ABC announces it will hire new ‘cultural guidance advisers’ just weeks after sacking 120 staff

The broadcaster has released its new Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan, which will include hiring new cultural officers and stamping out racism.

ABC managing director David Anderson and chair Ita Buttrose in Parramatta after announcing the ABC HQ will move from Ultimo. Picture: Ryan Osland.

The ABC will hire “cultural guidance advisers” in newly created roles to ensure “culturally informed decisions” are made when producing content and also focus on tackling racism and discrimination.

The ABC on Tuesday published its “Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan 2023-26”, which included an announcement on hiring cultural advisers; it comes weeks after the public broadcaster axed 120 jobs.

In the plan, ABC managing director David Anderson said the ABC was focused on “better reflecting social and cultural diversity in our workplace” and was implementing ways to do this over the next three years.

The 30-page plan said the ABC would ensure its content was “more accessible to more Australians” and this included hiring the advisers. “The ABC will recruit cultural guidance advisers in content divisions to guide cultural enquiries from content makers,” it said.

“Cultural guidance advisers will be the first point of contact for enquiries about diversity in content, centralising this process and ensuring that advice is consistent. They will connect content makers with appropriate resources to make culturally informed decisions.”

The plan outlined a timeframe to implement the new adviser roles - there will be three new positions - by June next year.

The new positions come after the ABC axed 120 positions in June; 40 of them were in the news division.

Political Editor for the ABC Andrew Probyn was made redundant. Picture: Kym Smith

The most high-profile axing was of political editor Andrew Probyn, who headed up the Canberra bureau.

The decision resulted in widespread public criticism and a hastily organised meeting was held with staff in the nation’s capital soon after, led by news boss Justin Stevens, to address fallout over the staff redundancies.

The ABC’s latest inclusion plan – which is released every three years – also included extensive referencing to dealing with racism; at the top of the plan it published an anti-racism and discrimination statement.

This said the ABC would have a targeted anti-racism and discrimination campaign, including with the support of independent experts, that was expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

It comes after Q+A host Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri, Gurrawin and Dharawal man, cited a lack of support from senior management as a key reason for his stepping down from his on-air role.

Grant and the ABC came under criticism for coverage in the lead-up to King Charles III’s coronation in May, after Grant was part of a panel that discussed the impact of colonisation and the monarchy on Indigenous Australians and led to more than 1800 viewer complaints.

Another Indigenous ABC employee, Dan Bourchier, was among those to recently declare he had experienced racism while working at the public broadcaster. He said he was reluctant to go on programs such as Insiders because he was invited on shows only because he was a ­“diversity pick”.

The latest plan said the five key pillars to be focused on included inclusion in practice; a diverse workforce; inclusive content, products and services; connection with Indigenous and diverse communities; and accountability and transparency.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance was also contacted about the new roles.