ABC losses deepen as job redundancies cost taxpayer dearly

The ABC paid out $35.7m on staff redundancies as the public broadcaster swung to a deeper than expected loss in the 2020 financial year.

Ita Buttrose, who officially joined the ABC as chairwoman last year in March, was paid $205,631 in the 2020 financial year, which was her first full-year in the role. Picture; AAP

The ABC spent $35.7m on redundancy payments for up to 250 staff as the public broadcaster delivered a deeper-than-expected loss in the past financial year.

The television and radio broadcaster, which receives more than $1bn from the federal government annually, recorded an annual loss of $18.4m, primarily due to a $9.9m drop in the revaluation of its extensive property portfolio. The bottom line result compares original budget loss forecast of $11.1m, according to its 2020 annual report, which was tabled in parliament late Tuesday.

Details of redundancy costs come after the ABC recently unveiled its new five-year blueprint, which included the loss of up to 250 jobs, in a bid to help plug an $84m budget hole. A raft of journalists including Emma Alberici, Tracy Bowden and Michaela Boland have left the broadcaster in recent months.

The ABC’s plans also included the axing of its controversial lifestyle website ABC Life, TV comedy channel and 7.45am broadcast-only radio news bulletin. It also flagged it would cut $5m annually from independent production, primarily from the factual and entertainment slate.

The ABC also slashed travel budgets by 25 per cent, and said about 200 ABC journalists at its Sydney headquarters would be moved to other parts of the country by 2025 in a bid to boost its news coverage.

Managing director David Anderson said in the annual report it had been a “challenging year for all of us for many reasons, the COVID-19 pandemic just one of them”.

ABC chair Ita Buttrose. Picture: Supplied

“The bushfires across the nation last summer tested our teams to their best abilities , from our metro news rooms to our regional bureaux across the country,” he said.

Mr Anderson said the ABC will “prioritise its goal to become Australia’s premier digital media innovator and a leader in anticipating the on-demand and personalised ways people seek their information and entertainment”.

“During 2020-21, we will improve personalisation across platforms and devices to provide an experience that reflects audiences’ preferences and makes it easier than ever to find ABC content and services,” Mr Anderson said.

Mr Anderson, who took over from Michelle Guthrie following her sacking by the board last year in September, was paid $998,014 in the 2020 financial year, with the bulk of that made of a base salary of $938,034.

That’s down from his $1.14m remuneration last year, which included $265,933 in other long term employee benefits such as long service leave. None of the ABC’s top executives were paid a bonus in the past year.

The remuneration for director of news, analysis and investigations Gaven Morris fell 17 per cent to $495,430 from $600,146 last year. His pay last year was boosted by $31,211 in long employee benefits.

Ita Buttrose, who officially joined the ABC as chair last year in March, was paid $205,631 in the 2020 financial year, which was her first full-year in the role.

That’s up sharply from $62,158 in the previous year, which was for only a few months’ work.

The broadcaster’s annual report shows that $35.7m was spent on separation and redundancies in the past financial year. An ABC spokesman said $31.8m was spent on the latest round of redundancies.

The ABC reported a surplus of $38.3m in the 2019 financial year, which was inflated by a $35.5m windfall from the revaluation of its Sydney headquarters in Ultimo and unexpected insurance recovery. It booked costs related to separation and redundancies of $5.5m in 2019 financial year.

It paid Ms Guthrie $1.56m in the 2019 financial year, with the bulk accounting for termination benefits. She received $1.35m in termination benefits, plus short-term employee benefits totalling $211,983 and superannuation of $4,920. That compares to $963,991 in the previous year.