Politicians should have no more access to ABC editorial decisions than anyone else — but it appears they think they’re above the rest of us.
The ABC board needs to take action on news director Gaven Morris and its own failures to properly handle communications with the government.
It’s clear that Morris is acting as a conduit for complaints and attempts to influence the ABC from the prime minister’s office. The PMO’s Nick Creevey complained to Morris about Dylan Welch’s reporting of the COVIDSafe app last year. In 2018, Morris fielded complaints from Malcolm Turnbull’s office about articles on tax avoidance by Emma Alberici.
Now Nine has reported that Morris received complaints from Morrison’s office about a Four Corners story on Scott Morrison’s links with a QAnon supporter, which have been extensively detailed in Crikey. That story has been spiked — delayed, insists the ABC — by managing director David Anderson.
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