An independent review of the ABC has found indigenous and culturally diverse staff have been subjected to racism -- both within the national broadcaster and by external organisations. Journalist and Senior Cultural Adviser for ABC News, Miriam Corowa spoke with the ABC's outgoing Managing Director David Anderson.
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00:00It's important to me to make sure that we put all this in place now before I leave.
00:06So I have months before I leave the ABC.
00:10It's important to me, it's important to the leadership, it's important to the board of
00:13the ABC.
00:14So we've all committed to doing this.
00:17There are a number of months that I've got to oversee the implementation of this such
00:21that whoever replaces me already has a framework in place, have people in position that are
00:26already delivering on these recommendations, such that there is no delay in this happening.
00:32And if anything, it's a reason for me to stay longer, not a reason for me to leave earlier.
00:37So it's very important to me that we do this.
00:41This is day one of by releasing the report and releasing a response to those recommendations.
00:48And it will take a long time.
00:49There is change here that is required over a longer term, but it starts now.
00:56And I will say that this change, I think, serves as, you know, if I think about the
01:02media industry itself, there is a broader question here for the broader media industry
01:06about what they do.
01:07We're focusing on us at the moment.
01:09We're focusing on these recommendations.
01:11And it is a path that is a discernible action on what we are doing now to move this forward,
01:17to ensure that this doesn't happen again.
01:19This racism cannot occur in any workplace and called it out today in my communication
01:24to staff that if people believe that it's OK to behave like this, this is not the place
01:30for them.
01:31We will find them and we'll make sure they leave the ABC.
01:34It cannot happen.
01:35It must stop.
01:36It must stop in society and it must stop for the ABC.
01:39So together we can work together towards it.
01:41And I think that happens by sitting down with everybody and having sometimes confronting
01:46and difficult conversations about what this all means.
01:48I think it has to happen at every level of the organisation to understand what the effect
01:52of this is that then informs what your response is for the future.
01:56David Anderson, I have the privilege of being able to sit here with you and have this conversation.
02:02What do you say to those people who have given to this review process, who won't have necessarily
02:09that opportunity to sit and speak with you?
02:11What do you say to them today in light of the experiences that they've shared?
02:17So for the people who have participated in this review, they have my sincere thanks for
02:22their courage and bravery to come forward and tell their story.
02:27This report is anonymised and will protect that anonymity.
02:33And they have my undertaking that we take this incredibly seriously.
02:38We are committed to changing the culture of the ABC in a more positive way, to be more
02:45inclusive than what we are already, to eliminate racism.
02:48And they have that absolute conviction from me, but I know by meeting with my leadership
02:52team and the ABC's leadership team, sorry, that they also have that conviction, which
02:56is well beyond my tenure.
02:59And what we're putting in place here, as I said, is a multi-year framework that is there
03:04in response to the good work of Dr Terry Janke, who's put this together and put forward the
03:09recommendation, but as well as those people who have come forward to give us their testimony.
03:13And Anderson, one of the re-recommendations was about providing an apology.
03:19Is that something that you're prepared to speak to?
03:22Oh, absolutely.
03:23So I have today written to all staff and I have expressed that I am deeply sorry to anybody
03:29who has experienced racism at the ABC for whenever that is.
03:33And whenever that's happened, it shouldn't have happened.
03:36It shouldn't happen.
03:38And I am sincerely sorry for that experience.
03:42And I think that, I think the conviction here is certainly looking at what we are putting
03:47in place is, to the greatest possible extent, it is not just what we say today, but it's
03:54what we do in the future.
03:56And I think that what it will take is everybody working together to ensure that all of these
04:02things are in place over a longer period of time.
04:06And yes, I am truly sorry for what has happened to people in the past.