Ita Buttrose will not seek second term as ABC chair

Her appointment followed a tumultuous period at the ABC, with the departure of both former chair Justin Milne and managing director Michelle Guthrie six months prior.

The government will likely appoint a successor to Buttrose, 81, in advance of her term ending on March 6, 2024. It is a marked difference to the ongoing selection process to appoint two new directors to the ABC’s board after Joseph Gersh was not reappointed earlier this year and following the departure of Fiona Balfour in February, less than two years into her term.

The new chair will likely have a major decision on their hands in the first weeks after their arrival at the ABC, with managing director David Anderson’s five-year tenure up in May.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Jonathan Holmes, chair of ABC Alumni, said on behalf of the group: “Despite being Scott Morrison’s ‘captain’s pick’, Ita Buttrose has been a stalwart defender of the ABC’s independence. However, ABC Alumni hope Anthony Albanese will choose her successor from candidates selected on merit by the nomination panel, as the ABC Act expects.”

As recently as Friday, Buttrose said she was undecided about her future.

“I’m mulling it over,” Buttrose told ABC Melbourne’s Virginia Trioli, when asked about staying on for another term as chair.

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“The five years have gone by really quickly, but it’s a big decision to decide whether or not I’ll do another five years, because I’ve got to be practical. I’m a woman of a certain age, and while everything seems fine at the moment, life is full of unexpected detours, and you never know how it’s going to turn out.”

A government spokesperson said there was no set timeframe for the selection process to begin, which would include the role being advertised publicly. The independent panel includes Daryl Karp, appointed in June, with the panel’s chair, Helen Williams, also reappointed. Other members of the panel are Catherine Liddle and Derek Wilding.

Balfour, a former chief information officer at Qantas and Telstra, stepped down from the board after pressure from Buttrose over a perceived conflict with her directorship at a Telstra-affiliated company.

The new chair will likely have a major decision on their hands in the first weeks of their arrival at the ABC, with managing director David Anderson’s five-year tenure up in May, and Anderson yet to indicate whether he will seek another term.

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“She [Buttrose] has much to do in the remainder of her term and will leave the ABC stronger than when she was entrusted with the role in 2019,” Rowland said.

“She navigated the public broadcaster through a challenging period that included strident political criticism, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing transformation of the ABC, so it can remain an essential part of Australian life in the digital age.”

It has been a volatile year for the ABC, which started with the broadcaster apologising for a one-sided radio report about an Alice Springs forum held to address alcohol-fuelled violence in the community in February. In June, a proposal to make up to 120 staff redundant – including political editor Andrew Probyn – was revealed, while high-profile journalist Stan Grant quit Q+A over excessive online abuse.

Following the selection process, Rowland and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be expected to recommend a candidate from a shortlist, with the governor-general ultimately appointing the chair.

Since its election in 2022, Labor has sought to adopt stricter hurdles around government-appointed directors to limit perceived political stacking.

This year it ordered former Australian Public Service commissioner Lynelle Briggs to review appointment standards and processes, including the advertising of roles, professional selection procedures and performance tracking of board members, not strictly limited to the ABC.

However, two separate well-placed sources have suggested to this masthead the government will look to have a say on the next chair, with Albanese having grown frustrated by recent decision-making by the broadcaster.

Four of the last five ABC chairs have been Coalition appointments. The most recent Labor chair appointment was James Spigelman in 2012 by Julia Gillard. He sat a full term until 2017, when he was replaced by Milne.

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The shortlist in 2019 included only men, with former Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood, former News Corp chief executive Kim Williams, Film Victoria president Ian Robertson, and Gilbert and Tobin managing partner Danny Gilbert making up the list.

Buttrose was the founding editor of Cleo and went on to become the editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly in the 1970s when it was owned by Kerry Packer’s Australian Consolidated Press, before becoming the editor of The Daily Telegraph. Buttrose’s career has also included roles on Nine’s Today Extra program and on Network Ten.

She has also been a News Limited and Australian Consolidated Press director, and was the president of the Chief Executive Women organisation.