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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Amy Remeikis (now) and Katharine Murphy (earlier)

'I never provided instructions anyone should be sacked', says former ABC chair Justin Milne – as it happened

Justin Milne
Justin Milne has stepped down from his position as the ABC board’s chairman amid turmoil at the national broadcaster. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

We are going to leave the blog here today – Amanda Meade will have a wrap of the day, and I’ll be watching the 7.30 interview with Justin Milne, so rest assured, we’ll keep following the story.

The board is yet to name its acting chair, but the legislation says it usually goes to the deputy chair. As we reported earlier, Peter Lewis is expected to be named in the acting role, but we will keep you up to date with any changes.

Thank you for following along – and take care of you.

Updated

ABC News has expanded a little on the 7.30 interview - you can find the whole story here

When asked whether [Justin Milne] sent an email to [Michelle] Guthrie instructing her to ‘get rid’ of Alberici – the ABC’s chief economics correspondent – Mr Milne said it needed to be explained ‘in context’.

‘When there is an issue of editorial independence and accuracy it’s appropriate for the chair to be involved – it’s the chair’s job,’ he said.

‘[But] I have never sent an email to Michelle Guthrie or anybody else, which says you must sack Emma Alberici or Andrew Probyn or anybody else.’

He described what was reported as ‘a piece of an email’ but later also said: ‘You can’t go around irritating the person who’s going to give you funding again and again if it’s over matters about accuracy and impartiality.’

Updated

'I have never provided instructions that anyone should be sacked' - Milne

ABC News has played a little more of the 7.30 interview with Justin Milne tonight, where he says he has never given instructions, through email, that anyone should be sacked.

“I have never sent an email to Michelle Guthrie or anybody else, which says you must sack Emma Alberici or Andrew Probyn or anybody else.”

But he does say that he had a confidential conversations with Guthrie – as you would expect.

Updated

Veteran journalist and former Media Watch host Jonathan Holmes is also making the point, on ABC News, that the ABC board only acted when public sentiment appeared to turn, once the Fairfax article was first published on Wednesday.

He points out that the board was aware of Michelle Guthrie’s claims about being pressured to sack certain journalists at least a week before she herself was sacked –because she wrote and told them – but yet, the board did nothing.

Updated

It might be worth reminding you that Senate estimates is scheduled from 22 October. So while there is the Mitch Fifield-ordered departmental report due “hopefully” in “days” (we are yet to get clarification on whether it will be made public or not), and Labor and the Greens are trying to get a parliamentary inquiry up - and have have ‘in-principle support’ from Centre Alliance and Tim Storer, the acting ABC MD will also have to front the Senate estimates committee.

Updated

And last but not least - the ABC Board has released its statement:

ABC chairman Justin Milne will step down from his role effective immediately.

After discussions with the board, Mr Milne came to the conclusion that this outcome would enable the corporation to move forward, free from the distraction of the last few days surrounding the managing director.

In coming to this decision, he told the board he was motivated by the best interests of the ABC.

The board acknowledges Mr Milne’s experienced leadership and his contribution throughout his term.

The board thanks Mr Milne for navigating the ABC through challenging circumstances and is grateful for his willingness to put the ABC first in coming to his decision to resign.

Updated

The acting managing director of ABC, David Anderson has also responded to today’s events. This is the statement which has been put out to staff:

As everyone is now aware, Justin Milne has resigned as ABC chairman after several very difficult days for the ABC.

Let me reassure you that the ABC’s independence is paramount and can never be compromised.

As our director of news Gaven Morris wrote yesterday, the Australian public has asked to be reassured that the ABC’s independence is protected. It has been and it always will be. Our staff should feel confident they can do their job without interference and Australians can continue to trust their national broadcaster as they always have.

As stated already, the ABC is quite clear that it is the duty of the board to ‘maintain the independence and integrity of the corporation’. The Act also requires the board to ensure that ABC reporting is ‘accurate and impartial’ and that policies and processes are in place to guarantee independence and impartiality.

The role of the managing director and the leadership team is to implement those policies and processes.

I understand the upset and disquiet caused to many of our people through these events and want to offer you my support and that of the ABC leadership team in every way.

I want to assure you that the leadership team is focused on getting on with the job we do best: delivering Australia’s best journalism and Australian content for our audiences.

Days like these are not easy, but you should all be proud of what you do. We are here to serve the Australian people and I want to thank you for your continued dedication and professionalism during this time.

Updated

Still waiting on the board to break from its meeting. We’ll be wrapping this up soon, but in case you missed it:

There will obviously be more on this tonight, but for anyone who wants the visual of what Justin Milne has said so far:

But Sarah Hanson-Young said it was important to try to keep the ABC staff separate from the recent board crisis:

I think the journalists at the ABC and the staff have been doing their best to keep the show on the road. They have been doing everything they can to do their jobs properly, without the backing of their board, without the backing of their chairperson.

We need to clean out the board, put a broom through it and ensure that the staff and journalists are not just able to get on with their jobs, but they are protected and supported in doing that. We need to make sure that whoever feels that chairperson role is somebody who is free from political interference and pressure. And that means somebody who is supported with a cross-party process to ensure that they are not just kicking for one side of parliament or one side of politics.”

Updated

Justin Milne has released his own statement:

Sarah Hanson-Young says the whole ABC Board has been compromised by this situation:

Sarah Hanson-Young is holding her press conference - and she says the entire board needs to “consider their position”.

Updated

Michelle Rowland has issued this statement:

This morning Labor stated that it had no confidence in ABC Chairman Justin Milne.

Since then, Mr Milne has resigned his position.

Serious questions remain to be answered about political interference at the ABC.

These issues go the health of our democracy and can only be addressed through a full and public inquiry.

The independence and integrity of the ABC is paramount.

This Liberal Government has ripped hundreds of millions of dollars out of the ABC, meddled in its affairs and launched relentless ideological attacks on public broadcasting.

The ABC is the public broadcaster, not a State broadcaster.

The Australian people deserve answers and the Liberal Government cannot be trusted to provide them.

The ABC board meeting to decide who will be the interim chair is under way. We’ll update you as soon as the meeting breaks.

Updated

'Made the right call' - Scott Morrison

Given what the act says, the acting board chair is most likely to be Peter Lewis.

If his name seems familiar, Amanda Meade tells me he ran the ABC efficiency review three years ago, and is a former chief financial officer of Seven.

Updated

Here is what the ABC Act says about what happens when there is no ABC board chair:

19 Acting Chairperson

Where there is no Chairperson or the Chairperson is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of Chairperson:

(a) the Deputy Chairperson shall act as Chairperson; or

(b) if there is no Deputy Chairperson, or the Deputy Chairperson is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to act as Chairperson, the Governor‑General may appoint a non‑executive Director to act as Chairperson, but any such appointment ceases to have effect if:

(i) where there is no Deputy Chairperson—a non‑executive Director is appointed as Deputy Chairperson; or

(ii) where the Deputy Chairperson is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to act as Chairperson—the Deputy Chairperson ceases to be so absent or becomes able to act as Chairperson.

Updated

ABC staff are beginning to give their reactions:

This photo was taken just last month.

None of these people are in their job anymore.

(Then) Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with (former) ABC chair Justin Milne and (former) managing director Michell Guthrie at the ABC showcase in Parliament House
(Then) Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with (former) ABC chair Justin Milne and (former) managing director Michell Guthrie at the ABC showcase in Parliament House Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

Updated

'Nobody from the government has ever rung me and told me what to do in relation to the ABC"

From the Leigh Sales interview segment which was just aired on ABC News:

Will you be continuing on as ABC Chairman?

No, Leigh. I won’t. The board asked me this morning and asked to have a meeting without me, to which I, of course, agreed, and at that meeting, I understand they decided to suggest to me that I might stand aside while the investigations that had been proposed take place. But I said, “Well, I think actually I should resign, because clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation,” and, as always, my interests, my aim, has been to look after the interests of the corporation. And it’s clearly not a good thing for everyone to be trying to do their job with this kind of firestorm going on so I wanted to provide a release valve.

Is your resignation an admission that you failed to safeguard the editorial independence of the ABC?

Absolutely 100% not. In fact I feel that the interests of the ABC have always been uppermost in my mind and just to sort of get it on the record for you is that there is absolutely no interference in the independence of the ABC by the government. Nobody from the government has ever rung me and told me what to do in relation to the ABC. Nobody ever told me to hire anybody, fire anybody or anything else. They absolutely didn’t. I know that’s the sort of the narrative that’s been running in the papers but that -but that absolutely never happened.”

Justin Milne - 'I should resign because clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation'

The ABC is running part of Leigh Sale’s interview with Justin Milne now in its midday bulletin.

I said, well, I think actually I should resign because clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation and as always, my interests, my aim, has been to look after the interests of the corporation.”

Updated

While we wait to see the outcome of the noon board meeting, journalism professor Margaret Simons has some interesting asides:

The ABC has reported the board will be meeting at noon to decide who will be the acting chair.

It’s unlikely the board will appoint someone from outside at this stage, but stay tuned.

The broadcaster has also given some hint of the Leigh Sales interview with Justin Milne:

In an exclusive interview, Mr Milne described the week’s events as a “firestorm” and said he “wanted to provide a release valve”.

“Clearly there is a lot of pressure on the organisation, and as always, my interests have been to look after the interests 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.”

Updated

The ABC is now officially without a managing director and a board chair.

More despatches from New York - but from a different former prime minister:

Still waiting to hear from ABC News Director, Gaven Morris, on the latest news, but here is what he had to say this morning:

Updated

And here is where it seems to have played out:

Just moments after reports came through that the ABC board had met without Justin Milne and resolved to ask him to resign, the ABC board chairman resigned.

That doesn’t do anything to change the status of the inquiries though.

Updated

Justin Milne has resigned

Updated

Barrie Cassidy has been one of the strongest defenders of the ABC, with the job of commentating on what exactly has gone on, and why, falling to the Insiders host:

There is radio silence from the ABC but reports are growing that the board has resolved to ask Justin Milne to step down.

Included in that radio silence is any denial.

Updated

While we wait to see if the board has resolved to ask Justin Milne to step down or not (trust us, the phone calls are flying everywhere), it might be worth revisiting what kickstarted it all – Emma Alberici’s tax analysis.

Here is Greg Jericho’s take, from the time.

Updated

As to why Michelle Rowland and Labor say this is so important:

The ABC brand is well trusted in Australia. It is one of Australia’s national treasures, as it is often called, and it is no secret that the ABC is consistently rated as the most trusted news source in Australia. And that is why, more than ever, in an era of fake news and media consolidation, Australia requires a strong, independent and well-resourced public broadcaster in the ABC. As this goes on, the ABC relies on people to have trust in it. If that trust is diminished, and if governments do not act to restore the trust, then that is a serious failing of our democracy …

There is no denying that the public’s perceptions of this have been negative. Whether it has been negative about whether there is quality journalism, that is another matter. But the public’s confidence in the running of the ABC and in the matters surrounding these matters certainly in the public’s mind, it is not good at all.

Updated

Michelle Rowland also says Labor believes a separate Senate inquiry into the allegations is absolutely crucial, despite Mitch Fifield having ordered his departmental secretary to investigate:

Labor is very concerned that not only do we need to have the actuals of this come out, but also the perception is very important. Let’s bear in mind that this is a minister who is a card-carrying member of the IPA, which advocates the privatisation of the ABC.

He has made substantial complaints to the ABC over various matters, he has presided over cuts to the ABC and, quite frankly, Labor does not have confidence that this inquiry done alone by his department will be satisfactory to bring those matters out. That is what the people are crying out for, they are crying out for transparency.

Updated

Does Labor have a problem with the decision to sack Michelle Guthrie?

Michelle Rowland leaves that one largely alone:

Labor understands that the board took an independent decision in order to effect that outcome. I made that clear on Monday when this became apparent, and Labor really understood, and we make that very clear, that we understand that those powers are there on the board is not required to give reasons.

But we want to know what the prime minister was told, what reasons he was given, what reason the minister for communications was given as to that sacking, in light of everything we now know in relation to the alleged political interference in the ABC.

Updated

There are unconfirmed reports that the board has asked Milne to step aside pending an inquiry.

And as to why Labor (and the government) are treading carefully around this – well, it has to do with the ABC Act, and its legislated independence from government interference.

Michelle Rowland:

There are limited grounds for removal of the chairman in this instance. Ultimately, it is for the chairman to make up his own mind.

There are limited circumstances, and these are untested, for the government to form a view that certain aspects of the public governance and accountability regime may or may not have been satisfied.

But I believe, and Labor believes, that as each day goes on, and as we find out more of these allegations about alleged political interference, everyday this goes on, the public’s trust in the ABC is eroded. And that cannot be allowed to continue.

Updated

Labor 'does not have confidence' in ABC board chair

Michelle Rowland is not outright calling for Justin Milne to step down but she comes very close to the line.

Labor’s view is that his position is untenable and hence we do not have confidence in his position as chairman. That is a decision for him to make in relation to his position …

Labor does not believe his position is tenable. We do not have confidence in him, and we believe it is for the good of the ABC and certainly for the Australian public has stakeholders in the ABC, and considering it is such a vital part of our democracy that that would certainly be something that the chairman should be considering in formulating his decision.

Updated

Malcolm Turnbull didn't 'hate' ABC journalists – Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison, who is on a bit of a strawberry tour across Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, says he spoke to Malcolm Turnbull this morning and he doesn’t believe the former prime minister “hated” any ABC’s journalist.

And he didn’t. I mean he didn’t. I actually spoke to Malcolm today. I speak to Malcolm pretty frequently. No, what the former prime minister did, just like I have as a minister, and I’m sure others … You know, the ABC is not perfect. You know, they make mistakes and it’s all right for people to call them out on that and raise those issues with the ABC.

We’ve all done that before. Members of the public do that. Members of parliament do that. Prime ministers do it. Ministers do it. But it’s not our job to tell the ABC how to run itself and how to then, you know, deal with any complaints.

They’re responsible for how they do that. The ABC board is responsible for the reputation of the ABC and its independence and we support them in being independent and I want to ensure that, as we deal with this issue, that the independence of the ABC is not in question. But equally, they’ve got to get it right too. So, you know, they’ve also got to handle those issues but that’s not what the current discussion is about. It’s about the independence, which, you know, has the full support of our government and always has.

He says he has contacted the ABC about its coverage but only when he says facts have been wrong.

I have because they’ve got it wrong on plenty of occasions and they’ve apologised to me for getting it wrong on a number of occasions. That’s probably the more shocking thing. Surprising, I should say. But that’s my point. There are processes. We use them. And responses are provided and that’s how it should work. But the idea that the government has somehow got some list and is telling the ABC who should work there and who shouldn’t – that’s complete rubbish. They’ve got an independent board. They’ve made decisions about their managing director. They made those decisions.

But what does he think of the reports that Justin Milne may have interfered in staffing matters?

That’s why I’m seeking to establish the facts around that. I know there are a lot of reports about that, but I’ll make my decisions and any further comments I make about the conduct of the chairman in relation to the actual evidence and I’m waiting to see that and I’ve got a process in place to go to that.

You’ve got to be fair. I mean, people have made allegations. They’re pretty serious allegations, I’ve got to say. And on the face of it that’s very concerning, very concerning.But I’m not going to prejudge it based on some newspaper or internet or, you know, television reports I’m going to base that on the clear advice and evidence presented by the department.

Updated

On whether the inquiry ordered by Mitch Fifield is enough, Tanya Plibersek gives a pretty good yeah, nah:

The proposition here is the government has tried to politically interfere with the ABC. Why would we be satisfied with a political investigation of it?

Updated

'Frankly quite shocking'

Speaking at a press conference where Labor is calling for the banking royal commission to be extended, Tanya Plibersek says it is “difficult to see”, if the allegations are proved, how Justin Milne can remain in his position.

Well, the revelations that we’ve heard about political interference in the ABC over the last 24 hours, frankly, are quite shocking. I think it says a lot more about the government than it says about the ABC to hear these sorts of revelations. People need to remember the ABC is not the propaganda arm of the Liberal party of Australia. It’s our national broadcaster. Australians love their ABC. They are, rightly, very protective of its integrity and independence. And if these revelations are correct, it is difficult to see how the chair of the board can remain the chair.

Updated

Meanwhile, Sarah Hanson-Young, the Greens communications spokeswoman, said the whole ABC board should consider it’s position:

It’s not a matter of if, but when, chair Justin Milne vacates his position at the head of the ABC board. To give the ABC a fresh start and set it back on track, the next chair must be appointed with bipartisan support.

The ABC’s independence, and the ability for its journalists to do their jobs without fear or favour, must be paramount. This is not possible under a chair hand-picked by whoever the prime minister is.

Mr Milne’s position is untenable, and his board has been implicated. To save the ABC, restore integrity and the community’s faith in the organisation, the board needs a clean-up.

Updated

Anthony Albanese had a chat to Chris Kenny on Sydney radio 2GB this morning about the ABC and the Justin Milne email:

But this email, if it is proven to be true, and one would suggest that if it wasn’t Mr Milne would have stated that by now - he has been given the opportunity and has failed to do so, then it is a pretty clear breach of saying essentially that in order to appease the government a journalist, Emma Alberici, must be dismissed.

Updated

You may remember there is a chance of duelling inquiries into the ABC revelations – Mitch Fifield has ordered his departmental secretary to investigate whether there has been any interference, while Labor and the Greens look like having the numbers to launch a parliamentary inquiry of their own.

Fifield yesterday said he wants the results of his departmental investigation “as soon as possible”.

Today he said he hopes that is “days, not weeks”.

Updated

Hello all, and thank you to Katharine Murphy for getting today’s ship up and running.

While we wait to see what Scott Morrison and Michelle Rowland have to say, it’s worth checking in with ABC staff.

The ABC Radio Melbourne presenter Rafael Epstein has an update on what the ABC board is doing:

Updated

Thank you for indulging my brisk re-entry into live coverage. It’s been tremendous. Handing over now to the wonderful Amy Remeikis. The current prime minister, Scott Morrison, is due to speak to the media this morning, as is the shadow communications minister, Michelle Rowland.

Stay tuned.

Updated

It's important to be engaged

Before we get to what Turnbull said to reporters in New York, just a bit a background. Milne, the ABC chairman, was appointed to the position last year, and he was formerly in business with Turnbull.

Turnbull said the following. (Of course I said stuff. But not too much. And in any case, I’m not the decision maker.)

Malcolm Turnbull:

As is a matter of public record, we did complain about the very poor standards of journalism, and lack of accuracy of journalism shown on a number of occasions by ABC journalists.

The chairman of the ABC and the managing director of the ABC and the director of news at the ABC are talking to politicians, and other members of the public, presumably, all the time.

Just as the executives and news directors and editors of the private sector media are — it’s very important to be engaged. But the decisions about staff or any other matters that are within the jurisdiction of the board, are taken by the board independent of government.

I’m still laughing about Malcolm Turnbull being mellow, just quietly. I’ll catch you up with the former prime minister’s comments in the next post.

In addition to the events Murph has just recapped, the ABC staff are also very active. While staff had separate state union meetings across the country on Wednesday, today they will have a national phone hookup to decide what action to take next.

The ABC staff have called for Milne to step aside until an inquiry has been held into the allegations he called for journalists to be sacked.

Updated

Where do things stand with the ABC, as of now?

Now that Mitch Fifield has concluded his press conference, let’s catch up on where things are with the ABC story. Sorry, sometimes you just have to dive in then catch up later.

If you haven’t followed the events over the past couple of days, this fracas was sparked by the sacking of the ABC’s managing director, Michelle Guthrie, by the ABC board on Monday.

The story quickly escalated from Guthrie being shown the door (for not very clearly articulated reasons) to the conduct of the board’s chair, Justin Milne.

Guardian Australia’s media correspondent, Amanda Meade, reports this morning that Milne regularly spoke to executives, including the corporation’s news director, Gaven Morris, about contentious stories or content he didn’t approve of.

Milne has found himself under growing pressure after reports on Wednesday morning that he told Guthrie to “get rid of” the chief economics correspondent, Emma Alberici, because the Coalition government “hate her”.

There is also a separate News Corp report this morning that Milne asked Guthrie to “shoot” the ABC’s Canberra-based political editor, Andrew Probyn, because Malcolm Turnbull hated him.

Now, why does this matter? Because the ABC is supposed to be independent of government, and not subject to random acts of political interference.

The ABC board is meeting today, minus the chairman.

Updated

If you want someone to remain in their position, you say they should remain in their position.

What did Fifield say? *Crickets*

Updated

Fifield refuses to say whether Milne should remain as chairman

The journalists get to the nub of the issue.

The non-answer from the communications minister tells you everything you need to know about the trajectory of today.

Q: Do you think Justin Milne should stay in his position?

Mitch Fifield:

Well, it’s a matter for every high office holder to continually assess whether they retain the capacity to effectively discharge the duties of their office.

Updated

Fifield is not in a position to suggest the government has been hands off with the ABC, because there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. Complaints. Negative public commentary. Anyone watching politics closely knows the Turnbull government had a minor industry going in bagging the ABC and the performance of particular journalists.

So Fifield steps through this carefully.

Q: Have you actually demanded the journalist specifically, or any journalist, for that matter, to be sacked or have any involvement in decisions to be reversed at the ABC?

Mitch Fifield:

I have never, in any way, shape or form, sought to involve myself in staffing matters at the ABC. I have never called for or sought the end of the employment of anyone at the ABC, or any media organisation, for that matter.

Q: Have you ever raised concerns relating to one particular journalist, though, or have you any raised the names of any particular journalist with any ABC senior members?

Mitch Fifield:

I have only ever raised with the ABC matters in relation to facts in reporting. I think I’ve done so on half a dozen occasions since I’ve been the minister and those occasions are all very well known.

Q: But you’ve named particular journalists in your inquiries?

Mitch Fifield:

In correspondence to the ABC, where I have had issues of fact in reporting, clearly, I’ve made reference to the particular reporter.

Q: If that’s not exerting influence, what is?

Mitch Fifield:

Any member of parliament and any member of the community is perfectly within their rights to raise with any media organisation when they think they’ve made an error of fact. Part of the way that a free, open and democratic press operates is that the press should be free to go about their business but, equally, citizens, including members of parliament, should have the freedom to raise issues when it comes to questions of fact in media reporting.

Q: You’re the communications minister. Surely your work carries a lot more weight than the average bystander on the street who’s responding to an article and raising questions about an inaccuracy – surely you would have known that perhaps your concerns about the article would have had a stronger impact on the organisation than anybody else?

Mitch Fifield:

I would hope that the media organisations in Australia take equally seriously questions of fact that are raised, regardless of who raises them.

Updated

The questions from journalists are all directed at trying to ascertain the extent to which the then Turnbull government tried to exert editorial influence at the national broadcaster.

Malcolm Turnbull has made some comments overnight which I’ll return to shortly in catching us all up. Fifield can be quite a droll fellow periodically.

Q: Are you aware that Malcolm Turnbull harboured any hatred towards any ABC reporters?

Mitch Fifield:

The former prime minister is a very mellow individual.

He only, to my knowledge, has raised issues of fact in relation to reports by journalists.

'At no stage, and in no way, shape or form, have I ever sought to involve myself in staffing matters in the ABC'

I’ll recap at the end of this press conference to ensure we are all up to speed. Let’s push forward for now.

The communications minister, Mitch Fifield, made these opening remarks a minute ago.

This has been a difficult week for the ABC but it’s important that its work continues. The ABC is one of the important underpinnings of media diversity in Australia.

The ABC makes a significant contribution to civic journalism in Australia and to the important accountability role of the Australian media. The independence of the ABC is something that this government is deeply committed to.

The ABC has legislated independence in relation to operational programming, editorial and staffing matters and, as the minister for communications, I have always respected the independence of the ABC.

Like most members of parliament, I have, on occasion, raised with the ABC issues of facts in reporting, as indeed I’ve done with commercial media organisations.

But, at no stage, and in no way, shape or form, have I ever sought to involve myself in staffing matters in the ABC, nor, for that matter, am I aware of any member of the government who has sought to do so and that includes the former prime minister who has spoken to these matters overnight.

There have, over the last two days, been issues raised in relation to the independence of the ABC. These are matters that we take seriously as a government, which is why, following discussions with the prime minister yesterday, I asked the secretary of my department, the Department of Communications and the Arts, to undertake an inquiry to establish the facts in these matters.

I’ve done so because it’s important for the community to have confidence in the ABC and its independence.

Updated

Good morning

Hello everyone and welcome to another day of live coverage about the unfolding crisis at the ABC. As we launch the live blog this morning, it has become clear that the ABC board is meeting today minus its chairman, Justin Milne.

The communications minister, Mitch Fifield, is speaking to the media in Melbourne now. I’ll bring you that next.

Updated

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