ABC’s move out west splits Sydney staff amid building woes

Delays, staff division and union warnings about safety are some of the issues plaguing the ABC over its push to relocate from Sydney’s inner city to the western suburbs.

ABC staff met union representatives last week to air their concerns about the ongoing move after ABC Sydney radio staff were told that the whole network would relocate to Parramatta by early 2025.

[L-R] The ABC’s Geraldine Doogue; Craig Reucassel; David Anderson. The Parramatta move continues to be a point of tension internally at the ABC.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

Previously billed as a move to push the ABC’s content creators out of its headquarters in Ultimo to better connect with the city’s diverse communities, the move has been met with varying levels of resistance, ranging from frustration to anger.

The plans were first outlined in 2021, with outgoing managing director David Anderson admitting they had been met with a “mixed response” within the organisation.

Ultimo is a central suburb in Sydney, bordering the CBD. Parramatta lies 24 kilometres west and is an emerging business district for Greater Western Sydney.

ABC Radio Sydney shows Mornings, Afternoon, Drive, and Weekends were the first to start broadcasting from Parramatta Square in May. However, some shows, including the Sydney Breakfast show led by presenter Craig Reucassel, were not initially designated to move, given that program staff normally start their shifts before 4.30am.

Under the revised directive, all shows under the Sydney umbrella will have to move to the new facility. At the end of August, ABC Radio Sydney staff received an email from Mike Fitzpatrick, head of capital city network, telling them that to work as a cohesive unit “our teams should all be working from the same place”.

The ABC’s Parramatta base was officially opened in May.

ABC’s flagship station, Radio National, was originally slated to move as well but was spared after pushback from RN staff, including a letter to Anderson penned by Dr Norman Swan and Geraldine Doogue arguing that the station’s presence in the city’s west was not as essential.

Doogue said that Radio National placed a high premium on getting its staff into the studio, which was more feasible at the Ultimo location.

However, the decision to spare Radio National has now irked staff on ABC’s other nationally broadcast Sydney-based shows, such as Overnights and Nightlife, who will have to relocate.

ABC members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), as well as some from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) met last week, airing concerns over proposals to relocate staff.

ABC section secretary for the CPSU Jocelyn Gammie said that members had raised a range of issues, including concerns about the site’s safety and parking for those working late, its facilities, public safety protocols, flexibility to accommodate guests and interviewees, and inadequate mailroom facilities that are unable to accept larger packages.

“They are concerned that without measures to address their concerns, the move could negatively impact the quality of programming and diversity of guests and interviewees,” she said.

(L-R) Federal Parramatta MP Andrew Charlton, ABC chair Kim Williams and managing director David Anderson in the ABC’s new Parramatta offices.Credit: ABC

An ABC spokesperson said the decision to house the full ABC Radio Sydney team in Parramatta had been made to ensure operational efficiency and a cohesive broadcast unit.

“The ABC is currently in consultation with staff about the move, which is expected to happen in early 2025,” the spokesperson said. They added it was a key part of the commitment for 75 per cent of the ABC’s content makers to be working outside Ultimo by 2025, as outlined in its Five-Year Plan.

Union representatives will meet ABC management next week to discuss their concerns ahead of the planned move.

The ABC News Sydney newsroom will also relocate to Parramatta on September 30 after several delays, with the 7pm bulletin to be broadcast from a new studio on the promenade. With that studio still unfinished the ABC said works at the site were progressing to plan.

Around half of the ABC’s 3825 ongoing staff are located in NSW. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1700 worked out of the ABC’s Ultimo offices.

‘Long overdue’

The Parramatta offices were officially opened in May by chair Kim Williams, David Anderson, chief financial officer Melanie Kleyn and federal MP for Parramatta Andrew Charlton.

“I think it’s a wholly necessary move,” Williams said in May during an interview with Mornings presenter Sarah Macdonald. “One in 10 people in Australia live in western Sydney and to locate the ABC in proximity to the listeners is altogether necessary and long overdue.”

But morale in the ABC Sydney newsroom is at “rock bottom” ahead of the move, two journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. Further lowering spirits, deputy editor Julia Feder, who has been leading the newsroom in the absence of editor Mark Davies, who is overseeing the Parramatta relocation, told staff last week she was departing to join The Australian Financial Review as managing editor. Her appointment marks the second major editorial change by new editor-in-chief James Chessell in his first month in the job.

Later this month, before the Sydney newsroom moves, all staff and shows at Parramatta will briefly move back to Ultimo, with the entire office to be shut down for a week to test the building’s fire and electrical systems.

Some Parramatta-based shows are occasionally still broadcast from Ultimo to accommodate guests unable to travel to the new studios. This includes Premier Chris Minns’ regular spot, due to its proximity to state parliament, while Richard Glover’s Thank God it’s Friday show is recorded in front of a live audience in Ultimo.

While Glover was one of the first presenters to broadcast from Parramatta, he initially requested more time for he and his team at Ultimo. He said the letter was about accommodating very occasional special guests in Ultimo, not regular jaunts.

“I really am not a campaigner on the issue. I just whinge about the lack of bins!” Glover said.

With the ABC in the market for tenants to occupy levels 8 to 14 of its Ultimo building to help fund its occupancy in Parramatta, staff are unclear whether that broadcasting flexibility will remain beyond the move, the CPSU said.

Staff have also complained about a deal between the Parramatta Square building and outdoor advertising firm oOh!media displaying news updates from The Australian in the elevators. Several complaints were made to management about having to read negative headlines about the ABC from the News Corp masthead on their trip up to the 39th floor, where the ABC is based.

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