliant to the wishes of the staff. GOOD SENSE AND POWER GAMES ARE POLES APART WHAT a stunning vision NSW Premier Mike Baird has offered the state in return for the long-term lease of less than half of the poles and wires carrying the state’s power. What a dismally bleak outlook Opposition Leader John Robertson put forward to frighten the electorate. The contrast between Premier Baird’s approach and that of the former union boss could not have been greater. I know how hard it was for some of the National MPs to agree to the deal. In small regional communities every job is extremely important and electricity jobs have traditionally been long-lasting and reliable. Essential to the ongoing viability of the town. But if NSW is to continue to match pace with the rest of the world, and particularly those nations in our region with which we are trying to compete in the service industries, we need to ensure that the state’s infrastructure can meet the demands of the future. At the moment, the state’s infrastructure doesn’t meet the current needs of the people. Anyone who gets out of Macquarie St knows NSW is in need of a fix. Last weekend I was in Adelaide and Melbourne. Adelaide is locked in a ’60s time warp with ’50 overtones. Melbourne, by comparison, works far better. Both, however, function more effectively than Sydney. Lord Mayor Clover Moore is an impediment to progress as far as the inner city goes, relying on the retrogressive elements of society to maintain her stranglehold on the city, but that’s beside the point. The problem lies where the rubber meets — or doesn’t meet — the road. Our highways and freeways are medieval after Melbourne’s. Our commuters suffer daily. Unlocking $20 billion in infrastructure funding, including $6 billion for regional NSW, makes sense. Smarter and more successful Labor figures with union backgrounds, including former Labor Treasurer Michael Costa, argue the proposals are “sensible and moderate” and the “right thing to do”. Premier Baird has put his political life on the line. Others tried and were thwarted by idiots playing politics. NSW needs this now.