Appointing the ABC Board
The ABC Board
The ABC Board is charged with
- maintaining the integrity and independence of the Corporation, and
- ensuring that the gathering and presentation of information is accurate and impartial.
It is up to the Board to see that the ABC lives up to its Charter responsibilities – to provide innovative and comprehensive broadcasting services which reflect Australia’s cultural diversity.
If the ABC Board is to be trusted as an umpire, by the public, by the Government, and by ABC programmers and producers, it must be believed to be above political and commercial influence.
That in turn means that the process of appointing Board members must be as apolitical as is consistent with Ministerial responsibility.
Friends of the ABC’S Recommended Principles
Friends of the ABC believe that appointments to the ABC Board should follow the example set by the British Government, whether Conservative or Labour. Our suggested approach, broadly based on the Nolan Rules which govern all appointments to British statutory boards, provides for:
- The establishment of appropriate selection criteria for each vacancy, to ensure that there is an appropriate mix of skills and experience on the board.
- Public advertisement of all vacancies.
- Shortlisting of applicants by an independent assessment committee. Appointment by the Minister, following the shortlisting process.
What’s Wrong with the Present System?
The inadequacy of the present appointment procedure is illustrated by those obviously political appointees who happen to have been excellent Directors. It is precisely because the present arrangements allow for political patronage that any Board member who is clearly a mate of the present government has to go out of their way to prove their ability. Former politicians, for example, could still be appointed under these principles, but from the outset everyone could see that their qualifications matched the requirements, that they had been selected from a competitive field, and that they had been shortlisted by a panel with some independence from the Government and the Minister.
Objections to the Proposed Principles
“Governments should retain control of appointments”
Response: The Minister continues to make the appointment, and need not select from the shortlist. However if she or he does choose from outside the shortlist, under the British practice the reasons for doing so must be tabled in Parliament
“Public participation will dilute the quality of Directors”
Response: Only highly qualified candidates would be appointed. A public call for applications actually widens the base from which final selection is made. It does not, however, mandate who will be selected.
“There will be no real change in practice”
Response: The process will change. The transparency of the selection process will create a climate of confidence in the merit of the successful appointees.
“There have been some excellent Directors despite their publicly political profile”
Response: Of course. However they have had to prove themselves in order to gain public confidence in their ability as Directors. Proving that it’s what they know, not who they know is not something which Directors should have to do.
“Ministerial responsibility will be delegated to a selection panel”
Response: The selection panel has some members independent of the Minister (in the UK one or two chosen by the Commissioner of Public Appointments) as well as some specified office holders such as the Secretary of DCITA. The Minister can also appoint some members – to avoid any derogation from ultimate ministerial responsibility.
A MATTER OF PERCEPTION
As long as the selection of individuals as Board members is entirely at the Minister’s discretion, there can always be a public perception of political bias, however meritorious the individuals may be. A process open to public scrutiny would increase confidence in the independence of the Board.
The present and the forthcoming vacancies on the ABC Board create an opportunity to initiate a modest reform which would make a significant impact on the Board’s ability to fulfil the duties it is charged with.
August 2004 Friends of the ABC (ACT & Region)
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