ABC chair Kim Williams, addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday, has called for greater investment in the national broadcaster as the best method of fighting misinformation.
Williams said that “as our nation has become richer, our nation’s broadcaster has become much poorer”, noting the $150 million annual reduction in the ABC’s budget over the past decade.
“Everywhere you look: down, down, down the numbers go,” he said.
Ahead of the federal election, Williams pitched the case for a better-funded national broadcaster as a bulwark against the rising “waters of misinformation and disinformation”, arguing that “the continuing existence of the ABC as a trusted source of the truth will help save our democracy from the populist damage going on elsewhere”.
Williams outlined a vision of the ABC as showcasing Australian culture, attracting youth and improving “social cohesion” by “listening to everyone and telling everyone’s stories”.
Williams’ call for a revitalised ABC comes as the radio division of which he spoke so glowingly was shaken by the exit of the much-loved Sarah Macdonald and Simon Marnie in Sydney, alongside a host of changes to the broadcaster’s audio lineup in 2025.
Journalists then grilled Williams on the ABC’s conduct under his leadership, with The Nightly’s Ellen Ransley asking whether the ABC, in light of the Heston Russell review findings, had contributed to a misinformation environment and how public trust in the broadcaster could be reestablished.
The Mandarin’s Daniel Holmes then asked if the ABC’s executive was appropriately discharging its statutory responsibilities in its handling of the Antoinette Lattouf dismissal. Despite the Fair Work Commission findings that the broadcaster had dismissed Lattouf over a social media post relating to Israel’s war in Gaza, Williams insisted she was not sacked.
Williams said he hoped for a “sensible, constructive, respectful” resolution with Lattouf, though he stated, “Ms Lattouf was not dismissed. Ms Lattouf had a five-day contract, and under that contract, the contract was brought to a close at the end of the third day.” Holmes pushed back, noting the FWC’s findings.
The ABC’s Jane Norman inquired about how the ABC could capture the “bro” market given the recent popularity of Joe Rogan in the United States, as evidenced in the 2024 presidential elections. Williams railed against the likes of Rogan, saying they “prey on people’s vulnerabilities”.
“They prey on anxiety, they prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society, and they entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narratives. I personally find it deeply repulsive, and to think that someone has such remarkable power in the United States is something that I look at in disbelief,” he said.
Crikey asked whether Williams’ more outspoken tenure as chair was an attempt to “reinvent” the role, but was batted away with a response that he had remained firmly within the confines of the ABC Act, sections 6 and 8 of which he recited.
The ABC’s David Speers asked Williams’ thoughts on the government’s teen social media ban proposal, and the chair said he commended the government for acting with “fortitude” on an issue that causes widespread and “legitimate” anxiety among parents. Williams said he had met with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and her opposition counterpart the previous day, that the pair appeared to be in “alignment” and that he anticipated progress on the bill soon.
