ABC complaints process under review

The ABC has ordered an independent review into its beleaguered in-house complaints process following outrage over the editorial failings of the Ghost Train: Exposed series.

ABC Managing Director David Anderson at Senate Estimates in June.

The ABC has ordered an independent review into its beleaguered in-house complaints process, which has been the subject of stinging criticism over its failure to adequately address grievances about editorial content.

The review has been commissioned by the board, led by ABC chair Ita Buttrose, and follows outrage over the editorial failings of the Ghost Train: Exposed series, which suggested former NSW premier Neville Wran had ­engaged in corrupt activity.

An independent assessment of that program had found serious editorial shortcomings.

The ABC’s in-house complaints process has attracted fierce criticism, mainly because it has been deemed to not be sufficiently at arm’s lengths from the program-makers themselves.

The review into the independent Audience and Consumer Affairs unit will be led by former Commonwealth and NSW ombudsman John McMillan and former SBS news and current affairs director Jim Carroll, who was also previously head of news and public affairs at the Ten Network.

The review will look into how the ABC manages external complaints, look at feedback about compliance while also examining resourcing, training and remedies.

ABC chair Ita Buttrose said the upcoming review – which is expected to be completed by March next year – was important to ensure the complaints department was operating effectively.

ABC managing director David Anderson and Chair Ita Buttrose. Picture: Ryan Osland

“The ABC’s role as an independent public broadcaster is integral to the strength of our democracy,” she said.

“That role requires the most robust of accountability processes.

“I am pleased both Professor McMillan and Mr Carroll have agreed to bring their significant skills and experience to this review.”

There are 11 terms of reference that have been adapted and updated from a 2008 review into the complaints department including, “whether complaints relating to ABC editorial standards are dealt with efficiently, fairly and reasonably”.

In addition to this it will also look at the “adequacy of the ABC’s Editorial Policies and ABC Code of Practice for upholding the requirements of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 (Cth).”

The ABC’s managing director David Anderson said the complaints unit was “essential to maintaining transparency and accountability”.

“The ABC’s commitment to the highest editorial standards and stringent complaints processes are why it remains one of the nation’s most trusted public institutions,” he said.

“This review will assist the ABC to maintain its commitment to continuous quality improvement.”

The move to hold the independent review comes just three years after the Australian National Audit Office examined the complaints unit and found the ABC “effectively manages complaints” and said its “accessible to the public, easy to navigate and responsive to complainants.”

Despite this there have been several examples when complaints about programs have been ultimately referred to people directly involved with the program that is the subject of the complaint.

Last week, prior to the announcement of the review, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher told The Australian that he had initiated discussions with various parties, including National Farmers Federation president Tony Mahar, former Sydney Morning Herald editor Milton Cockburn and Jewish community leader Colin Rubenstein, all of whom had expressed serious concerns about the incapacity to have their concerns addressed via the ABC’s in-house complaints process.

“If viewers or listeners have a concern about a program on the ABC they should have access to a robust, independent complaints process,” Mr Fletcher told The Australian last week.

“Yet it’s clear that this is far from the universal experience of those who complain to the ABC about a program.

“A number of conversations in recent weeks have given me a better understanding of why there is dissatisfaction with the process as it currently operates.

“It is worth noting that both the UK and New Zealand have independent regulators that monitor compliance by national broadcasters with their relevant codes.

“While the ABC has operational and editorial independence, in my view ABC board and management should consider whether the existing complaints process is functioning as it should.”

Mr Cockburn, who lodged a complaint in May about the Ghost Train series, said the ABC’s existing complaints process could never be truly independent, because it effectively allowed the ABC to be in judgment of itself.

“It’s a bit like complaining to your mother-in-law about your wife – you’re free to do it but you shouldn’t do it with any expectation of success,” he told The Australian.

The announcement of the review comes just a week before ABC managing director David Anderson will face a parliamentary hearing into the national broadcaster’s alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, expensive defamation lawsuits, its controversial in-house complaints process, inappropriate social media use by staff, and the editorial failings of heavily promoted programs.

Victorian Liberal Senator and former ABC presenter Sarah Henderson, who is expected to be one of several cross-party senators to probe Mr Anderson at the hearing, said the public broadcaster was “failing to uphold the ­highest journalistic and editorial standards”, and she has demanded answers on the internal operations of the taxpayer-funded institution.

Senator Henderson told The Australian that she was particularly concerned with repeated, ­inappropriate social media use by ABC staff, and the broadcaster’s legal liabilities that had arisen due to problematic online postings.

Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg who will chair the hearings, led by the environment and communications committee, said the ABC boss would be questioned on whether the organisation had spent its more than $1b in annual government funding “prudently and conservatively”.

The ABC did not return The Australian’s calls.