ABC staff take aim at former chair Ita Buttrose over luxury car spending

Union members at the ABC say the broadcaster has been scandalised by the conduct of three of its former chairs.

Ita Buttrose reviews her fave restaurant, Beppi’s at East Sydney, for Insider.

Union members at the ABC have attacked former chair Ita Buttrose over spending thousands of dollars on luxury travel, saying the broadcaster’s board lacks respect for staff.

As revealed in The Australian, Ms Buttrose spent at least $3625.79 on chauffeured car trips around Sydney over 12 months, telling this publication she was not bound by the ABC’s rules discouraging the use of hired cars.

The ABC’s published report shows the broadcaster spent nearly $15.8m in total on travel in 2023

In a statement, the ABC’s Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance house committee took aim at the luxury car spending, saying the broadcaster’s board had been caught “splashing our cash on fancy cars, while chastising hard-working journalists who are trying to deliver crucial news and content while experiencing insecure work, declining pay and excessive unpaid overtime”.

The union group, representing journalists at the broadcaster which employs as many as 4475 staff, said the ABC’s board had shown disregard and disrespect, amid internal anger over removal of fill-in radio host Antoinette Lattouf.

“The board must stop disrespecting the public and ABC staff by treating the broadcaster as its plaything,” the house committee said. “We’ve seen three chairs in a row scandalised by inappropriate interference in management of the ABC.”

Documents published under Freedom of Information laws show Ms Buttrose billed the ABC for chauffeur-driven trips on at least 14 occasions between January 2023 and January 2024.

Ms Buttrose, who was chair of the ABC from February 2019 to March 2024, said she was “not considered staff … directors of the ABC are not employees, so your questions are irrelevant.”

Ms Buttrose, who was paid $211,297 in 2023 for her role as ABC chair, billed the broadcaster for trips from her home in Sydney’s inner-city Redfern to the broadcaster’s HQ, 10 minutes away in Ultimo, as well as to high-profile dining venues, including Darlinghurst dining establishment Beppi’s, and some of the city’s exclusive social clubs.

These car rides cost well in excess of similar Uber or taxi trips.

The ABC warns its staff in its official Taxi and Ridesharing Procedure that use of chauffeur-driven cars should be “discouraged”, saying it required all staff to carry out their travel “as efficiently as possible and in an ­accountable and transparent manner”.

On several occasions, former ABC managing director David Anderson, who was subject to the broadcaster’s requirements, travelled alongside Ms Buttrose in her chauffeur-driven vehicles.

This included an incident central to the removal of Lattouf from the air, which saw Mr Anderson claim he was present alongside the chair after returning from lunch when he discovered the radio host had been shown the door.

Lattouf has since sued the ABC, alleging she was wrongly removed.

Ms Buttrose told the Federal Court Lattouf was not owed any money. “Some people look on the ABC as a cash cow; we’re not a cash cow,” she said.

Mr Anderson, who left the ABC earlier this year, did not respond to requests for comment.

He has been replaced by former Nine executive Hugh Marks, who left the media giant after going public about an affair with a former fellow executive. Mr Marks did not return calls.

ABC staff are instructed not to use taxis to travel between home and work, unless otherwise agreed. In its enterprise agreement with staff, the ABC warns it will “not reimburse taxi fares or issue taxi vouchers for travel by employees between home and work”.

The broadcaster’s policies towards work travel have also incurred the ire of journalists at the ABC, with sources noting how difficult it was to secure a Cabcharge, particularly for those with early starts.

Ms Buttrose was key to the ABC’s decision to relocate much of the its Sydney resources to a site in Parramatta, in the city’s west.

ABC staff are currently negotiating with management over a new wage deal, with a key focus on staff on fixed-term contracts alongside higher wages for journalists.

The MEAA is looking for staff on these contracts to push for conversion to permanent roles.

An ABC spokeswoman failed to respond to questions from The Australian.

Originally published as ABC staff take aim at former chair Ita Buttrose over luxury car spending