ABC board dumps probe into Michelle Guthrie claims

The ABC’s board has instructed executive headhunters to conduct a “global search” to replace sacked MD Michelle Guthrie.

Former ABC chair Justin Milne and former managing director Michelle Guthrie in happier times in 2018. Picture: John Feder.

The ABC board has abandoned an independent investigation into problems former managing director Michelle Guthrie raised prior to being sacked.

Ms Guthrie, who launched legal action against the board in December following her sacking on September 24, informed the board in January that she wouldn’t be involved in the investigation. The board recently decided not to proceed with the investigation, acting ABC chairwoman Kirstin Ferguson said.

On Friday evening, Ms Guthrie and the ABC announced they had reached a “resolution” to their Federal Court litigation, and said the details will remain confidential.

On 4 October, the ABC board revealed the investigation was being carried out by an external adviser. At the time, the ABC board said in a statement that it had always acted in the best interests of the public broadcaster, “has fully debated any issues presented to it and ensured that editorial independence has been maintained”.

The board has instructed executive headhunters Spencer Stuart to conduct a “global search” to replace sacked managing director Michelle Guthrie, a government committee heard on Tuesday.

The process of replacing Ms Guthrie began in September, ABC director Donny Walford told a government inquiry into allegations of political interference.

Asked why the process was started before the appointment of a new chair, Ms Walford said the process was expected to take five to six months, while acting managing director David Anderson “can only be in place for 12 months”.

Ita Buttrose was appointed ABC chairwoman by Prime Minister Scott Morrison last Thursday.

The ABC began advertising the managing director role on 15 February. The ads said the public broadcaster was looking for a “financially astute” CEO who was a “proven strategic thinker” and has “successfully led the execution of large, complex change initiatives”.

“At the core of the success for the next managing director will be the ability to capture the ‘hearts and minds’ of the public, understand the unique culture and champion the ABC’s values, while being a true leader who will advance the organisation at this critical juncture,” the advertisement read.

The ABC said the managing director was also effectively an “editor-in-chief”, and as such holds ultimate editorial authority for anything the ABC publishes.

Delving into the circumstances that led to Ms Guthrie’s departure, the inquiry heard that five ABC board members, including acting chairwoman Kirstin Ferguson, were aware of tension between former chairman Justin Milne and former Ms Guthrie, but denied knowledge of political interference prior to the release of Ms Guthrie’s damning dossier.

ABC director Joseph Gersh said Mr Milne had “vented” his concern over an article written by ABC senior political journalist Andrew Probyn, but he had not been informed of a proposed course of action.

The majority of the ABC board believed that, in hindsight, Mr Milne’s view was that government grief would affect funding.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who is chairing the committee, said the board was “totally out of touch” with the concerns over pressure expressed by ABC staff.

“To sit here today, and say you did not recognise these concerns prior to the blow-up, I find it astonishing,” Ms Hanson-Young said.

No board member would disclose in public whether they believe the firing of Ms Guthrie, in light of the dossier provided to them, was high risk.

However, ABC director Donny Walford said the board had weighed up all risks before terminating Ms Guthrie’s contract.

“We all absolutely knew the risks of keeping Ms Guthrie in the position, and terminating her,” Ms Walford said.

“The thing we did not understand would be the public fallout. We did not think things would be leaked to the public, the media. So we didn’t play out every single option that could have happened and only hindsight do we now know about the public fallout.”

But when Senator Kristina Keneally asked the board members whether it was “reckless” and “incompetent” to sack Ms Guthrie following the dossier and the possible risk to independence and integrity, Ms Ferguson rejected the view.

“I don’t agree with that view. There are many factors around the decision that was taken based on advice over a long period of time that is not known, but which I am offering to speak to in camera”, in private,” she said.

Ms Guthrie circulated a dossier to the ABC board in which she said if she was sacked, it would be “in part because of my disclosure about the chair’s inappropriate conduct towards me” and because of interference in the ABC’s independence.

Earlier, the committee heard acting ABC chairwoman Kirstin Ferguson say the confidential settlement between the ABC and Ms Guthrie was led by acting managing director David Anderson.

Ms Ferguson said she was approached by former ABC board director Simon Mordant on 20 February about Ms Guthrie’s legal action in the Federal Court and “invited to join a confidential, without prejudice, discussion with Ms Guthrie, facilitated by Mr Mordant.”

The following day, Ms Ferguson attended the meeting with the ABC’s general counsel, Ms Guthrie and her legal representative, and Mr Mordant.

A media report on Tuesday suggested that the ABC had offered $500,000 to settle the dispute before the announcement of new chair Ita Buttrose last week.

Ms Ferguson said that on 22 February, “the ABC board deliberated and determined that negotiation of a potential resolution of the litigation should be delegated to the acting managing director.

“This was decided to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance were meet at all times, and also so the best interests of the corporation were maintained. As you’ll appreciate, I cannot discuss board deliberations further,” Ms Ferguson told a government inquiry into allegations of political interference at the ABC.

Ms Guthrie sought legal action in December when she was stood down from her $900,000-a-year role halfway through her five-year contract. On Friday evening she announced with the ABC that the two parties had reached a “resolution” to their Federal Court litigation.

“The details of the resolution will remain confidential,” the ABC’s three-sentence statement read.

Ms Ferguson said the board was “limited in what we can say about the appointment, performance and termination of Ms Guthrie and related matters” because of the confidential resolution