By the end of the fourth day in Lattouf v ABC Australia it was hard not to feel that the ABC board & management had brought the 92 year-old grande dame of public broadcasting into disrepute

 

This media release became public shortly after the end of the fourth court sitting day in NSD189/2024: Antoinette Lattouf v Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

ABC staff ‘disgusted’ by handling of Lattouf case

2025-02-06 16:38:00 #MEAAMedia #WithMEAA MediaRoom Releases

The ABC must commission an independent inquiry into the broadcaster’s independence from outside interference and apologise for allowing external pressure to influence the dismissal of Antoinette Lattouf and attempts to have other journalists sacked in recent years.

Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance members at the ABC want the inquiry to be conducted within 12 months and the full report released publicly.

Following a union meeting today, they are also demanding complete end to the “special hotlines” that some groups are able to leverage to influence the ABC and improved transparency about complaints and lobbying activities directed at the Chair and managing director.

“Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance members at the ABC are dismayed by the revelations emerging from the Antoinette Lattouf trial and disgusted by the ABC’s handling of the case,” said the ABC National House Committee.

“The ABC’s position that Ms Lattouf has not “demonstrated the existence of a Lebanese, Arab or Middle Eastern race” destroys any hope that the ABC intends to address the systemic racism identified by the Janke review of last year.

“As a public broadcaster, the ABC must act as a model litigant. We demand it immediately disavows this position and acknowledges, without qualification, that Lebanese, Arab and Middle Eastern people can be subject to racial discrimination.

“The trial has confirmed our worst fears: the ABC’s independence is not adequately protected. Across successive leaderships, political pressure has influenced the ABC chair, leading to breaches of our independence. There has been no commitment to change from the new leadership.

“It’s therefore not enough to change the personnel. The system allowing those breaches needs to be changed.

“ABC staff work tirelessly to build and maintain the ABC’s independence and integrity. It is the board’s legal duty to protect that independence and integrity. But time and again we see ABC chairs and managing directors do the opposite.

“ABC’s staff know social media rules are supposed to ensure the ABC isn’t brought into disrepute, yet this court proceeding has badly harmed the ABC’s reputation.

“This must stop. We demand changes be made to ensure it does.

Resolution

ABC MEAA members demand:

1. An explicit acceptance by the ABC that they will not require any proof that it is possible to be racist to a Lebanese/Arab/ Middle Eastern person and an apology for making that argument in court.

2. An independent inquiry, designed in collaboration with the ABC MEAA National House Committee, to examine the ABC’s independence and how outside pressure may have inappropriately influenced the ABC, including the attempts to sack Emma Alberici and Andrew Probyn, revealed in 2018, and the sacking of Antoinette Lattouf. Since these cases appear to demonstrate inappropriate outside influence despite personnel changes across successive leadership teams, the inquiry should consider potential legislative, corporate culture or policy changes that might be required, as well as changing or clarifying the roles of the Chair and managing director, to better protect the ABC’s integrity and independence. The inquiry should be conducted within 12 months and a full report be released publicly.

3. A full apology to Antoinette Lattouf, ABC staff and the public for allowing external pressure to influence the ABC, undermining the ABC’s independence and hard-won trust.

4. An acknowledgement from Chair Kim Williams that what occurred before his time with the sacking of Lattouf was unacceptable and a commitment to stop it happening again.

5. A complete end to the “special hotlines” that some groups are able to leverage to influence the ABC. All complaints received by senior executives, the MD or the board must be directed to the ombudsman or appropriate adjudicator with no further action. The ABC should follow its established and rigorous complaints handling process through the Ombudsman’s Office without interference or influence from management. Editorial staff subject to complaints must always be afforded the right to respond before any adverse findings or actions are taken against them.

6. Improved transparency around attempts to influence including the Managing Director and Chair publishing their diaries and summaries of all complaints and lobbying actions received by them.

7. That the incoming MD Hugh Marks meets with the MEAA National House Committee to openly and collaboratively discuss how to ensure these longstanding problems are not repeated.

8. That the ABC does not unduly fold to bad faith external media campaigns.

9. ABC Management will immediately work with ABC MEAA House Committee to review and implement social media policy with transparency.

10. Call on the ABC management to treat staff’s mental health disclosures with respect in all circumstances, and recognise the mental health toll of working in the media industry.

Federal Election 2022: what about our ABC?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORBH2Fjd2Ro, 14 February 2022

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The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) was established as the national public broadcaster in 1932 by an Act of Parliament.

It was formed as a publicly-owned politically independent and fully accountable entity offering a media service to the general public.

Originally funded from radio and later television license fees, in 1973 the funding model was changed to direct federal government funding.

In 1983 it’s name was formally changed to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The ABC Charter contained in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 requires the Corporation to provide innovative and comprehensive radio and television broadcasting which contributes to a sense of national identity, informs, educates, entertains and, reflects the cultural diversity of the Australian community.

It was made exempt from federal government efficiency dividends (created as a cost saving measure by way of annual funding reductions) when the Hawke Labor Government introduced these dividends in 1987-88.

Since 1989 the ABC has been funded by a three-year appropriation known as the triennial funding system.

The first assault on this triennial funding system came in 1996 when the Howard Coalition Government removed $55 million from the ABC triennial budget.

At the September 2013 federal election the Abbott Coalition Government came to power and within its fist year in office it commissioned an efficiency review of the ABC and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) a separate public television broadcaster created in 1980.

This review was ideologically-driven by a new hard-right prime minister, Tony Abbott, whose broad political agenda included gradually withdrawing federal government from provision of a wide range of services, either through privatisation (via direct sale or leasing to private corporations) or by cost-shifting onto the states.

The review reportedly identified $60 million in savings across both the ABC and SBS. It was used by the Abbott Government to commence direct funding reductions and funding reductions by way of efficiency dividends. Abbott stopped short of implementing the merging of ABC and SBS facilities, pay-for-view for certain ABC online services or proposed entering into a new online service with a commercial media organisation as partner, but nevertheless these remain as recommendations in the redacted “Draft ABC & SBS Efficiency Study” dated April 2014. The Abbott Government then released a 9 page executive summary of the review dated 14 May 2014. The ABC countered by releasing unredacted pages from the Lewis review.

The Turnbull and Morrison Coalition governments continued to drain funding from the ABC, while antipathy towards the public broadcaster grew to ridiculous levels within both Coalition parties.

 

At the Liberal Party annual federal council meeting in June 2018, attended by at least 100 Liberal MPs, Senators and party members, there was an overwhelming vote in favour of a motion to sell the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in its entirety, with the exception of maintaining the Rural Department which is seen as supplying a service which is in the national interest and, is viewed as supporting the interests of powerful rural & regional backers of the Liberal and National parties. That motion has never been rescinded.

Interviewed in the days following that annual council meeting, Treasurer Scott Morrison made a point of saying that it is the ABC's job to defend itself against claims of left-wing bias. "It's not for me to defend the ABC or promote the ABC. I fund the ABC as Treasurer and we do that every year. And I think there are concerns out there in the Australian people about that and I think it is up to the ABC to demonstrate that they are not doing that."

In the 2018-19 Budget Prime Minister Turnbull & Treasurer Morrison froze ABC funding until 2022.

So that by 2020 a Per Capita study revealed that across the three triennial periods which have occurred to date in the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison years, the ABC will have lost over $738 million. The last of these cuts being $10 million removed from the ABC operational budget in the Morrison Government's 2021-22 Budget.

In the 2022-23 ‘Election’ Budget Prime Minister Morrison & Treasurer Frydenberg have increased the ABC’s fourth triennial funding period (July 2022 to June 2025) by $87.2 million – with $45.8 million of this going to the Enhanced News Gathering program leaving only an additional $14 million a year until end June 2025 for all other ABC radio and television programming & operating costs.

The government has also announced it will impose new reporting conditions on both public broadcasters, including statements of expectation requiring them to detail the levels of Australian content, and other key services. The Statement of Expectations for the ABC can be found at:

https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/statement-of-expectations-to-the-abc.pdf

The almost irrational hatred Liberal MPs display toward the ABC is never ending and this month reached an unbelievable height with this from Liberal MP for Wentworth Dave Sharma who is standing for re-election on 21 May 2022:

“Finally they nail their colours to the mast! ‘Your’ ABC is running a candidate in Wentworth.”

A re-elected Morrison Government is unlikely to break the habit of a political lifetime and begin to adequately fund the premier national broadcaster.

ABC Alumni response to the Institute of Public Affairs continuing attempts to bring down the nation's principal public broadcaster

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is a large public broadcaster launched in 1939. 

Originally known as the Australian Broadcasting Commission by virtue of the Broadcasting and Television Act 1942. 

The ABC's modern reach includes multiple platforms via radio, television and online. 

In times of national emergency or natural disaster it is the primary source of information, warning and safety instructions for most Australians. 

 The relentless push to have the ABC dismantled and sold off in pieces to commercial media interest continues. 

This is one response to this continuous attempt to whiteant 'Aunty' ABC....