Former ABC newsreader says employee made ‘pretty awful comments’ about her Oxford University offer

Former ABC newsreader Brooke Boney has taken a swipe at an employee who she says made derogatory comments about a recent offer she received.

Former ABC newsreader Brooke Boney says she is “not surprised” after a bombshell independent review found staff at the public broadcaster had experienced “entrenched” racism.

The popular Australian presenter took to Instagram on Tuesday night to detail derogatory comments she copped about her recent offer to attend Oxford University.

Boney worked as a newsreader for ABC’s Triple J from 2016 to 2018 and became known for using the traditional Gamilaroi greeting of “Yaama” when introducing herself before news bulletins.

She left the national broadcaster in 2019 when she was appointed entertainment reporter on the Nine Network’s breakfast program Today before ultimately becoming a host.

Brooke Boney announced she will leave the Today Show to study abroad. Picture: Nine

She announced her resignation in March 2024 to study a Masters of Public Policy in the UK.

“I settled on the Masters of Public Policy because I thought this is sort of what fits best with my journalistic career thus far,” Brooke said at the time.

“I thought if I don’t do this now, then I’m probably never going to. I am at that age where if I leave now and go and study and come back, I’ll still only be 38.”

But now, the 37-year-old has accused an ABC worker of making a “pretty awful comment” about her offer.

“Not surprised by this unfortunately,” she wrote on an Instagram post over a video discussing the independent review into racism at the national broadcaster.

“I heard some pretty awful comments an ABC employee made about my Oxford offer very recently and whether or not I’d been offered it on merit.

The 37-year-old has accused an ABC worker of making a ‘pretty awful comment’ about her offer.

“If they’re willing to say that publicly they’re willing to bully Aboriginal staff.”

The scathing independent review into the national broadcaster has found staff at the ABC had experienced “entrenched” racism, including being subjected to racial slurs and exclusion.

The ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, has apologised to current and former ABC staff and said the review’s 15 recommendations will be accepted in principle.

“This racism cannot occur in any workplace and I’ve called it out today,” he said.

“If people believe that it’s OK to behave like this, this is not the place for them. We will find them and we will make sure they leave the ABC. It cannot happen.”

Staff reported being subjected to racial slurs, exclusion due to their cultural background, and being mistaken for a more junior person based on their racial appearance.

Boney suggested the unnamed employee was clearly ‘willing to bully Aboriginal staff’.

Out of 120 current and former ABC staff who identified as culturally and linguistically diverse, and First Nations people, only one said they had not personally experiencing racism within the organisation.

However, the respondent said they had been aware of racism occurring at the network.

The findings of the report, commissioned by the broadcaster and undertaken by Indigenous lawyer Dr Terri Janke, a Wuthathi, Yadhaighana and Meriam woman, were released on Tuesday.

It found staff responses “overwhelmingly” indicated racism exists within the ABC workplace, with reports of both overt and covert racism like stereotyping, a lack of mentorship roles and having assumed issues on impartiality.

A scathing independent review into the national broadcaster has found staff at the ABC had experienced ‘entrenched’ racism, including being subjected to racial slurs and exclusion.

Some staff also said they had been withheld from career opportunities as they are “considered to have been hired to only meet diversity criteria,” and therefore their skills were not valued as highly.

Systemic issues were also identified as being “entrenched” at the ABC, including issues around employment conditions, pay discrepancies, recruitment issues, staff support and instances of bullying and harassment.

“This suggests racism is systemic at the ABC – the ABC’s policies and practices disadvantage people who are First Nations and CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) in these areas,” the report found

The report also said there was a “lack of trust” in current complaint systems, and how the ABC managed and monitored reporting processes, with the review calling for large-scale reform.

- With NCA NewsWire

Originally published as Former ABC newsreader says employee made ‘pretty awful comments’ about her Oxford University offer