Bumbler Milne shows how not to bone a reporter

Milne and Emma and Probyn

Justin Milne would have been entirely within his rights to demand the dismissal of Emma Alberici — if he had done it for the right reason and with board support.

But in an unbelievably dumb move, the ABC chairman botched the sacking by leaving a written record that suggests he had a motive that is not set down in the ABC Act.

He might have had other reasons, but the email he sent to former managing director Michelle Guthrie shows he tried to have Alberici sacked because “they [the government] hate her”. With a little care, Milne could have safely sent Alberici packing by citing his statutory duty and her history of mistakes. Legal academic Dimity Kingsford Smith of the University of NSW says most of the board’s duty to protect the organisation’s standing would have been delegated to the managing director.

And while that delegation of responsibility could be taken back by the board and used against Alberici, Kingsford Smith says this would only happen in company boards in “egregious” circumstances.

If Milne, with board support, had tried to dismiss Alberici to preserve the integrity of ABC news, that would have been defensible as a proper — although rare — exercise of the board’s statutory power.

Section 8(1)c of the ABC Act imposes a duty on the board to ensure that news and information is accurate, impartial and objective.

Section 10 requires the managing director to act in accordance with board directions.

But there is now a risk that Milne’s invocation of what looks like a political motive puts him on the wrong side of his own statutory duty to maintain the ABC’s integrity and independence.

One of the loose ends in this affair is the position of the other board members. The duties under section 8(1)c to protect the integrity of ABC news are vested in the board, not merely the chairman.

So while the board had the right to seek Alberici’s dismissal, Kingsford Smith believes it would have been well outside Milne’s role if he had acted without board support.

The great tragedy for Milne is that — alongside the improper political purpose — he might also have been motivated by a legitimate desire to improve the ABC’s coverage of the economy.

But there is no evidence of that in his email to Guthrie.