Outgoing ABC managing director Mark Scott says the ABC does not yet reflect the ethnic diversity of modern Australia and has praised the BBC for doing a better job of representing the British population.
Calling himself a “grey man in his 50s”, Scott did a live Facebook interview with BuzzFeed Australia and answered a Play School quiz in which he admitted his favourite presenter was Noni Hazlehurst.
Scott, who is stepping down this week after 10 years at the helm of the ABC, said the national broadcaster had done reasonably well on Indigenous employment and broadcasting but had fallen short in the area of broader diversity.
“On broader diversity we have a way to go frankly,” Scott said in a live Facebook interview with Buzzfeed Australia.
“I am not sure we always look and sound like modern Australia. And we’ve looked at that pretty carefully, closely – we monitor and review.
“On diversity of voices do we have people from ethnically diverse backgrounds who are on air who are voices you regularly see and hear. We do alright. But I think we need to do better.
“I draw a parallel to the BBC: when I watch and listen to the BBC when I’m in the UK I think the on-air talent really represents a diversity of modern Britain and I’m not yet sure we represent the diversity of modern Australia.”
He agreed that non-Anglo Australian who wanted to work at the ABC may look at it as a “bastion of white culture”.
Scott said after years of “not even getting close” to the ABC’s 2% quota on Indigenous employment, the ABC had just passed 2.3% and was heading for 3% through aggressive recruitment.
At 30 June 2015, 2.28% of ABC staff were Indigenous, exceeding the 2% target set in the Reconciliation Action Plan 2013–15, according to the ABC annual report.
The ABC has teamed up with the tertiary education sector and national Indigenous community media groups to increase the numbers as well as launching a digital recruitment campaign promoting the ABC as an employer of choice.
“We needed more Indigenous stories in prime time and that’s why we did [dramas] Redfern Now and Clever Man is coming and we did Mabo. We’ve done pretty well on radio.
Scott said the focus on Indigenous employment and Indigenous broadcasting had paid off but commissioning a prime-time drama series like Redfern Now was also crucial to changing the perception of the ABC.
The ABC board and his successor, Google executive Michelle Guthrie, were well aware of the shortfall in diversity and the public could expect more change, he said. Guthrie will take full control of the ABC from Monday.
