Emails show ABC chairman urged Michelle Guthrie to fire journalist after Malcolm Turnbull complaint
ABC chairman Justin Milne’s demand to have a senior journalist sacked because the Federal Government ‘hate’ her will be subject to an inquiry, following a day of heated protests by ABC staff.
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ABC chairman Justin Milne’s demand to have a journalist sacked because the government ‘hated’ her will be investigated in a departmental inquiry.
The Communications Department secretary will conduct an inquiry into the controversy and report as soon as possible, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield today announced.
Mr Milne is facing calls to resign after a leaked email revealed he urged sacked managing director Michelle Guthrie to “fire” senior journalist Emma Alberici after Malcolm Turnbull complained about her reporting.
Meantime, Mr Milne was expected to appear on the ABC’s 7.30 program tonight but host Leigh Sales tweeted that the show’s request for an interview with Mr Milne had been “declined”.
Hundreds of ABC staff gathered at demonstrations in the national broadcaster’s Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne offices in response to the reports.
They unanimously passed a motion at the meeting calling for Mr Milne to stand aside while an independent investigation is conducted into the matter.
“The current chair of the ABC is simply unfit for the role,” MEAA chief Paul Murphy said while addressing the meeting.
“If the reports are true, he has no option but to resign because what he has done is cross the line between public broadcaster and state broadcaster.”
OPINION: ABC sacked the wrong person by firing Guthrie
TIMELINE: Two years of trouble at the ABC
ANDREW BOLT: Justin Milne must go
Staff meeting underway at ABC now pic.twitter.com/Vprm7gqCux
— Joe O'Brien (@JoeABCNews) September 26, 2018
Packed to the rafters for an #abc staff meeting to express concern about potential political interference in our work #auspol pic.twitter.com/eNpJ5aQX7E
— Sarah Gerathy (@sarahgerathy) September 26, 2018
A motion circulated through ABC newsrooms ahead of the meetings calling on Mr Milne to “publicly acknowledge whether the political interference suggested in the emails are true, and if so, immediately resign from his position”.
It notes ABC staff are “appalled” by revelations Mr Milne called for Ms Alberici for be fired.
“The failure of the ABC’s own Chairman to stand up for independent journalism is concerning,” it says.
“After years of turmoil and poor leadership, ABC staff deserve better.”
Labor and the Greens earlier called for a Senate inquiry into ABC management following the revelations.
WHAT MILNE SAID
Mr Milne’s email to Guthriie email, leaked to Fairfax Media by a source close to the board, shows he was willing to bend to political pressure in the months before she was sacked.
“They [the government] hate her,” Mr Milne reportedly wrote in the email dated May 8.
“We are tarred with her brush. I think it’s simple. Get rid of her. We need to save the ABC — not Emma. There is no guarantee they [the Coalition] will lose the next election.”
Mr Milne did not deny or respond directly to reports he called for Ms Alberici to be sacked but said in a statement today: “The job of the ABC Board is to independently govern the Corporation, protect its best interests, ensure that it is well funded, well managed, and that our content is of the highest standards.”
“That is precisely what the board has done and will continue to do. I do not propose to provide a running commentary on the day to day issues which arise as we carry out our duties.”
MILNE UNDER PRESSURE TO QUIT
Mr Milne is now facing calls to stand down given the ABC board is required by law to “maintain the independence and integrity” of the broadcaster and ensure its impartial reporting.
Senator Fifield rejected any suggestion the government had put pressure on the ABC to sack a journalist.
“From time to time, I have raised factual errors in ABC reporting, but have always respected the legislated operational and editorial independence of the ABC,” Mr Fifield said in a statement just before 1pm.
“I have never involved myself in staffing matters, nor am I aware of any member of the Government who has sought to do so.
“The operations of the ABC are entirely matters for the board and management of the ABC which, by law, the Minister does not have a role in.
“Questions about the ABC’s board and management are matters for the ABC.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused to weigh in, saying the veracity of the reports have yet to be established.
“The ABC is funded by the taxpayer. It’s governed by an independent board. It’s independence is important to me, it’s important to our government and that independence needs to be maintained,” he told reporters in Sydney today.
Journalists union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, said Mr Milne should “resign immediately”.
“Reports this morning of the ABC chairman seeking to interfere in editorial and staffing decisions at the ABC are deeply disturbing,” the MEAA said in a statement today.
“They would indicate Mr Milne has no understanding of editorial independence, proper complaints handling processes, or the appropriate distance a board chair needs to keep from staffing matters.
“If true, Mr Milne should resign immediately.”
There is also a view within the Liberal Party that Mr Milne’s position is untenable.
“Emma deserves no sympathy but this is disastrous,” an unnamed senior Liberal minister told Fairfax Media.
“He [Mr Milne] will probably have to go.”
Australian Greens media spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young echoed the call.
“Protecting the ABC from political interference is the most important responsibility of the Chair,” she said.
“There can be no more serious breach than the apparent demand that a journalist be sacked at the behest of the Prime Minister of the day.”
Conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs reissued a call for the ABC to be privatised.
“This episode proves once and for all that, despite its claims otherwise, the ABC is in no way ‘independent,” IPA spokesman Gideon Rozner said.
“A situation in which the chair of the ABC allegedly demands the sacking of a journalist because the government of the day ‘hates her’ proves that true media independence is totally incompatible with state ownership.
“The need for a state-owned broadcaster in Australia is well past its use-by date. The Government must end this farce and immediately move to privatise the ABC.”
ABC STAFF REACT TO LEAKED EMAIL
Ms Alberici said Mr Milne should never have recommended she be sacked given he had a potential conflict of interest over an article she wrote on corporate tax cuts, which was the subject of the then-Prime Minister’s complaint.
The conflict of interest she referred to is Mr Milne’s involvement with accounting software group MYOB, of which he is chair.
Ms Alberici wrote about MYOB in her article on company tax cuts.
Ms Alberici told ABC radio she didn’t think someone should be making recommendations about her job if they had “the appearance of a conflict of interest”.
“I haven’t had any personal conversations with anyone at board level or indeed Michelle Guthrie so I can’t verify it,” she said about the leaked email.
“It’s disappointing if it’s true obviously. You don’t want your chairman to hold such a dim view of you and your journalism.”
A former ABC chairman has also responded to the explosive reports, saying he would never have intervened as Mr Milne did because it wouldn’t have been “appropriate”.
James Spigelman, who was chair of the ABC board when it appointed Ms Guthrie, said today he was “surprised” to read the story.
“I wouldn’t have done it,” he told ABC radio today.
“It’s not something I would have thought appropriate for me to do.”
Mr Spigelman added that he had “no idea” why Ms Guthrie was sacked or what had happened to her relationship with the board.
A spokesman for Mr Milne today declined to respond News Corp’s query about whether his email to Ms Guthrie complied with the legal requirement to maintain the ABC’s independence and integrity.
Asked about the email last night, a spokesman for the ABC board told Fairfax: “The board was united in its disappointment at the need to correct content in the [Alberici] article. The board takes seriously its responsibility, as legislated in the ABC Act, to ensure that editorial output is accurate.”
POLLIES QUESTION POLITICAL INTERFERENCE
Federal Labor stopped short of calling for Mr Milne to step down but Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said if the reports were true, the ABC’s independence and integrity “risk having been compromised”.
Ms Rowland spoke to Mr Milne this morning seeking an explanation for his intervention.
She did not provide details of the conversation but it’s understood Labor was not satisfied with the chairman’s response.
“If these reports are true, this is an extraordinary situation in which the independence and integrity of Australia’s most trusted news organisation risk having been compromised,” Ms Rowland said.
“The independence and integrity of the ABC is paramount.
“It must remain free from political interference and withstand criticism even if, and particularly if, that criticism comes from the Prime Minister of the day.”
Labor says Communications Minister Mitch Fifield must ascertain what has happened “as a matter of urgency” and confirm whether or not pressure was put on Ms Guthrie to sack an ABC journalist and “whether any such action was taken contrary to the law”.
Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said it would be a “shocking abuse of power” if Mr Turnbull himself had pressured the ABC to get rid of a reporter.
She did not back calls for Mr Milne to resign but said the ABC “can only maintain its integrity and independence with the support of its board and an absolute refusal to buckle to political interference”.
Mr Turnbull sent a list of 11 concerns to ABC news director Gaven Morris on May 7 about Ms Alberici’s coverage of the government’s corporate tax cuts.
Mr Morris reportedly sent the complaint on to Ms Guthrie, who then emailed Mr Milne.
It was one of several complaints the government made to the ABC about its coverage in the first five months of this year.
Mr Milne’s email was reportedly circulated to members of the ABC board last week before Ms Guthrie was sacked on Monday.
On Monday, Senator Fifield and Labor’s spokeswoman Ms Rowland responded to Ms Guthrie’s shock sacking by noting it was the independent decision of the ABC board.
Ms Guthrie is considering whether to sue the ABC over her sacking. She said in a statement on Monday that there was “no justification” for it.
Justin Milne’s exposed rationale behind his stance on a govt complaint goes to the heart of the ABCs independence. And he’s the chairman!
— Barrie Cassidy (@barriecassidy) September 25, 2018
High profile ABC presenter Barrie Cassidy responded to the report this morning, saying: “Justin Milne’s exposed rationale behind his stance on a govt complaint goes to the heart of the ABCs independence. And he’s the chairman.”
Mr Turnbull and Mr Milne are friends but the ABC chairman said when he joined the broadcaster in April 2017 that it would have “zero impact” on his role.
Andrew Bolt is spot on here. He says Emma Alberici's bias is not sackable and that it's Justin Milne who should go for political interference. https://t.co/xD0BymRTTO
— Sharri Markson (@SharriMarkson) September 25, 2018
Yes. The story is not that Milne demanded her sacking; it’s that he did so bc “the government hates her†and the govt might get re-elected. https://t.co/FZQYAAeRY1
— Barrie Cassidy (@barriecassidy) September 25, 2018
Originally published as Emails show ABC chairman urged Michelle Guthrie to fire journalist after Malcolm Turnbull complaint
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