Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has earned some… er… bragging rights when it comes to the ABC — and that can’t hurt his rise in the party. But where is it heading?
In the inquisitorial forum of the Senate environment and communications legislation committee, Bragg has dragged out concessions from the ABC’s top brass.
Over months of appearances, ABC managing director David Anderson has admitted that, yes, an ABC lawyer who tweeted about the “fascist” Morrison government had resigned. Yes, the ABC has terminated its publishing deal with the industry superannuation-backed website New Daily because of questions it raised about the ABC’s independence.
Yes, the ABC also changed its policy on staff tweets following Bragg’s intervention after Laura Tingle tweeted about “government bastardry” and a “smug Scott Morrison”.
Bragg calls this process working “constructively” with the ABC in order to help it “achieve its potential”.
“I like the ABC,” Bragg has said. “A lot of the rhetoric about the ABC over the years has been unhelpful, because it’s been focused on culture wars. I’m not interested in culture wars.”
It’s not the language of a bug-eyed bully, and Bragg is no redneck. He chaired the Coalition’s Yes campaign for marriage equality, for example.
Bragg’s collection of wins and his reasonable demeanour make him a potent foe for the ABC. A week ago he announced the senate would hold a “surgical” inquiry into the way the ABC handles complaints.
It provoked a furious response from chair Ita Buttrose. There had been speculation about whether or not Buttrose had the desire to stand up to the government. Now it appears both sides have picked their fight.
It’s been a long time coming.
What’s it all about?
Bragg said the inquiry was needed because of “public concerns” raised over the current system.
“Public concerns”? There are nominally three or four examples which form the case against the way the ABC handles complaints, coming from niche quarters.
One is a complaint from a group of former advisers and politicians from the days of the late NSW premier Neville Wran, angered by how the Labor hero was depicted in an investigation of the 1979 Luna Park fire. Another is a complaint from the Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) over a perception of bias and lack of impartiality on an episode of Q+A in May.
Other examples include coverage of an event involving former Labor government treasurer John Dawkins in Annabel Crabb’s series Ms Represented. Most recently, executives at Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News have been incensed by a two-part special on how the network facilitated Donald Trump’s propaganda.
So the public concern boils down to complaints in relation to two ALP figures, the AIJAC and the Murdoch media. But it may be that two hands, rather than one, are needed to count the true number of individuals who are upset.
The common thread is that the ABC examined the complaints internally and cleared itself — for some, though, the process can be infuriating. As John Dawkins’ wife Maggie said, it’s “as futile as expecting that the police are capable of investigating themselves”.
Crikey is familiar with this frustration. Crikey‘s parent company Private Media lodged a complaint with the ABC over a Four Corners story on QAnon which, we contend, drew on key work done by Crikey without sufficient attribution. The complaint was dismissed. And who dealt with it? The executive producer of Four Corners who put the program to air.
So some complainants might have a fair gripe. But is a senate inquiry the answer? Particularly given that the ABC has already begun its own review using two external consultants?
It appears to be another case of public money being used to fund a private political vendetta.
So what’s it really all about?
Senator Bragg might be here to help, but at the same time he is fronting for a government with hardcore grievances against the public broadcaster.
After roughly 20 of the last 25 years in government, Liberal irritations are piled high about how the ABC covers Indigenous affairs, asylum seekers, global warming, Cardinal George Pell, Israel/Palestine and, more recently, the vaccination rollout, to name just a few.
But the last 12 months have been vicious.
The standouts have been programs from Four Corners covering sexual assault allegations against former attorney-general Christian Porter (which Porter denies); and coverage of the unhinged QAnon cult in Australia, and members’ links to Scott Morrison’s family.
The government’s anger about those stories comes down to a very specific issue: who really runs the ABC. Is it the government-appointed ABC board and its managing director? Or is the ABC run by an unaccountable cabal as its enemies contend?
What’s at stake?
There is more at play than simply the perennial benefit for the government in exhausting the ABC by subjecting it to constant interrogation.
With an election in the next six months, there’s an immediate benefit for the government in putting the ABC under pressure. It will put program makers on notice and jangle the nerves of editorial decision makers who might blunt their coverage of the government, or square up the ledger with some hard reporting on Labor.
But there is also a real battle for the soul of the ABC. The government’s base has been looking for a sign that it is serious about taking on the broadcaster. It looks like they got it this week.
Buttrose has called Bragg’s Senate inquiry a blatant attempt to usurp the role of the ABC board and undermine its operational independence, which includes, critically, conducting its own reviews in order to manage its own affairs.
But is the issue the ABC’s independence — or its arrogance? Opponents of the ABC, channelled through the government and Bragg, have long concluded that the board cannot exert its authority on its own staff. So who can?
These opponents are a formidable coalition which enjoys the full backing of the Murdoch empire. The ABC has also had its missteps this year, most notably in a decision to use public funds to pay for the personal legal bill of reporter Louise Milligan after she was found to have defamed MP Andrew Laming.
What lies in prospect?
There are various possibilities of what a senate inquiry could lead to. One option would be for the government to establish an independent ombudsman as an external body to examine ABC complaints. That would create a parallel organisation to the ABC board and would have a serious impact on the ABC’s ability to manage its affairs in-house.
The open question is whether or not the independence of the ABC remains the potent electoral issue it once was.
Because if anyone needs a change of government next year, it’s the ABC.
As long as there are trees, the Liberals will want to cut them down. As long as there is coal, the Liberals will want to dig it up. As long as there is a Medicare, the Liberals will want to privatise it.
As long as there is an ABC, the Liberals will want to destroy it.
You have just given the LNP 4 new slogans. At least we know that these are firmly held.
Get them down to 3 words each.
Axe the trees, burn the coal, sell the soul, ash the facts.
And burn their boats.
Sounds like a well-known cult theme song
Was that meant to be sung to the tune of “There’ll Always be an England”?
As long as there is a COALition we are stuck with a Barmy as Deputy PM. What a tragicomedy duo we (and the World) are stuck with. There attempts at a confidence trick on climate was a total Copout and didn’t fool anyone who can think.
ScoMo’s pathetic attempts to show he’s Macron’s mate was even more cringeworthy. Marketing fail – big time. Surely the public will wake up to the fact that mr Flip Flop is an empty vessel?
When you look at the lack of quality of politicians in democratic countries it is no wonder the world is in the state it is and Murdoch has caused most of the issues supporting right wing ratbags like Trump, Morrison , Johnson and others. Without a strong independent ABC we are doomed to be stuck with clowns like Kelly, Palmer, Hansen and the current band of dirty rotten scoundrels that are our Federal government
Is their any law against employees of the ABC/ or the ABC itself using a “Go Fund me page?
Most of us are willing to drop $10 or $20 into the hat for Louise Milligan and the 4 Corner’s team.
Andrew Bragg is attempting a shut the ABC up campaign, that’s all.
My money is on Ita and I think a lot of us hopes so, because we trust ita.
One thing few in the Liberal /National coalition have is integrity . It can’t be bought and Ita has more integrity than the whole of the coalition. For coalition” Miracle Wins” read massive rorting of tax payers money .
I love the ABC, wake up to it and go to sleep to it at night, and listen to it and watch it in between. In recent years loss of budget has left big gaps where some favourite programs used to be, now filled with endless repeats. Truly, this LNP mob wants to destroy everything good about Australia. They’re trashing trade, international reputation, our environment, you name it. Even defence. We don’t have a healthy river south of Capricorn. Billions of our money given away to fossil fuel. They have no redeeming feature.
The ABC is MINE. So hands off!
There needs to be a referendum to have it protected in our Constitution- including a body to publicly investigate all Federal Government corruption.
With you completely and prepared to pay my 8 cents a day or whatever it costs these days to listen to ad free radio , TV and ABC Iview is great.
A well balanced article, thank you, and that is the problem, the lack of balance in our media landscape.
Without a large media player that actually represents the public interest, that is a publicly owned organisation , with only the same regulative requirements that mainstream media is required to abide by,.. information is hopelessly tilted in favour of neoliberal/economic rationalist vested interests.
Modern media is more important than government in terms of influence and control of information, in relation to cognition of, a sense of reality- as to what is fair and reasonable.
Just ask Mr Murdoch who has more influence over peoples perceptions, mining magnates the LNP all know the best way to “lobby” government is to own a major media outlet.
The ABC is attempting to do the work of the missing key player, an organisation whose interests are that of the general population, so immediately look like “lefties “in this lop sided environment.
It’s obvious to anyone who lives with a capitalist system that the party with the most cash/ support from lobby groups/ vested interests, is best placed to influence election outcomes- via information outlets- the media.
Everyone who would like to live in a democracy needs to spend a portion of their income on an independent public player that is only as accountable to the incumbent government as the other large media groups.
I’ve watched hard earned rights, assets and quality of life stripped away since the late 70’s with the promise of private business being cheaper and more efficient managing key aspects of life, all supported by a media landscape that doesn’t have the public’s interests at heart/ economic rationalism/ neoliberalism, the main tool is misinformation and lies enabled by vested interest media groups.
The ABC on it own cannot, and shouldn’t have to, be the only powerful opposition to crony capitalism.
Great comment great balance.
Exactly the opinion the right-wing media object to .The current anti-government media attacks in some states are an example of a biased press and its consequences. Without the ABC serious balanced opinion would not exist
Thank you Eric
Commercial use without attribution does not appear to be a matter at the core of Liberal Party (or Murdoch Empire) concerns.
Principally, propagating partisan political views favouring the Murdoch world view, and by extension the Liberal Party world view are at the heart of the pursuit.
Secondly, Murdoch (Rupert or Lachlan, take your pick) wants to control maximum Australian media mind-share. They object to the long held view that Australians trust the ABC, and they want them to simply trust Murdoch instead.
Murdoch is an American citizen. Sold-out his Aussie citizenship for self-enrichment purposes. The ABC is Australian, we collectively own it. Like a family member, who occassionally stuffs up (in your personal opinion) the overall performance is the important thing. What hope do people in rural areas have if ABC is gutted? What hope for ’emergency service’ broadcasts?
What hope for truth from media if Murdoch increases his already excessive share?
The ABC has done itself no favours by trying to appease a corrupted LNP machine – it should have stood up for itself robustly at the first signs of LNP attack – it had the power to force them to back off, but let the opportunities slip through their fingers.
Now they have a much tougher task to get their mojo back. I dearly hope Ita is up to the task, but she only has to fight until Labor wins the election, she can be assured of fair treatment after that.
I agree that ABC has taken too long to understand that appeasement is a dangerous path to follow. But under previous senior/Board management did it have the gravitas or backbone to successfully push back? My answer would be ‘no”. The ABC is now pushing back. Look at the number of times female ABC presenters who now push back at LNP types who want to avoid answering a question and attempt to provide a rambling non-answer as a response. That is a change in behaviour that can only have arisen because of support from the very top to ‘do your job and get an answer’.
Very true Fairmind.
Like it or not the current Pandemic is a war on a virus with only one real precedent some 100 years ago .
Extreme right-wing media outlets in some states have united extremists to violently challenge the elected government for political reasons . Strange how similar handling of the same problems in the Liberal PM state of NSW does not attract the same media anti-state government frenzy.
As our PM stated recently, in some countries they may shoot you for dissent so I suppose we live in his “lucky country”.
The ABC could perhaps follow NSW demonstrations, or would that be too obvious.
The anti Iraq war WMD rallies were hardly news and drastically under estimated numbers that marched.
“she can be assured of fair treatment after [Labor wins]”? Can she? I’d like to hope so, but I fear it depends on what price uncle Rupert wants for allowing them to win – if he does.
Two words – David Downhill.
Courtesy of Hawke & Keating – the first required unadulterated adoration and the other could not tolerate dissent.
You may need to expand on that. A Google search throws no light on your comment. Who or what was or is David Downhill?
David Hill as head of the ABC wasn’t a good time for the broadcaster
He did meet the KPIs set by those class traitors.
Gore Hill did not survive his reign of misrule, that vast, self contained property, replete with scenery, heavy & light workshops, permanent sets already wired for light & sound for in house production (most of the advertising industry hired the physical & skill resources on tap, a huge talent bank…I could go on.
And on and on about the terrible, irretrievable loss His Malignancy wrought – for which he was well rewarded and moved on to further ‘triumphs’ as an axe for hire.
Barnaby Joyce is more interested in the votes of the mining industry than the votes of the country people he is supposed to represent .The Queensland “coal seats” supported by $ 60 million dollars worth of preferences won the last election, not a miracle from above. He has little interest in the ABC’s importance in country voters’ lives.
Very ironical that wealthy Queensland union members voted to help return a coalition government. As Paul Keating stated, “in a two-horse race son always back self-interest at least you know it’s trying”.
I love the Murdoch paywall – it prevents my accidental access. This Government will never institute an inquiry into Murdoch’s foreign monopoly in most of our regional areas and some states. The current federal government obsession with the generally honest reporting of the ABC is a nauseating obscenity compared to the anti-science of Rupert. The fact that Rupert saddled up with the serial liar Trump (and his sidekick liar ScoMo) should be enough for any sane person to see how dangerous and divisive he is.
The truth is the enemy of all dictators and must be controlled at all times.
The last thing the likes of Trump and our mini Trump want is for the truth or an alternative opinion to be freely accessible to voters.Not in their version of democracy.