ABC mulls diversity quotas

The ABC could introduce staff quotas to improve its representation of multicultural Australia, mimicking the BBC’s diversity push.

ABC chair Ita Buttrose. Picture: Adam Yip

The ABC could introduce staff quotas to improve its representation of multicultural Australia, mimicking the BBC’s diversity push.

Chairwoman Ita Ms Buttrose, who accused the ABC of bias a few months after her appointment in February, says the broadcaster is “slowly” starting to represent more of the nation’s diverse population but might need to introduce quotas for Asian or Middle Eastern staff members.

“We’re made up of many different cultures and nationalities and at the end of the day, most of us call ourselves Australians,” she told ABC News. “And we have to reflect that and we don’t always do that”.

Ms Buttrose, whose high-profile media career spans over 50 years, also hit out at Australian media for being too white, and bemoaned the loss of Australian “larrikinism” during several interviews on ABC radio and television on Tuesday to promote its Australia Talks national survey.

The comments come two weeks after Ms Buttrose kicked-off the ABC’s two-day news brainstorming summit in Sydney’s southwestern Bankstown, with a focus on bolstering its audience across television, radio and online outside the major cities. Managing director David Anderson and director of news, analysis and investigations Gaven Morris also attended, along with about 80 staff.

Kennedys senior associate Persephone Forster, who specialises in industrial and employment law, said as a starting point it is unlawful to hire based on race, colour and ethnicity.

However, quotas are legal if introduced for the “sole purpose of advancing certain racial or ethnic groups as necessary tonsure the enjoyment of the same rights as others in the community on an equal footing”.

Ms Forster said the risk with quotas is they can “outstay their welcome”.

“It’s important that quotas are one of a number of mechanisms adopted to alleviate discrimination rather than a solution in themselves,” Ms Forster told The Australian.

The BBC unveiled its extensive new diversity and inclusion strategy in 2016, which stated that about 15 per cent of its workforce must come from ethnic minority groups and LGBT must make up 8 per cent by 2020. Plus, half of all BBC staff and leadership roles must be held by women.

Ms Buttrose’s comments led Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells to reignite calls for the ABC to be merged with Australia’s multicultural broadcaster SBS.

“I think the time has come that the ABC and SBS be merged because all Australians should have one public broadcaster,” she told Sky News.

“I believe that the public broadcaster’s should produce content for all Australians irrespective of who they are and where they come from. If you really want to talk about diversity and the ABC, I think the time has come to have that discussion.”

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher backed Ms Buttrose, noting that part of her job as chair is to ask “questions about the way the organisation does things and whether there are different approaches which could be considered.”

“In my view Ita Buttrose is very appropriately doing exactly that in the comments she has made about diversity at the ABC and about the larrikin element in our national character.”

Ms Buttrose and Mr Anderson are on the same page about improving the ABC’s diversity, and plans are well under way and will be included its five-year plan, she said.

“We think we do have to better reflect the culture of Australia,” she told ABC’s RN Breakfast show.

“The management and the leadership team are drawing up a five-year plan that we will be looking at the board later this year and will be released publicly and to the staff next year.”