ABC managing director David Anderson announces resignation

David Anderson will remain in the ABC role until a new managing director is appointed.

Transcript

00:00For me it is the right time for me and it's the right time for the ABC and it wasn't an easy

00:05decision to make. It's been an honour and a privilege to have been in the role for this

00:10period of time, in fact to the work for the ABC for 35 years and I've haven't come to it lightly

00:16but I have been in discussion with Kim Williams about it. Kim of course has tried to talk me out

00:21of it a number of times but look when you know you know and I've made my decision and I've advised

00:26Kim so I'll be in the role until the new managing director starts which conceivably could be

00:32March next year so I'll be here for some time here. There are definite moments where in that

00:37first week where people were quite concerned about political interference into the ABC

00:43and I stepped into the role in what was a chaotic time that certainly was challenging but again I'm

00:50proud of proud of the role that I played and I'm proud of the proud of the role that everyone else

00:55played through that period and I think that you know certainly backing our people our

01:01journalism through that period of time held us in good stead with the Australian people.

01:04Well the pressure's been constant can I say for the entire period of time and you don't enter

01:08into these roles lightly. Of course it's difficult to know the pressure that you're going to experience

01:13until you're in it but I have to say the pressure has been constant. There hasn't been one particular

01:18thing that's happened to me over this period of time. I think that these roles are quite demanding

01:25you throw everything at it and if I look at the ABC at the moment the ABC is in very good shape.

01:33I've really enjoyed defending public interest journalism, our journalists, our commitment to

01:39telling Australian stories, our commitment across regional or remote Australia and increasing our

01:43numbers there. For everything that we've done over those six years I'm quite proud of what the

01:47ABC's achieved in that time and looking ahead I just I just feel it's the right

01:52time for renewal and I think it's the right time for me.