The ABC has awarded its former head of news, Gaven Morris, a contract to advise on the relocation of some staff to Parramatta in Sydney’s west, just weeks after he left the national broadcaster.
Morris, the former head of news, analysis and investigations, joined international communications and strategy consultancy Bastion in December as chief executive of Bastion Transform. He left the ABC in the same month.
The ABC confirmed it has now contracted Bastion Transform to manage the process of relocating part of its newsroom to Parramatta and was close to identifying a site.
At the ABC Morris had been one of the driving forces behind the strategy to relocate staff to more regional areas including shifting 300 employees from its Ultimo headquarters to western Sydney. In June, he described the move as “an exciting future step” that would “deepen engagement with local communities”.
Morris’s strategy adviser and project manager, Luke Howlin, who worked on the relocation project, has also left the ABC to work at the consulting firm.
Senior ABC staff, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there was concern about whether outsourcing the job to a former executive without going to tender was necessary and opened the ABC up to accusations of potential conflicts of interest.
The ABC has a property department which manages ABC facilities as well as a large technology section that has managed the broadcaster’s transition to digital platforms in all its divisions.
“The ABC, like other government agencies, sometimes uses external consultants when appropriate to ensure the success of significant and specialised projects,” an ABC spokesman told the Guardian.
“Whenever the ABC uses a consultancy, all policies and guidelines are met. Bastion is among the consultancies the ABC has worked with in the past.
“This move will require specialised technological design features to ensure the potential site meets the requirements of our content makers. The planning and successful completion of this move means consultation not only with relevant ABC teams and managers, but also external advice and expertise,” he said.
In June last year, the ABC managing director, David Anderson, told staff that the migration was part of its five-year plan to see 75% of content makers work outside the broadcaster’s Sydney CBD office by 2025.
Bastion Transform, according to its website “is the disruptor in digital strategy and transformation space. We partner with teams to frame a clear view of their digital horizon and to build a sense of confidence and purpose to reach it.”
The Guardian understands it is a recently set up division of the multinational consultancy firm and has just two employees at this time; Morris and Howlin.
The ABC spokesman declined to answer questions about the value of the contract and the processes followed to award it.
The ABC also did not explain the precise scope of the contract and whether it lacked the expertise internally to implement the move.
Comment was sought from Morris and from Bastion.
