ABC Senate Estimates: Christian Porter’s defamation action cost ABC $780k
The defamation action taken by Christian Porter cost the ABC $780,000.
Welcome to our live coverage as David Anderson appears before a Senate Estimates hearing. The ABC has been grilled by a cross-party committee on the legal costs arising from the defamation suit brought by Christian Porter, as well as the ABC’s social media policy, and the decision to press pause on the airing of Four Corners’ latest investigation.
Sophie Elsworth12.29pm:‘PM’s office did not request QAnon episode not go to air’
ABC managing director David Anderson denied the Prime Minister’s office had requested the Four Corners program - which is exploring links between Scott Morrison and a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory - not go to air.
The ABC boss said he personally reviewed the episode last Thursday and ruled that more work needed to be done before the episode was ready to “publish”.
Mr Anderson said he made the decision himself for it to not go to air.
“It was my assessment of the program,” he said.
He also said that the episode may still go to air at some point, and he may or may not be involved in further assessments of it.
Sophie Elsworth 12.14pm:ABC staff issued letters of misconduct over social media posts
David Anderson confirmed the ABC has issued multiple letters of misconduct to staff regarding their posts on social media.
“We are tackling these issues, we have issued letters of misconduct, sought a serious misconduct on one occasion and it’s something we are looking at and actively dealing with,” he said.
Mr Anderson said he didn’t want to rush to make comments about the liking of controversial posts by senior ABC staff including Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour.
“What it is, what it depicts and what it looks like, whether or not it affects the effectiveness of anybody who does that, they haven’t tweeted it, it’s a like of tweet and again I would need to take a look at it,” he said.
“It depends on what they are liking, I would need to see if it’s a single instance or there’s multiple instances, exactly to put it in context.”
Mr Anderson said it could be in breach of the ABC’s code of conduct.
He said ABC issued the social media guidelines to staff in March.
Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson said to Mr Anderson he had, “a mess on your hands with your social media policy”.
It was also discussed that the ABC was in the process of terminating senior lawyer Sebastien Maury, who called Morrison government “fascist” and labelled the Prime Minister “an awful human being”.
Mr Maury resigned before he was terminated by the public broadcaster.
Finn McHugh 11.25am:Questions on why lawyer wasn’t fired over tweet
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson demanded to know why ABC in-house laywer Sebastien Maury had been afforded the opportunity to resign, rather than facing immediate termination.
Mr Maury resigned in May after labelling the Morrison government “fascist” on Twitter.
ABC managing director David Anderson said workplace relations law meant he was required to go through a process that “otherwise was leading” to the lawyer’s termination.
“It’s hard to terminate someone who’s resigned,” Mr Anderson said.
Sophie Elsworth10.38am:ABC boss questioned over Neighbour’s social media activity
David Anderson has been questioned by Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson about Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour who liked a tweet on June 1 by an satirical news twitter account, The Shovel.
“Image being the chief law officer and f**king up your own defamation case. It’d be a bit like being the health minister and f**king up a major vaccine roll … oh wait,” the tweet said.
Senator Paterson asked Mr Anderson: “Is that appropriate?”
Mr Anderson responded by stating, “It goes to the issue of any of our staff putting any weight behind something that we would consider a breach of our code of conduct”.
Senator Paterson said by liking the tweet Ms Neighbour, “was clearly expressing an opinion on social media” about the country’s chief law officer and the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Sophie Elsworth 10.15am: Anderson defends use of social media by staff
The ABC’s managing director David Anderson has defended the use of social media by staff members and said the broadcaster cannot restrict “civil liberties”.
He was questioned by Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson about journalists using social media to voice their views relating to issues including politics and referred to the social media activity of Four Corners’ Sally Neighbour and Louise Milligan.
“When somebody has a personal social media account the ABC is not responsible for the material they publish,” Mr Anderson said.
“I am advised that a blanket ban on their social media account is not enforceable.
“What we do have is requirements for people to behave in a certain way which relates back to the ABC.”
Mr Anderson said there is no “pre-vetting” on what journalists put out on their social media accounts and said during the Porter settlement negotiations he was worried about posts being made that were not correct.
“My concern at the time was there would be further statements that would be inaccurate,” he said.
He also confirmed, “I am not about to direct people about what they can and cannot put on social media”.
Sophie Elsworth 9.53am: Porter changed terms of proposed settlement
Estimates heard Christian Porter offered to discuss a possible settlement of the defamation matter before he saw the ABC’s defence, and then changed his proposed terms of settlement after he saw the public broadcaster’s defence.
Asked about the change, Mr Anderson said he would not disclose details.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked Liberal senator Jane Hume if Mr Porter had disclosed whether a third party had paid his “exorbitant” legal bill.
Senator Hume said Mr Porter had undertaken the defamation hearing in a “personal capacity”, but told the hearing that she would take the question on notice.
Sophie Elsworth 9.30am:Porter’s defamation action has cost ABC $780k
The ABC’s managing director David Anderson said the defamation action taken by Christian Porter has cost the public broadcaster $780,000.
In Senate estimates on Monday Anderson confirmed the public broadcaster paid $100,000 in mediation costs to Porter’s solicitor Rebekah Giles.
“We have agreed to pay those mediated and related costs to Mr Porter’s lawyers, as a sum of money, characterised as mediation and related costs,” he confirmed.
“The ABC will pay to company Giles, that amount of $100,000 in respect of mediation and related costs.”
Mr Anderson said the public broadcaster’s legal costs were $680,000.
The Australian reported last week that Mr Porter would receive a sum in the vicinity of $100,000 from the ABC. Mr Porter’s lawyer Rebekah Giles told The Australian she wasn’t at liberty to disclose details of any monies paid but she said she could reveal that the politician’s legal costs for the mediation were about $10,000.
Mr Anderson said if the defamation went to trial it could have spanned three weeks and cost the ABC between $1 million and $1.3 million.
Mr Anderson has told estimates he urgently contacted news director Gaven Morris after the outcome of the Porter matter was publicly announced to ask him to speak with Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour and instruct her to correct an inaccurate tweet about the terms of the settlement.
Ms Neighbour had posted that “no money” was paid to Mr Porter. That was untrue, Mr Anderson said.
One inaccuracy I must correct. Christian Porter today accused me of lying. This is false. No money was paid to Mr Porter. There was no apology. The story remains online.
— Sally Neighbour (@neighbour_s) May 31, 2021
The hearing was told “no action” was subsequently taken against Ms Neighbour, as Mr Anderson said “it was not malicious”.
“I think it was an error and Ms Neighbour corrected it,” Mr Anderson said.
The Australian reported last week that the broadcaster’s lawyers were forced to hurriedly draft an apology to the Federal Court for the ill-timed — and inaccurate — tweet by Ms Neighbour.
For the record, this story in today’s Australian is WRONG. They were told it was wrong but ran it anyway. The note to the court had nothing to do with me or any tweet. I look forward to an apology and correction from â¦@jamesmaddenflâ© and â¦@NicBerkoâ© pic.twitter.com/m104cG0Ffp
— Sally Neighbour (@neighbour_s) June 1, 2021
READ MORE: ABC apology in court over premature Porter tweet
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