ABC inquiry: Mitch Fifield demands answers from board members as political pressure questions remain
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Mitch Fifield has demanded assurances from ABC board members that they acted to uphold the national broadcaster’s independence.
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COMMUNICATIONS Minister Mitch Fifield has demanded assurances from ABC board members that they acted “at all times” to uphold the broadcaster’s independence as an inquiry failed to dispel concerns about political pressure on the ABC.
Malcolm Turnbull and Minister Fifield were cleared of any suggestion that they directly called for two ABC journalists to be sacked by a government inquiry today but the investigation has found former ABC bosses Justin Milne and Michelle Guthrie felt the broadcaster’s funding would be in jeopardy if they failed to respond to government complaints about the ABC’s coverage.
Senator Fifield also revealed he knew Mr Milne, the former ABC Chairman, wanted to sack Ms Guthrie, the former managing director, for two weeks before she was ultimately shown the door in September as the report was handed down today.
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In his review of allegations into political pressure on the ABC bosses, Communications Department Secretary Mike Mrdak found “no basis” for suggestions Mr Turnbull or any other government minister put “direct pressure” on the ABC to sack journalists Emma Alberici or Andrew Probyn.
Mr Mrdak’s investigation, for which he spoke to both Guthrie and Milne, found that the former Prime Minister and Communications Minister had made complaints about Ms Alberici’s and Mr Probyn’s reporting, as well as the decision to move the date of the Hottest 100 and remarks on the T onightly program, but never directly called for the journalists to be fired.
“However, both the Chair and the MD expressed the view that they felt that there was no doubt in their handling of the matters about the Government being very concerned at the issues of opinion and accuracy and editorial standards raised in the four matters,” the report says.
“They do consider that these concerns would affect the ABC’s standing, relationships and support within Government, including for future investment and funding support.”
Senator Fifield acknowledged it had been a “difficult few weeks for the ABC” as he spoke in Parliament today about the report and denied the government had sought to undermine the ABC’s independence through budget cuts and board appointments.
“All these claims are without basis. The ABC receives and will continue to receive more than $1 billion a year. The ABC enjoys greater funding certainty than any other media organisation in Australia,” he said.
“It is well resourced and will continue to be. While it is correct that an indexation pause was foreshadowed in the last budget, it is modest and it is paired with an efficiency review. This represents good practise in what is a fast evolving media environment.”
He added that the government’s selection of board members was within the rules, while also reiterating that he had never sought to intervene in staffing matters at the ABC.
Senator Fifield noted that the ABC had launched its own independent review of the matter and Mr Mrdak’s findings had been provided to the reviews to aid their inquiry.
He noted that he had also sought from the ABC board their assurance that “they have acted at all times to uphold the independence and integrity of the organisation”.
Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill dubbed the Communication’s secretary’s review an attempt to “whitewash” allegations of political pressure on the ABC.
“This is a government that has attacked that great institution day in and day out,” she said.
Labor and the Greens will continue to push to launch a separate Senate inquiry into political interference on the ABC, making it the third inquiry into the matter.