The Financial Review reported this week that former defence minister Peter Reith is on a shortlist of appointments for the ABC Board.
The appointment of Michael Kroger and his subsequent backing of former ABC Managing Director Jonathan Shier heated up the issue of political appointments to the ABC Board last year so much that there was a review of board appointment procedures. If Peter Reith were appointed it would undoubtedly revive that issue.
Communication Minister Alston has not ruled out the possibility of Reith taking a board vacancy.
Spokesperson for Friends of the ABC Terry Laidler labelled the possibility of Reith being appointed to the ABC board as inappropriate.
“Any possibility that Mr Reith could be considered for the position must be ruled out immediately… It is unthinkable that Mr Reith, so closely aligned to the Liberal party and exposed in a recent Senate inquiry for misleading the public, could sit on the board of the country’s independent national broadcaster,” said Laidler.
Speaking to ABC Radio broadcaster Richard Glover at the opening of the ABC’s refurbished Ultimo Centre, Prime Minister John Howard was asked about the possibliity of appointing Peter Reith to the ABC Board. This was the on-air exchange:
RICHARD GLOVER: Peter Reith, is he going to be on the ABC Board?
PRIME MINISTER: That issue has not been discussed by the Cabvarchar(15).
GLOVER:
You haven’t made that determination?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the vacancy won’t arise until next year and until then I’m not focusing on it.
GLOVER:
Okay. Have you got his name in the back of your head?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don’t actually have any name in the back of my head. Let me say I have a high regard for Peter Reith. I think…
GLOVER:
Because people say he’s a tarnished person because of the children overboard…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think he did a magnificent job as the industrial relations minister. I think what he did to reform the Australian waterfront added enormously to our current economic prosperity and I think the criticism made of him on other issues doesn’t sufficiently put into the balance the contribution he made on things like that.
GLOVER:
If the negative issue is one about not telling the truth is that precisely the wrong person to be on the public broadcaster?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I’m not getting into a debate about who’s going to go on the board of the ABC.