ABC staff walkout in support of Stan Grant

Hundreds of staff stood outside their respective ­offices, some holding signs that read ‘I Stand With Stan’ and ‘We Reject Racism’.

Staff at the ABC's Ultimo studios staged a walkout in protest over the departure of Q+A host Stan Grant. Picture: Twitter

Hundreds of ABC staff across the country walked off the job on Monday afternoon in a show of support for journalist Stan Grant, who has spoken out about the ­racism he has experienced at the national broadcaster.

Staff at ABC offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, southern Queensland and East Timor stood outside their respective ­offices, some holding signs that read “I Stand With Stan” and “We Reject Racism”.

Others held Aboriginal flags in a show of solidarity with Grant, a Wiradjuri, Gurrawin and Dharawal man.

Grant announced last Friday that he was standing down as host of Q+A, citing “relentless” racial abuse as the primary reason for his departure.

On Monday, The Australian reported that three other high-profile current and former ABC staff had also accused ABC management of poorly treating “non-white” staff members.

Racism is abhorrent. I stand with my friend and colleague Stan Grant. pic.twitter.com/KAcRbyBBHK

— David Speers (@David_Speers) May 22, 2023

The protests came a day after ABC managing director David Anderson apologised to Grant for the public broadcaster’s failure to publicly support him in the wake of criticism levelled at his involvement with the ABC’s coverage of the coronation of King Charles III on May 6; he also announced the media organisation would be conducting a review into how it handled racism.

Among those at the Sydney protest were Grant’s broadcaster wife Tracey Holmes, his former wife and NITV host Karla Grant and ABC presenters Annabel Crabb and Norman Swan. Other high-profile ABC journalists, including Insiders host David Speers, 7.30 presenter Sarah Ferguson, ABC Melbourne mornings host Virginia Trioli and radio national breakfast host Patricia Karvelas, posted their support on Twitter.

Staff at Melbourne’s Southbank headquarters gathered at the front entrance to chant “We reject racism”.

The protests were not classed as industrial action, an ABC spokesperson said. “People gathered to show their support for Stan and take a stand against ­racism. It wasn’t industrial action,” they said.

ABC director of news Justin Stevens addressed the staff protest in Sydney. “I am incredibly sorry that he felt let down by our organisation, we could have done better by him, by defending him,” he said. “We will do all we can to make up for it from this moment.

“We care deeply about him.”

Stevens also said that “no one should be vilified for doing their job”.

Stevens oversaw the ABC’s coronation coverage, which included a panel show that focused on the damage wreaked by colonisation, and the harmful legacy that the monarchy had inflicted on Indigenous Australians.

Grant’s comments about the effect of the monarchy on Indigenous Australians were heavily criticised by some ABC viewers, with most of the 1000-plus complainants upset by the timing of the comments, which were made as the coronation was about to commence.

ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron is conducting an investi­gation into whether the coronation coverage breached editorial standards.

Grant, however, was subjected to racial abuse on Twitter in the days after the coronation coverage.

Senior editorial figures at the ABC were not blindsided by the content of the panel discussion just prior to the coronation – the subject matters had been locked in days in advance.

In a statement on Friday, Stevens said: “He (Grant) was asked to participate as a Wiradjuri man to discuss his own family’s experience and the role of the monarchy in Australia in the context of Indigenous history.

“The timing of this important discussion in the lead-up to the event has resulted in a strong response from some viewers. This is regrettable.

“The responsibility for the coverage lies with ABC News management, not with Stan Grant, yet it is he who has borne the brunt of a tirade of criticism, particularly in the usual sections of the media that target the ABC,” Stevens said.

Huge turn out of ABC @withMEAA members standing with Stan Grant. The vile racism that has been thrown at him and other Indigenous staff members recently is not on #istandwithstan#werejectracismpic.twitter.com/EHcPm5U9to

— Tyron Butson (@tbutson) May 22, 2023

Originally published as ABC staff walkout in support of Stan Grant