Justin Milne resigns from ABC chairman role
The leadership crisis at the ABC has deepened, with chairman Justin Milne bowing to mounting internal and external pressures, and resigning as the national broadcaster’s chairman.
Milne’s tenure at the helm of the ABC board was due to continue until 2022, however the position became untenable when it emerged he had pressured recently sacked managing director Michelle Guthrie to “get rid” of prominent journalist Emma Alberici, questions were raised about political interference at the ABC and staff passed unanimous motions demanding he stand aside.
Milne was due to remain in the role until 2022
Speaking to the ABC, Milne said the board had requested he stand aside while the investigation into the various allegations against him was conducted, but he concluded resigning was the better option.
“Clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation, and as always, my interests, my aims, is to look after the aims of the corporation,” he said. “It’s clearly not a good thing for everybody to be trying to do their job with this kind of firestorm going on.
“I wanted to provide a release valve,” he told Leigh Sales.
He said there was absolutely no interference in the independence of the ABC, despite the allegations levied against him.
“Nobody from the government has ever rung me and told me what to do in relation to the ABC,” he claimed. “Nobody ever told me to hire anybody, fire anybody, or anything else. They absolutely didn’t.”
The full interview with Milne will screen on the ABC’s 7:30 program with Sales tonight.
Milne’s resignation: How we got here
Michelle Guthrie was let go on Monday after mounting tensions between her and the ABC board. The ABC’s board selects the managing director, while the governor general of Australia appoints the board and chairman at the recommendation of the government.
The ABC board is meant to operate as an independent body and is responsible for the ABC’s operations.
As the ABC itself explains: “The duty of the board is to ensure that the functions of the Corporation are performed efficiently with maximum benefit to the people of Australia, and to maintain the independence and integrity of the Corporation. The board is also responsible for ensuring that the gathering and presentation of news and information is accurate and impartial, according to recognised standards of journalism, and that the ABC complies with legislative and legal requirements.”
However, in recent days questions have been asked about both the government and Milne’s involvement in the ABC’s operations.
Guthrie was abruptly sacked on Monday and has expressed she is looking into her legal options. Milne has thus far refused to be drawn on-the-record about Guthrie’s failings, other than pointing to her leadership style.
Following Guthrie’s departure, emails from Milne were leaked to The Sydney Morning Herald which suggested Guthrie “get rid of” Alberici following complaints from the then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about inaccuracies in her reporting of proposed company tax cuts. Milne was appointed by Turnbull and the pair are long-term friends.
Accusations of Milne interfering in the Triple J’s Hottest 100 broadcast date, for fear of then Prime Minister Turnbull’s reaction, and ordering the sacking of other ABC staffers also subsequently emerged.
In light of the revelations of interference, ABC staff held meetings across the country, with Melbourne staff declaring Milne should stand aside while an independent enquiry takes place. Brisbane staff called for Milne’s immediate resignation.
Minister Fifield came out yesterday stressing he had not interfered in the ABC and said he would be leaving the ABC to run its own race.
“The operations of the ABC are entirely matters for the board and management of the ABC, which, by law, the Minister does not have a role in,” he said.
“Questions about the ABC’s board and management are matters for the ABC.”
Within hours, however, Fifield conceded the claims about political interference needed to be investigated, and announced an inquiry.
Late yesterday afternoon Milne was insisting he was not going to resign, however after a board meeting this morning, he revised his position.
Perhaps Fifield can consider taking this opportunity to put capable people in both roles. The abc has demonstrated yet again how intensely political is its own internal dynamic. The government has demonstrated yet again that it is clueless about the management and governance needs of the abc. The public has watch as still more theatrics and nonsense are the primary product of its billion dollars a year.
Two empty chairs. Fifield to serve.
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The ABC “firestorm” is just the tip of the iceberg in the Australian media. The reason it has played out so publicly is because the ABC is independent and should be free from any political pressure or interference.
But shouldn’t those same rules apply to commercial/free networks?
Let Malcolm Turnbull and Mitch Fifield sweat under oath they haven’t bombarded CEOs about journalists and biased reporting.
And did the phone calls increase as the government was legislating millions of dollars in licence relief and change of ownership laws?
It is clear bullying and intimidation in Canberra is rife and not just aimed at women.
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Suspect there are legs in this story still. The question now becomes how many people in the organisation knew about the political pressure and chose not to blow the whistle.
Of course, the issue wouldn’t have even come up if we didn’t have the embarrassment of literal IPA policy being parroted by the commonwealth government. Shambles.
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For the best part of 40 years, I have watched ABC TV, which would have made up over 80% of my TV viewing. For the past 10 years at least, it has strongly pursued and supported a left wing agenda,
To be free of politically interference, is what everyone would hope, irrespective of their position on the political spectrum. But the ABC can no longer claim to have clean hands.
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Hhmmm,
I dare say that other Boards Mr Milne is on should take a good look as well……any thoughts Tabcorp, NBN, MYOB??
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Take a look at the share price performance of MYOB, NBN and Tabcorp and their ability to deal with technology disruption. What about other directorships of Quickflix and Pie Networks which have conveniently disappeared from LinkedIn? Tells a story about Milne’s Midas touch.
The ball seems to still be rolling. ABC Board still has questions to answer, as does Fiefield. Fiefield especially. Mr Teflon.
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It will be very interesting how Emma Albarici is treated after this. The other interesting part of his ‘fatal’ email was the accusation of clear bias from a high profile journalist.
Whose responsibility is the neutrality of reporting from the ABC? Was it Michelle Guthrie’s? Or is it the board’s? Or is it both?
Is Emma Albarici’s position as a neutral now untenable, or since her main detractor is now on the outer – has she dodged a bullet?
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In any business the Board sets the agenda.
The ABC Board has, one-by-one, been replaced by characters friendly to the right. As a result the ABC content has softened and been very soft on those of the right of centre.
Therefore I agree that the corporation should be free of political interference – from the Board and indirectly the government of the day (of any political persuasion) – and return back to its centrist position and be equally hard on both the left and the right.
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