ABC kowtowed to Malcolm Turnbull: Emma Alberici

In a legal letter, the ABC’s news boss is accused of telling Emma Alberici that Malcolm Turnbull constantly complained about her.

Former ABC presenter Emma Alberici at Gordon's Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Thursday. Picture: Adam Yip

Lawyers acting for former high-profile ABC journalist Emma Alberici have accused the broadcaster of kowtowing to personal complaints by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and senior ministers, alleging editorial managers had repeatedly tried to silence her reporting so as not to upset the government.

In a legal letter sent in July to managing director David Anderson, obtained by The Australian, ABC news director Gaven Morris is accused of telling Alberici that the prime minister was constantly calling him to make complaints.

“Mr Morris has complained to our client that she is the cause of the ‘prime minister ringing him’ with complaints,” the legal letter from McArdle Legal says.

“That, of course, is worrying. It should not be that the prime minister is permitted to ring Mr Morris to make this or that demand as to its editorial content. The ABC must be independent. The only real contact with the prime minister should be the chairperson.”

The Australian can reveal that Alberici has settled her dispute with the ABC after a protracted negotiation, which ended up in the Fair Work Commission, after she was targeted in a recent purge of 250 staff.

Her lawyer, Chris McArdle, said last night the “idea of a prime minister ringing an employee of the ABC is beyond precedent”.

“This has been an unnecessarily difficult time for Emma ... but she is pleased to say she has settled her dispute with the ABC.”

Mr Turnbull and senior members of his cabinet in 2018 lodged multiple complaints about Alberici, over reporting of economics issues that they claimed were false, contained factual errors and were misleading.

ABC News Director Gaven Morris. Picture: Toby Zerna

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The ABC in response launched an internal review, which found that the articles in question had contained factual errors

Mr Turnbull told The Australian last night that he didn’t recall ever speaking with Mr Morris about his staff.

“I do recall Emma Alberici wrote an article for the ABC on corporate tax in February 2018, which was publicly and widely criticised at the time for many basic errors and misunderstandings a number of which even the ABC later acknowledged,” Mr Turnbull said. “As I note in my memoir my concerns about the ABC have always been about maintaining high standards of accurate journalism.”

On Friday morning, Ms Alberici engaged Mr Turnbull in an extraordinary Twitter row describing the former prime minister as a “bully”.

ABC management has denied it had been behind damaging leaks about Alberici to media outlets, including The Australian and the Australian Financial Review, in order to discredit her.

Yet the letter calls into question the adherence of management to the legal and independent charter of the ABC. It goes on to say that Alberici’s forced departure, following a high-profile career at the public broadcaster, was a result of a desire to “get the government off its back”.

“It seems that the departure of Ms Alberici would ‘get the government off its back’ of senior staff. It is our belief that you should conduct your affairs in such a way that you do not consider keeping the government happy to be a priority,” said the letter, which was also sent to Mr Morris on July 1 this year.

“As Mark Scott once said, the ABC is a national broadcaster, not a government broadcaster. This is not therefore about redundancy, it is about some unworthy personal or internal political agenda. Overlaid with that is the most improper influence, contrary to your act, being exercised by the government of the day.”

The lawyers go on to argue that there had been a long history of the government seeking to influence the ABC management and silence Alberici.

The letter cites an incident during the 2013 election campaign over a story she had written challenging claims made by Mr Turnbull during an ABC debate between him and then opposition infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese that Australians were unlikely to ever require the NBN speeds being promoted by Labor.

Emma Alberici has settled her dispute with the ABC after a protracted negotiation, which ended up in the Fair Work Commission. Picture: Adam Yip

“The Current Affairs boss at the time, Bruce Belsham, decided that the piece should not be published until after the election so as not to upset the Coalition ahead of the election,” the letter said.

“Later, then news director Kate Torney told my client that Mr Turnbull had lobbied then managing director Mark Scott to have Ms Alberici sacked.”

Alberici’s troubles with ABC management came to a head when she had been “warehoused” from her role as chief economics correspondent following the 2018 stouch over the article the government complained had been fabricated. “The ABC capitulated to the government’s censorship demands that the pieces be removed from the ABC website,” the letter says.

On another occasion, on June 16 this year, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher is accused of intervening to cancel a $20,000 commission the NBN had offered to Alberici to host an event to celebrate completion of its construction project.

Mr Fletcher declined to comment.

Alberici lodged action with the Fair Work Commission against the ABC in June after it became apparent she was being targeted in a cost-cutting purge. Alberici is due to launch a book about her 30-year career, which is expected to be highly critical of the culture within the ABC.

ABC last night refuted the claims. “The allegation that former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull made a phone call to ABC director news Gaven Morris on any matter is incorrect,” a spokesman said. “The ABC has no further comment to make.”