ABC revises Emma Alberici’s analysis after removing it last week

The ABC has republished Emma Alberici’s analysis of corporate tax cuts a week after removing it from its website.

Journalist Emma Alberici, centre, with ABC Managing Director Michelle Gurthie. Picture: Hollie Adams.

The ABC has totally revised and republished chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici’s analysis about corporate tax cuts a week after removing it from its website.

The ABC said the analysis failed to meet editorial standards as it dealt with a storm of protest from government ministers and business leaders.

After a week of debate about ABC editorial standards and independence, the controversial piece resurfaced with an editor’s note explaining it had been revised and updated.

“Passages that could be interpreted as opinion have been removed. Our editorial processes have also been reviewed,” the editor’s note said.

The note added: “Emma Alberici is the ABC’s chief economics correspondent and is a respected and senior Australian journalist.”

The 2000-word piece was completely rewritten and included quotes supportive of a corporate tax cut from Business Council of Australia president Jennifer Westacott and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

It noted how other countries had lower rates than Australia and removed passages critical of Qantas not paying corporate tax for ten years and contrasting that with chief executive Alan Joyce’s salary.

“My analysis of the case for business tax cuts is back up. I hope it enlivens public debate,” Alberici posted at 2.28pm on Twitter, announcing the piece had been revised.

Media Watch host Paul Barry, who was critical of Alberici and ABC management over the matter, commented “Excellent that it’s back up there.”

The ABC News twitter account stated: “There’s more to jobs and growth than a corporate tax cut.” It included the hashtag #analysis a reference to attacks the original piece had mixed comment and opinion against ABC guidelines.

In the second version of the article, gone were the open sentences: “There is no compelling evidence that giving the country’s biggest companies a tax cut sees that money passed on to workers in the form of higher wages. Treasury modelling relies on theories that belie the reality that’s playing out around the world.”

This was replaced by: “The Prime Minister has invited a who’s who of Australian business to accompany him this week on his trip to meet President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in Washington. Spruiking his cuts to corporate tax will be high on Malcolm Turnbull’s agenda, especially after the United States passed legislation last month dropping America’s business tax rate from 35 to 21 per cent — four percentage points lower than is proposed here.”

Also absent from the new piece was a prominent photo of Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, with the caption: “Qantas is about to clock its 10th year tax free, while its CEO Alan Joyce takes home a $24.6 million salary.”

The new version featured a smiling picture of the Prime Minister with the caption: “Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull left for Washington on Wednesday.”

Joyce had complained to ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie about the piece as had the Prime Minister’s Office, the Treasurer’s office and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield.