The ABC’s high profile journalist Laura Tingle has defended outgoing managing director and “human shield” David Anderson, while also claiming it’s “unfortunate” new legislation to clean up Parliament House will not defend his successor from senate estimates grillings.
The 7.30 chief political correspondent and board director sent an email to colleagues on Thursday after Mr Anderson announced he was stepping down from the role, just over a year into his second five-year term.
Mr Anderson said it was the “right time” for leadership renewal, with the shock announcement coming less than six months after former News Corp chief Kim Williams took over as ABC chairman.
Tingle told colleagues Mr Anderson had brought “stability during a tumultuous period” to the broadcaster, and noted “the immense toll that must have taken on someone who had often had to act as a human shield, or punching bag, for the national broadcaster”.
She went on to suggest that legislation introduced by the government this week, aimed at improving Parliament House as a workplace by setting up a commission capable of recommending sanctions for badly behaving politicians and staffers, did not go far enough to support public servants.
“Reading the legislation this week, it has struck me as unfortunate that the legislation will apparently not protect public servants like David who appear before Senate Estimates committees — effectively an extension of their workplace — where they are subject to treatment by senators which would not be tolerated in any decent workplace in the world,” she said in the email seen by The Nightly.
Mr Anderson’s appearances at Senate estimates have often been testy, as senators demanded answers about why, for example, Tingle could describe Australia as a “racist country” at the Sydney Writer’s Festival.
At his last appearance in May, Mr Anderson came armed with a prepared statement, telling senators if Tingle had made the comments on an ABC platform, it “would not have met our editorial standards”.
He said Tingle understood the ABC is “held to a higher standard than other media organisations”, but was emphatic in declaring the journalist “does not deserve the ferocity and vicious attacks” that had been levelled against her.
In that block, Mr Anderson was also grilled over Antoinette Latouf’s unfair dismissal case against the broadcaster, and allegations the ABC’s reporting on the Israel-Hamas war had been biased.
Mr Anderson has also had to routinely answer questions about the social media posts of some of the broadcaster’s journalists which did not meet the ABC’s impartiality standards.
Mr Anderson’s tenure has not been without controversy. He was subject to a no confidence vote by unionised staff earlier this year in the wake of Latouf’s dismissal, which the board ultimately vetoed.
The news division more broadly has been subjected to mounting criticism, particularly surrounding flagship current affairs program Four Corners, with the broadcaster’s radio arm experiencing a significant slump in ratings.
The ABC was met with backlash over its coverage of King Charles’ coronation last year, with about 2000 viewer complaints lodged. Not long after, Stan Grant accused the ABC of an “institutional failure” in its handling of racial abuse, prompting Mr Anderson to commission a review into how the ABC handled racism.
Mr Anderson demanded “cultural change” at the broadcaster after an internal survey this year found almost 100 staff had been sexually harassed at work, and 186 had been bullied.
While points of difference had begun to emerge in the first few months of Mr Williams tenure, the chairman paid tribute to Mr Anderson on Thursday.
“I have to say my admiration for him and his commitment to the ABC is undiminished and my respect grows ever greater. He is an exemplary executive in many ways,” he said.
Since taking up the mantle, Mr Williams has made a series of constructive critiques about the national broadcaster and has called for a “refreshed purpose”.
He’s also been vocal about activist journalists and warned ABC staff to adhere to impartiality standards, amid criticism of the broadcaster’s coverage of the Middle East conflict.
“Our community and nation deserve better, renewed performance horizons. I want to issue a challenge to all who love the ABC, and all who have the responsibility for resourcing it, to get behind the renewal of our great national broadcaster,” he said in a speech in June.