Australian Broadcasting Corporation boss Hugh Marks has failed to clarify why an ABC radio presenter posed a question to her listeners about whether an Australian Jewish singer should have “the right to perform?” at a concert.
While appearing before a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra on Thursday, Mr Marks was questioned about the conduct on a local ABC radio program which related to artist Deborah Conway following a performance in Hobart in May 2024.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson told the hearing that the following morning of Ms Conway’s gig — which was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Palestinian interjections — the host encouraged listener feedback.
Senator Henderson asked Mr Marks if the presenter’s question implied an “implicit support by the ABC of division and antagonism towards Jews, almost suggesting that there is a right to harass Jews, such as Deborah Conway, when she is performing.”
However, Mr Marks said he was unaware of the details of the incident and insisted her would need to investigate the specific details of what happened.
“I’m not aware of those facts so we will have to go into the detail of that particular set of circumstances, and what went on and why,” Mr Marks said.
It was just one of a string of incidents ABC executives were lambasted on Thursday with accusations of bias reporting, activism journalism, and the “unprecedented” hiring of a bikie and politically-aligned influencer.
Mr Marks and editorial director Gavin Fang faced the brunt of questioning after the public broadcaster’s director of news Justin Stevens pulled the pin on the organisation less than 24 hours after the appearance.
Mr Steven’s had been at the ABC for 19 years and at the helm for four.
During his four-year tenure at the helm, MrStevens faced intense scrutiny surrounding multiple complaints and high-profile legal battles, most notably the unlawful dismissal case brought by Antoinette Lattouf.
He also attracted controversy for Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal co-hosting a gambling-sponsored podcast and Mr Stevens’ role in a misleading 2022 Four Corners investigation titled “Line of Fire”.
Senator Henderson blasted the ABC for hiring Mr Fazal for the broadcaster’s longest-running investigative program, insisting his background as a former outlaw bikie sergeant-at-arms was “almost unprecedented”.
Mr Mark revealed on Thursday he had been sacked after a investigation into his conduct.
“He was terminated. It’s inappropriate for me to go into the details of the investigation,” the ABC editor-in-chief said.
But Senator Henderson questioned why he was even hired given his bikie boss background and limited journalism experience after a stint at digital media outlet Vice.
“Was Mr Fazal a qualified journalist? And working for Vice News — I don’t think — necessarily qualifies him to work at Four Corners,” she said.
“Four Corners has fallen well short of the standards that should apply to the nation’s premier long-form current affairs program.”
Mr Fang added that Mr Fazal had “won a variety of different awards” prior being hired by the ABC and pitched “important” stories to tell.
He added that Mr Fazal didn’t directly start as top reporter — joining the broadcaster initially in a “casual capacity’ for another program.
Senator Henderson, however, insisted that even if Mr Fazal did have “a good story to tell, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to hire him as a journalist” on Four Corners.
The ABC was also accused of breaching impartiality standards after hiring a content creator who provides paid training for aspiring Labor candidates.
Mr Marks was tight-lipped about whether Youtuber Cameron Mitchell — who goes by the user name “Mr M History” — was paid to take part in a “Creator Program”.
The broadcaster had profiled Mr Mitchell despite the creator running “Barcaldine Academy” — a Labor-focused coaching program.
“It doesn’t pass the pub test,” Senator Bridget McKenzie said, accusing the ABC of breaching editorial standard four, regarding impartiality.
Mr Marks couldn’t answer Senator McKenzie’s question about whether the ABC had undertaken appropriate vetting of each creator’s “political or reputational” background before promoting them.
Mr Marks described the program as a “working development program”, which allowed creators to “develop their skills” to see whether they could continue to other roles.
While he didn’t rule out payment for their contribution, Mr Marks insisted they “wouldn’t necessarily be full-time working for the ABC”.
“People joining the ABC should be coming from a diversity of backgrounds. But that diversity should not be relevant to their work. Their work should be judged by the editorial standard by which they operate,” Mr Marks said.
Senator Sarah Henderson also criticised ABC chairman Kim Williams for skipping the session and indicated she may seek an order through parliament to compel him to appear.
She said Mr Williams should answer questions on his remarks about Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, labelling him as “frankly an aberrant creature”.
“I had great hope for the ABC when Mr Williams started. He made some very significant comments that he did not want to see activism in the ABC,” she said.
“He wanted the highest standards of journalism, not activism. And yet, he engages in this sort of behaviour.
“You’ve got the chair setting that sort of appalling example.”
Mr Marks said Mr Williams had already publicly stated that he regretted marking the comments.
“I acknowledge that those comments were less than desired or ideal,” Mr Marks said.
“I think Mr Williams regrets making them.
“It’s not an indicator to our staff in any way to change their behaviour in compliance with the codes and standards that we abide to in the work that we do.”
NSW Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi pushed Mr Marks to clarify if Reuters executive Simon Robinson had been hired as a replacement for Mr Steven’s after news reports were circulating in the morning naming him.
However, Mr Marks declined to confirm but added that Mr Steven’s departure after four years at the helm gave the broadcaster an opportunity for “refreshed and rejuvenated output”.
“It’s a difficult role, the head of news at the ABC. I think after four years, and with obviously intense scrutiny, not only from externally,” he said.
“It’s inappropriate for me to go into detail and specific staff matters.
“I think Mr Stevens felt it was the right time for him to move on and pursue other careers, and I think it’s an opportunity, obviously, for the ABC to enter into a new phase of operations where we look to refresh and rejuvenate our output.”
ABC also spoke about piloting an artificial intelligence program which uses radio content and turns it into a daily news briefing.
The trial has only been run in regional areas based on radio reports with Mr Fang telling the hearing it was intuitive to give ABC content more longevity.
He said ABC was open to embracing AI in circumstance but insisted that human oversight was always used on the content it produces.
Mr Marks and Mr Fang said that the use of AI was about enhancing tasks and improving workflow not replacing jobs.
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