Anthony Albanese makes shock call about the ABC and who he is replacing Ita Buttrose with
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has named Kim Williams as Ita Buttrose’s replacement as the chair of the ABC.
Mr Williams – a former AFL commissioner and one-time chief of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp Australia and Foxtel empires – was named as the new head of the public broadcaster on Wednesday morning.
‘Kim is such a perfect fit for the role, it’s almost as if he were made for it,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘He is as much at home running media companies as he is running arts organisations and, indeed, is a former AFL commissioner, so is engaged in sport as well.
‘There aren’t too many Australians I can think of who have both studied composition in Italy and been an AFL commissioner.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has named Kim Williams as Ita Buttrose’s replacement as the chair of the ABC
‘Kim is a true renaissance man.’
Mr Albanese said he had consulted with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton about the decision.
He added he had seen speculation in the media about who was to replace Ms Buttrose, but Mr Williams’ name had not been mentioned.
‘I haven’t seen the obvious choice mentioned in speculation up to this point,’ he said.
Mr Williams has been married twice – first to Kathy Lette, the famous Australian author, and later to Gough Whitlam’s daughter, Catherine Dovey, a friend of Ms Lette.
Ms Buttrose will finish her five-year tenure at the end of March.
Mr Williams said his new role was a ‘privilege’ and the role of ABC chair was a ‘solemn responsibility’.
‘It’s one which is guided by the charter and obviously has a responsibility to work with colleagues on the board of the ABC to give life and personality to that charter,’ he said in Canberra.
Ms Buttrose will finish her five-year tenure at the end of March
‘The charter is often invoked but rarely read and the charter is a refreshingly broad statement as to the responsibilities.
‘It speaks to the cultural diversity of Australia, it speaks to the responsibility to national identity in the process of informing and entertaining the nation, it speaks to the necessity of being innovative and comprehensive in the approach that is taken across all of the delivery methodologies of digital media.
‘It also has international responsibilities, education responsibilities, and, of course, an array of responsibilities in relation to what I described charmingly in the act as ‘the musical and dramatic and other arts’.
‘I certainly think giving life to those responsibilities is one of the great enduring challenges in Australia and it’s a privilege to do so.’
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland described Ms Buttrose as a ‘giant of the media and business worlds’.
‘She has shown steady leadership for five years. She’s maintained a strong defence of the ABC’s independence,’ she said.
‘She was the right chair for the right time.’
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