Williams, a former Chief Executive Officer of News Limited, will replace Ita Buttrose whose term as Chair comes to an end in March.

Albanese made the announcement at a press conference with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, saying Williams was a perfect fit for the role. Previously, Williams has held roles as chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust and Commissioner of the AFL. He was the CEO of News Limited (now News Corp) between 2011 and 2013.

“The ABC plays an essential role in Australia – it’s a pillar of our democracy, a lifeline in disaster, a voice for the regions and part of our cultural identity,” Albanese said on Wednesday.

“It’s vital our national broadcaster has a safe and experienced pair of hands at the helm – and that’s what Kim will provide.

“Kim is eminently qualified to provide ongoing stability and leadership to this deeply valued Australian institution.”

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland thanked Buttrose for her time as Chair.

“Ms Buttrose is a giant of the media and business worlds,” Rowland said. “She has shown steady leadership for five years. She’s maintained a strong defence of the ABC’s independence.”

“She was the right chair for the  right time and we wish her well for the future”.

Buttrose has been a trailblazer in the media industry, becoming the founding editor of Cleo magazine in 1972, and later editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly and The Daily Telegraph. She was appointed Chair of the ABC in 2019 by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Buttrose announced she would not seek another term as Chair of the ABC in August last year.

At the time, she said: “I shall miss my time at the ABC. It was an honour to chair. All the things I’ve done in my career equipped me for this role. It was a challenging job. I hope I’ve made a difference.”

The post Kim Williams to replace Ita Buttrose as ABC Chair appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Lattouf’s lawyer Josh Bornstein posted a statement on X confirming the “backflip” in the ABC’s defence.

“The ABC has filed an amended response to Antoinette’s case that now says it did not sack her,” Bornstein wrote. “This contrasts its original filed response which confirmed that it terminated her employment.”

On January 15, the ABC filed its defence to Lattouf’s complaint with the Fair Work Commission. Lattouf, an Australian broadcaster, columnist and presenter, accused the ABC of terminating her employment as a fill-in host on ABC Radio Sydney in December based on her political opinion and her race.

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In its original defence, the ABC said it decided “not to require” Lattouf to see out the remainder of her five-day contract in a meeting on December 20, two days after she began the short stint on RN Breakfast. 

The national media outlet said she was sacked because of a social media post from Human Rights Watch that she reshared on Instagram. The post said Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The ABC said Lattouf “failed or refused to comply with directions that she not post on social media about matters of controversy during the short period she was presenting”.

However, the ABC have reportedly amended their response to the Fair Work Commission case, denying termination of Lattouf’s employment altogether.

Lattouf posted on X responding to the reports. “If I wasn’t sacked, what was it?” she wrote.

“I’m keen to hear all the creative euphemisms that will be used to try and explain this backflip to me, ABC staff as well as Australians who are very concerned about their public broadcaster.

“Was I unshackled? Liberated? Untied? Subjected to workplace imbalance correction? The facts are, I was sacked, when the audience and my producers were expecting me to return.”

An ABC spokesperson told Women’s Agenda: “It was clear on the evidence provided in the ABC’s response to Ms Lattouf’s claim that she had not been terminated. The jurisdictional objection was formalised as soon as it became clear the matter had not resolved.”

‘It’s about racism.’

Mediation between the ABC and Lattouf was unsuccessful as the two parties reached a stalemate last Thursday. Following the mediation talks, Lattouf spoke to reporters outside of her lawyers’ office in Sydney.

“The fight continues, and I’m willing and prepared to fight for as long as it takes,” she said last week.

This is such an important case because it’s not just about me. It’s about free speech. It’s about racism. It’s about the important role journalists play in truth-telling and, crucially, it’s also about a fair, independent and robust ABC.”

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Last week, around 80 journalists at the ABC Sydney headquarters gathered and demanded answers from managing director David Anderson. The staff threatened industrial action over how the national broadcaster treats its culturally diverse journalists.

Several ABC journalists have been outspoken on unfair treatment of culturally diverse staff at the national broadcaster, including Nour Haydar, who resigned from the ABC earlier this month, and Stan Grant, who stepped down from his role of Q+A host last year.

Lattouf will be crowdfunding her legal fees through the GoFundMe page #WeStandWithAntoinette, organised by former political journalist Lauren Dubois.

“We stand with Antoinette and support the rights of workers to be able to share news that expresses an opinion or reinforces a fact, without fear of retribution,” Dubois wrote.

The GoFundMe page has received nearly 2,000 donations and raised more than $82,000.

The post ABC backflips defence in Fair Work Commission case, denies sacking Antoinette Lattouf appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Around 80 journalists gathered at the Ultimo office and demanded to meet with the ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, following reports that he made the final call to sack broadcaster, columnist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf in December last year.

A spokesperson from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) told Women’s Agenda the journalists’ union backs the ABC journalists’ demands for answers from Anderson, and all management at the national broadcaster, on why journalists from culturally diverse backgrounds are being treated this way.

“Journalists must be free to report on issues without fear of being reprimanded by their employer when media bosses face outside pressures from unaccountable lobby groups, politicians and big business,” the MEAA spokesperson said.

“Journalists at the ABC are working very hard to tell difficult stories, ethically or without fear or favour, and to be accountable to the public they work for, but they are being let down by management who are capitulating to external pressures.”

#MEAAmedia members at the ABC today called on managing director David Anderson to urgently meet with staff and address growing concerns about outside interference, culturally unsafe management practices and to stand up for journalism without fear or favour. #PressFreedom… pic.twitter.com/LHomCActtu

— MEAA (@withMEAA) January 16, 2024

On Tuesday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on leaked messages in a WhatsApp group chat, showing how members of Lawyers for Israel conducted a coordinated letter-writing campaign, targeted at sacking Antoinette Lattouf from her short-term employment with ABC Radio Sydney.

The people in the group chat in December last year questioned why the ABC was “allowing this woman to host a radio show” and called on the lawyers to “stamp it out” by writing letters to ABC Chair Ita Buttrose.

According to the leaked messages, Buttrose responded to seven of the letters that the pro-Israel lobbyists sent, saying the matter would be dealt with.

“Management should be supporting staff when they come under external attack or criticism to ensure that the public’s trust in the ABC to report without fear or favour can be maintained,” the MEAA spokesperson told Women’s Agenda.

“Our priority is for David Anderson to come out of his office and engage with our members about how the ABC deals with external criticism and attacks and supports its staff.

“No ultimatum has been issued but clearly some staff feel so strongly about these issues that they are considering further action if they are not resolved satisfactorily.”

Women’s Agenda has reached out to the ABC for comment.

What happened?

Antoinette Lattouf was contracted to work for five days hosting the morning slot on ABC Radio Sydney. However, according to the ABC, she was fired two days into the gig for sharing a post from the Human Rights Watch, alleging Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war.

Last week, Lattouf announced she would be expanding her complaint with the Fair Work Commission over her sacking, alleging her employment was terminated not just for her political opinion, but also because of her race.

“Despite the ABC’s rhetoric about diversity and inclusion, it is currently an unsafe workplace for journalists who are people of colour,” she said in a statement.

“I’m aware of a number of diverse journalists who have either resigned or are on the brink of resigning because they are unfairly scrutinised, don’t believe their employer will back them and fear they will be the next to be thrown under the bus.”

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Lattouf will be working with high-profile employment compensation lawyer Josh Bornstein, as the case is expected to begin proceedings on January 18.

“Since October 7 and the ensuing conflict in the Middle East, it has become notorious in the media industry that Arab and Muslim journalists are being intimidated, censored and sacked,” Bornstein said.

“In this case we will show that the ABC has not sacked white journalists for expressing political opinion, even where those journalists worked in news and current affairs. Antoinette’s role at the ABC was not a news or current affairs role.”

On ABC Radio Sydney this morning, Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said the ABC had made a mistake in terminating her employment.

He said the post she shared on her social media, which ABC said was “controversial”, was completely “factual”.

“ABC would be living in a different era if they prohibited their journalists from using social media,” Roth said.

“I think it’s worth noting that this was not an opinion piece… (Lattouf) was reporting facts, and facts indeed reported by one of the world’s two leading human rights groups, and facts, if you look at them, that are not controversial.”

‘Inclusion in practice’

Over the last year in particular, the ABC has come under fire for its hypocrisy in relation to diversity and inclusion.

The national broadcaster’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan 2023-2026 was launched last July, with “inclusion in practice” as a fundamental principle to the three-year plan.

However, a number of ABC journalists with culturally diverse backgrounds have been outspoken on how this is not the case in reality.

Last week, ABC political reporter Nour Haydar also resigned from the national broadcaster, citing poor treatment of culturally diverse staff.

“This was not a decision that I made lightly, but one I made with total clarity,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Commitment to diversity in the media cannot be skin deep. Culturally diverse staff should be respected and supported even when they challenge the status quo.”

Haydar, who worked in the ABC’s Parliament House bureau, said she made her decision before learning of Lattouf’s termination, but is equally disappointed with how that situation was handled.

In May last year, before the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan 2023-26 was announced, veteran journalist Stan Grant called out the ABC for its lack of support and action in the wake of “vile”, “targeted” and “racist” abuse on social media.

The Wiradjuri man resigned from his role as host of the news and current affairs program Q+A, before he penned an opinion piece on the ABC News website.

“I am writing this because no one at the ABC — whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest — has uttered one word of public support,” Grant said.

“Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me. I don’t hold any individual responsible; this is an institutional failure.”

Statement from the ABC

On Wednesday, the ABC released a statement on behalf of the Managing Director David Anderson, responding to the unfolding situation.

“The ABC’s independence, enshrined in legislation, is of paramount importance to the role the ABC performs for the Australian public,” Anderson said.

“The ABC rejects any claim that it has been influenced by any external pressure, whether it be an advocacy or lobby group, a political party, or commercial entity. That applies to all decisions made across the organisation, including in relation to content, where the ABC’s Editorial Policies provide strong direction on independence and other crucial matters.

“ABC staff are proud of our high standards of independent journalism, and routinely perform their roles for the Australian public without fear or favour, adhering to our responsibilities of impartiality and accuracy – often in the face of significant unwarranted criticism.

“The ABC will continue to support them and their work, internally and externally. As a result of our high editorial standards and independence, we remain the most trusted media organisation in the country.”

To read David Anderson’s full statement, click here.

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Crump, editor at the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit and Research news website and former BBC and ABC journalist, was talking through the news headlines on Wednesday morning’s ABC News Breakfast when she stopped mid sentence.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, “I could keep stumbling through, but I’m having such a perimenopausal hot flush right now, live in air, sorry.”

As she laughed her way through it and was fanning herself to cool down, ABC News Breakfast co-host Lisa Millar stepped in, applauding Crump for her honesty.

“We need to make it normal to have these kinds of conversations,” Millar told Crump.

“I love you for even saying it, because we interview people, we talk to people about this, and this is the reality.”

Crump replied: “I don’t think hormones respect national television.”

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Although Crump insisted she could carry on, co-host Michael Rowland told Crump to “take a breather”, before the show moved on to the next segment. Crump returned moments after to pick up where she left off.

Hot flushes, what Crump described as “the furnace from the sun”, is a symptom commonly experienced by women going through perimenopause or menopause. While menopause tends to happen between the ages of 45-60, perimenopause can begin as early as your 30s and last up to ten years.

Around 32 per cent of women in Australia are currently experiencing symptoms they attribute to menopause, which severely affects day-to-day life for at least one quarter of Australian women aged between 45-64, according to data from Jean Hailes.

‘I chose to explain.’

Later, in a post on Instagram, Crump addressed her hot flush on live TV, posting the video of the moment it happened.

“And I did come back after a breather and talked about a whole lot of things – not just having perimenopause hot flushes on air,” she wrote in the caption.

“I could either pretend it wasn’t happening (and look inept) or explain why I was stumbling my way through a story on bilateral relations.

“In that moment, I chose to explain. The ABC News Breakfast team were thoughtful and kind.”

Crump said although it wasn’t an ideal situation, she hopes it will trigger more open and honest conversations around perimenopause.

“Do I wish it hadn’t happened on live TV? Yes,” she said.

“But if it’s a step toward having public conversations about something that at least half the population will experience in some form or other, then goodio.”

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Speaking with ABC political reporter Annabel Crabb on the national broadcaster’s program Kitchen Cabinet, Andrews said her male colleague would often breath heavily on the back of her neck and say crude things to her during Question Time.

“I’d just be sitting there minding my own business and I would have the back of my neck breathed on,” Andrews said.

“And if I asked a question, it would be ‘that was a great question, thrusting and probing’.”

The sexual harassment Andrews said she endured was just one instance of many that were “not workplace appropriate” and fed the former cabinet minister’s lack of belief in things changing for women in politics.

“Do you know what the issue is? Well, there would be people that would say, ‘Can’t you take a joke? Can she not take a joke?’ 

“And sometimes I do call it out, but sometimes I just go, ‘I can’t be in every fight.'”

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Andrews entered politics in 2010 after working as an engineer and industrial relations specialist. Although both workplaces were male-dominated, she said it was nothing compared to Parliament House.

“Through all those careers, not once did I think being a female made any difference,” she said.

“But I went to politics and it’s the first time I’ve ever felt I had to fight for things simply because I was a woman.

“It’s depressing. That is depressing. So I don’t know, to be honest, that it’s going to change in my lifetime. And that is really sad.”

Andrews spoke of the workplace culture in Parliament House and said there is quite a bit of socialising out of hours, most of which herself and her female colleagues were not invited to.

“That’s where I found it was really difficult as a female,” she said.

“I wasn’t often invited when my male colleague were having get-togethers… and a lot of strategising would get done in those meetings, and the women who were not invited to it were just never part of it.” 

Andrews, who served as the one of the most senior women in the Coalition government prior to the last election, quit the Liberal frontbench earlier in the year, announcing she would retire at the next election.

In 2021, the Australian Human Rights Commission released the Set the Standard report, based on an Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (CPWs).

The report found one third of people working in CPWs (33 per cent) have experienced some form of sexual harassment, while 77 per cent have either experienced, witnessed or heard about bullying, sexual harassment and/or actual or attempted sexual assault.

The post Former cabinet minister Karen Andrews calls out sexual harassment in Parliament House appeared first on Women's Agenda.

After announcing her departure as Chair of the national broadcaster last month, Buttrose urged all women in Australia’s media industry to never give up in their careers.

The 81-year-old media veteran began working in the media industry when she was just 15 years old. She became the founding editor of Cleo Magazine in 1972 and edited a number of Australia’s major publications, including the Australian Women’s Weekly and the Daily Telegraph in Sydney.

“Much has been written about my career recently,” she said in her speech on Friday morning.

“I’ve had a terrific career. I’ve enjoyed it.”

Buttrose was appointed chair of the ABC in 2019, following the departure of Justin Milne. Last month, she announced she would not be seeking a second term when her time as chair comes to an end in March 2024.

“I shall miss my time at the ABC. It was an honour to chair,” she said. “All the things I’ve done in my career equipped me for this role. It was a challenging job. I hope I’ve made a difference.”

Buttrose noted recent statistics released in the 2023 Women in Media Industry Insights Report, which revealed more than half of women working in the industry are either dissatisfied or uncertain about their careers. Almost a third of women are considering leaving their jobs in the next 12 months, WIM reported.

“That to me indicates that many of you are thinking of giving up,” Buttrose said.

“You mustn’t do that… women who want to be winners never give up.”

Buttrose said she “never aimed to be one of the boys” throughout her career, despite working in the male-dominated industry under the likes of media tycoon Kerry Packer.

“I’ve always been determined to let the voices of women be heard in Australia,” she said.

“I like to climb mountains, and when I get to the top, I see another mountain beckoning, and the pull of that mountain is so alluring to me that I have to have a go at it.”

During her speech, Buttrose reflected on the recent surge of interest in women’s sports – particularly off the back of the Matildas’ record-breaking performance in the FIFA Women’s World Cup – and how far society has come since she was working on the Sunday Telegraph in the 1980s.

“It didn’t transform overnight,” she reminded everyone.

The current gender pay gap in Australia’s media industry is 16 per cent, above Australia’s national gender pay gap of 13 per cent.

Buttrose said she is proud that the ABC has lowered the gap to 4.3 per cent and encouraged other media organisations to be more transparent in their gender pay gap.

“There is still work to be done, but we are heading in the right direction,” she said.

Women in Media began two decades ago in Perth, where the first Women in Media event attracted 100 attendees. Now, there are more than 6,000 members of the not-for-profit organisation, connecting and empowering women working all over the country  in the media industry.

Buttrose, a patron of Women in Media, said organisations like Women in Media who champion diversity and inclusion are vital for the country.

“If we want to reflect Australia, we have to reflect the society in which we live,” she said.

Buttrose was asked by the Women in Media MC, Sandra Sully, what was next for her.

“Let me put it this way,” she said.

“I’ve had three interesting phone calls, and two book publishers want to talk to me.” 

The post ‘I hope I’ve made a difference’: Ita Buttrose speaks for the first time since announcing her departure from the ABC appeared first on Women's Agenda.

The editorial piece published in the Murdoch media broadsheet in 2021, titled “Greatest enemy of truth is those who conspire to lie”, was found to have breached four of the Council’s General Principles.

Releasing the adjudication this morning, the Council said the article presented misleading and unfair content that was “likely to cause substantial offence and distress without a sufficient public interest justification”.

Louise Milligan, reporter for the ABC’s program Four Corners and former employee at The Australian, filed a complaint to the Council in 2021, arguing the editorial implied she and her former boss Sally Neighbour conspire to lie.

“Many people at The Australian know well the work, the habits and the hubris of Sally Neighbour and Louise Milligan,” the editorial read.

Criticising The ABC as both “the game and the gamekeeper” in Australia’s media industry, the editorial went on: “The most dangerous enemy of the journalist is bad, lazy, deceitful journalism.”

The Australian argued the piece was of the “public interest” and intended to hold the national broadcaster to account. The publication believed its editorial was not defamatory because the author did not specifically reference her work, reporting or conduct.

However, the Council found readers of the editorial would draw an “unavoidable conclusion” that Milligan and Neighbour are “associated with ‘bad, lazy, deceitful journalism’”.

“For this reason, the Council considers the editorial misleadingly and unfairly infers that such undesirable traits are associated with the complainant and her journalism,” the Council concluded in its adjudication released today.

“The Council recognises the significant public interest in allowing an editorial to express robust views on matters of important public interest.

“However, the Council considers that naming the complainant, an ABC journalist in an editorial that commented on the ABC and what it considers are the attributes of poor journalism, was likely to cause substantial offence and distress without a sufficient public interest justification.”

‘Bewildering and vile attack’

In a statement posted to her social media accounts, Milligan welcomed the Council’s decision, which has been two years in the making.

“Two years ago, myself and my former boss, Sally Neighbour, were subjected to a bewildering and vile attack by The Australian,” she said.

“Today, a Press Council adjudication finds the editorial was inaccurate, unfair, lacked balance, caused unnecessary distress and was not in the public interest.”

Milligan thanked the journalists, including other former employees at The Australian, for their support throughout the whole process of her complaint to the Council.

“The support was vital because The Australian argued (laughably) the editorial wasn’t about Sally and me,” she said.

“I was able to show during the Press Council hearing that, for starters, two former editors in chief of their own newspaper disagreed.”

Although the editorial named both Milligan and her former boss Sally Neighbour, it was Milligan’s “decision alone” to proceed with the complaint to the Council.

“This process has been wearying and took two years… I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would be for an ordinary, vulnerable member of the public,” she said.

Murdoch’s media empire News Corp dominates the paying member base of the Australian Press Council, which Milligan said is a problem that has now been spotlighted by her case.

“It has demonstrated to me the Press Council needs proper public funding, unshackled from the publications it is adjudicating,” she said.

The post Editorial in The Australian “misleading and unfair” against ABC’s Louise Milligan, Press Council finds appeared first on Women's Agenda.

The move comes after a number of high profile ABC journalists were subject to targeted online abuse, including Lisa Millar, Leigh Sales and Stan Grant.

“The ABC has decided to further reduce our activity on X (formerly known as Twitter) and focus our effort on the accounts that overwhelmingly provide the most value,” the national broadcaster said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“We have found that closing individual program accounts helps limit the exposure of team members to the sometimes toxic interactions that unfortunately are becoming more prominent.

“Concerningly, X has reduced its trust and safety teams.”

The ABC revealed it would be retaining the ABC news, sport, national and the Chinese-language accounts, but closing all others effective immediately.

Hi everyone. This account is now closed. Please follow @abcnews for latest news.

— ABC Politics (@politicsabc) February 19, 2023

In February this year, the ABC shut down the Insiders, News Breakfast and ABC Politics accounts on Musk’s platform, which he renamed as X in late July.

“The results from (those closures) have been positive,” the statement said.

“The vast majority of the ABC’s social media audience is located on other platforms and we want to focus our effort and resources where our audiences are.”

The ABC also cited the requirement to subscribe to X Premium – known as Twitter Blue at the time of the change – to verify accounts with a blue checkmark as one of the reasons for the closure of ABC accounts.

“X is introducing charges which are making the platform increasingly costly to use,” the ABC’s statement said.

In April, CEO of X Elon Musk labelled the ABC and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) as “government-funded media”, sparking concerns that the label could elicit assumptions that the broadcasters lack objectivity and independence.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States were labelled by Musk as “state-affiliated media” earlier this year. Although this was later changed to “government-funded media”, PBS and NPR closed their X accounts.

In May this year, ABC veteran journalist Stan Grant stepped down from his role as host of the ABC’s program Q+A, following the lack of action taken by the broadcaster in responding to the “relentless racist filth” he faced on social media platforms, including X.

“To those who have abused me and my family. I would just say if your aim was to hurt me, well you’ve succeeded, and I’m sorry,” he said in his final appearance on Q+A.

“I’m sorry that I must have given you so much cause to hate me so much, to target me and my family and to make threats against me. I’m sorry.”

The ABC apologised to Grant and said it would conduct a review of its response to racism.

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Ferguson replaces Leigh Sales, who is leaving the show at the end of June, after 12 years of presenting.

The announcement comes after months of speculation on just who would take up the hosting duties after Sales made the announcement she was leaving on air back in February.

In the ABC’s announcement on the appointment, Ferguson highlighted the responsibility to deliver strong public service journalism every day, and the need to create a place for Australians to debate, think, be thrilled, entertained, and sometimes provoked.

She added that “no one in Australia should ever feel they have no voice.”

Ferguson praised Sales, as well as chief political correspondent Laura Tingle, for creating a “powerhouse program” with “superb current affairs journalism on the cutting edge of the genre.”

Tingle is continuing on with the program, with Ferguson describing the opportunity for such collaboration as “irresistible”.

“Working in collaboration with the inimitable Laura is irresistible. Adding myself into that mix sounds tremendously rewarding at a time when scrutiny of power is essential when our social structures are undergoing profound change.”

Ferguson celebrated Sales for her diligence and skills, which have enormously contributed to Australian journalism.

“What you don’t see in her calm studio presence is the huge amount of work she does in preparation. It will be a pleasure to take over from such a pro.”

Sales will step down after the Federal election and is set to take up another role with the ABC.

She praised her replacement, noting Ferguson’s “rigour and experience”, and saying she looks forward to becoming a 7.30 viewer to see where the new host takes the show next.

Ferguson has hosted 7.30 previously, for six months while Sales was on parental leave. She has been with the ABC since 2008, and produced stories for Four Corners as well as award-winning documentaries. Just recently, she spent ten days in Ukraine covering the conflict.

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In a forthright statement published on Sunday, Buttrose said the inquiry, which was announced by Senate Communication Committee chair Andrew Bragg, is “an act of political interference” that is designed to intimidate the ABC and “mute its role as this country’s most trusted source of public interest journalism”.

The government’s inquiry into the ABC’s complaints handling was announced last week and comes after the ABC Board last month launched its own independent review on the same issue.

“Instead of respecting the integrity of this process, the Senate Committee under the leadership of Senator Bragg has decided to initiate a parallel process,” Buttrose wrote in her statement.

“I will leave it to Senator Bragg to explain his motives but the impact of this action is clear. As Chair of the ABC Board I am duty bound to call out any action that seeks to undermine the independence of the national broadcaster.”

Buttrose’s statement was critical of the Senate committee’s action to initiate a review, saying it is the legally the ABC board’s responsibility, and the government had no place doing so. She said it was an attempt to “weaken trust” in the public broadcaster.

“Once again, an elected representative has chosen to threaten the ABC’s independence at the expense of the integrity of this irreplaceable public service. Any incursion of this kind into the ABC’s independence should be seen by Australians for what it is: an attempt to weaken the community’s trust in the public broadcaster.”

The ABC’s independent review is well under way, headed up by former Commonwealth and NSW Ombudsman Professor John McMillan AO and Jim Carroll, former SBS Director. It’s the first official review of the complaints handling process at the ABC in 12 years, and findings will be released in April 2022.

“This review is well underway and members of Parliament, including Senator Bragg, have already been interviewed as part of the review process,” Buttrose said. “An issues paper will be released shortly and the review will then be seeking public submissions.”

“Instead of respecting the integrity of this process, the Senate Committee under the leadership of Senator Bragg has decided to initiate a parallel process.”

Buttrose said the Senate Committee, led by Bragg, performs “a vital role” but said it was regrettable it has decided to operate its own inquiry.

“Politicians, like all citizens, are welcome to criticise anything they find wrong or objectionable that is published by the ABC but they cannot be allowed to tell the ABC what it may or may not say,” she said.

“When Parliament resumes later this month, I respectfully ask the Senate to act to defend the independence of the ABC, as Australia’s national broadcaster, by passing a motion to terminate or suspend this inquiry until the independent process commissioned by the ABC Board has been completed.”

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Porter, who is currently the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, says he has no way of finding out who these anonymous donors to a “blind trust” are, and as such, won’t be able to declare the donations.

“Part contribution to the payment of my fees by a blind trust known as the Legal Services Trust. As a potential beneficiary I have no access to information about the conduct and funding of the trust,” reads Porter’s statement.

The revelations come after Porter pursued a defamation case against the ABC in March regarding an article that said a current cabinet minister was facing historical allegations of rape in 1988. Porter publicly identified himself as the minister accused in the article, and strenuously denied the allegations. The case was settled in May this year, with no payout.

Porter’s costs for the defamation case have been estimated to be as high as $1 million.

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has slammed the situation regarding Porter’s anonymous donors as “outrageous” and said Porter shouldn’t accept the money.

“Christian Porter’s claim to have no idea who funded his million dollar legal case is an outrageous abuse of his office,” Dreyfus said in a statement. “The Australian people need to know who set this trust up, who funded it, how much they donated, and whether they expected to get anything in return for these donations.”

“If Mr Porter genuinely doesn’t know who his donors are he shouldn’t accept their money. Did the money come from criminals? A foreign power? Apparently Mr Porter doesn’t care.”

Dreyfus said other questions Porter must answer include:

“Were any of these donors from overseas?

“Were any of these donors lobbyists?

“Were any of these donors beneficiaries of decisions made by Mr Porter – or do they stand to benefit from decisions Mr Porter may make in the future?

Former Prime Minister, and colleague of Porter, Malcom Turnbull has also criticised Porter’s use of anonymous donors’ money, saying he would be “staggered” if Porter could get away with it.

“[Porter] has not disclosed who the trustee is. The money is clearly not his. It’s been contributed by others and we don’t know who those others are,” Turnbull told RN Breakfast radio on Wednesday.

“This flies in the face of every principle of accountability and transparency in public life.

“I am staggered that Porter thought he could get away with it and I will be even more staggered if the prime minister allows this to stand. It is a shocking affront to transparency.”

Turnbull reiterated that political parties, ministers, and MPs are not allowed to receive cash from unknown sources, as it leaves them open to compromise and corruption.

“What Porter is saying is that it is ok for an Australian cabinet minister, a former attorney-general, to take a large donation, a large gift, to himself without disclosing who the donor was and apparently without him knowing who the donor was,” Turnbull said.

“This flings open the door to such extraordinary abrogation of responsibility and accountability.

“It honestly cannot stand. There should be absolute outrage about this.”

“I think it does leave the question of, why are you taking money from people [if] you don’t know who they are?” – @latingle on Christian Porter confirming anonymous donors covered some of his legal fees in his recent defamation case against the ABC. #abc730 pic.twitter.com/xea6fOQMJk

— abc730 (@abc730) September 14, 2021

In a statement detailing federal parliament’s ministerial standards, it is noted as a rule that “Ministers shall ensure that they do not come under any financial or other obligation to individuals or organisations to the extent that they may appear to be influenced improperly in the performance of their official duties as Minister.”

A spokesperson for Porter said his declaration of interests was “consistent with previous members’ disclosure of circumstances where the costs of personal legal matters have been mitigated by contributions or reductions in fees”.

The post ‘Shocking affront to transparency’: Anonymous donors pay Christian Porter’s legal fees appeared first on Women's Agenda.

He was wrong.

The Bill passed 31 votes to 14, and South Australian women become the first in the world to both vote and run in elections. 

It’s disabling and rather shocking to remember that it wasn’t that long ago when most people thought the idea of a woman in politics was ‘hilarious.’

I had no idea that it took until 1974 for the Senate to install ladies’ toilets, for instance.  

Annabel Crabb has spent the last year interviewing prominent leaders, including Julie Bishop, Anne Aly, Linda Burney and Julia Gillard, to bring together a four-part tv series looking at the trajectory of women in politics since the first suffragettes started campaigning for women’s rights in Australia. 

Despite their differing political views, Crabb’s interview subjects, which also include Natasha Stott Despoja, Amanda Vanstone and Penny Wong, all had similar stories regarding the way they were treated by men. 

They were asked if they wanted to have children, while the male candidates would be getting married or expanding their families right before pre-selection. 

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In the first episode, we’re introduced to Joan Pilone, a woman whom, according to Crabb, we are “not supposed to have heard of.” 

Pilone immigrated to Sydney from the UK in 1952 and made inquires to the Liberal Party for positions of leadership. She was told she needed to have ‘experience’. She won a seat on the North Sydney Council in 1959 and in 1962, she sought Liberal pre-selection for the State Parliament seat of Kirribilli. She was unsuccessful. Two years later, she was passed over again. And in 1965, she became the first woman to join the City of Sydney council.

She had all the right pedigree you’d think would make her next steps towards higher leadership smooth sailing. But that wasn’t the case.

In 1973, she nominated for a safe federal seat, only to be beaten by 34-year old Suburban solicitor by the name of John Howard, who had no experience serving in public office. 

Crabb said in a statement that she wanted to mark the 2021 centenary of Edith Cowan’s election with “a documentary about women in Parliament.” 

“I wanted to capture the stories that women in politics tell each other but often don’t share more widely, because of the disinclination most have to make their gender more of an issue than it already is,” Crabb writes. “Women in politics do get asked about gender; usually a handful of the same questions in the course of profile articles, but very rarely in an in-depth way, for a project like this one.”

In the Francine Act of 1902, Australia was the first independent nation in the world to grant women the right to vote, and run for parliament. 

But there was an ugly proviso; “No Aboriginal native of Australia Asia Africa or the Islands of the Pacific except New Zealand shall be entitled to have his name placed on an Electoral Roll…”

“The language used then, in the parliament of Australia about my people, perhaps even relatives is something that makes me feel quite sick and it’s really upsetting,” Linda Burney says.

“How do you forgive this?” Asks Nova Peris, descendant of the Gija, Yawuru and Iwatja people who represented Australia in hockey and track and field, and was recruited for the Senate at the 2013 election by then prime minister Julia Gillard to represent the Northern Territory. 

“But it was the times we lived in.”

Peris was the first Indigenous person to win Olympic gold, and the first Indigenous woman in the federal Parliament.

In the first episode, Crabb examines how female candidates campaigned in mid-century, and the excruciating ways they had to make themselves appear ‘normal’. Back then (and perhaps, depressingly, even now) a ‘normal’ woman is seen cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry — taking care of the management of the family home. 

Joan Child, the first woman to be Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, was often photographed in her home, seen washing the dishes, and posing next to her five sons, whom she raised alone after the death of her husband Hal Child, a business manager who died suddenly in the mid-1960s, leaving her a widow with her sons to raise – the eldest of them seventeen-years old and the youngest only seven. To keep the family sustained, she worked in factories, shops, as a cleaner and as a cook. 

The episodes are just under 30 minutes each, and are an extremely eye-opening, confronting look at the history of women’s continuous struggle to be treated equally in the halls of power. 

Watch the First Episode here, and the rest, on ABCiview. An accompanying podcast, with Annabel Crabb and Steph Tisdell, Not Designed for Women | Ms Represented with Annabel Crabb & Steph Tisdell, is also now streaming live.

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