THE FOURTH ESTATE:
The ABC’s national political lead David Speers has been issued with his final warning and will be dismissed immediately if “you show any further evidence of the pro-LNP bias you displayed on Friday’s News Breakfast program”.
The Bug can reveal exclusively that the quoted words above are taken exactly from an internal memo to Speers from ABC managing director David Anderson, who in turn was acting on orders from the corporation’s chair Ita Buttrose.
Both are reportedly furious with Speers for his weekly politics segment around 7.30am on Friday where he said that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had spent the parliamentary week “fanning voter anger” over Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s record of overseas travel since his election in May last year.
The Bug understands a senior ABC staffer heard Buttrose tell Anderson over the phone when she alerted him to the issue: “What the fuck are we going to do about this cunt? You can take the boy out of Sky News but you never ever really take the Sky News out of the boy.
“If there’s anyone who knows the truth of that, it’s me.”
Anderson’s memo to Speers states: “It is clear from your words that you regard ‘voter anger’ as a statement of fact, something that Peter Dutton was happily fanning.
“Sadly, it would appear that you’ve been quite happy yourself fanning the “Airbus Albo” narrative currently being promulgated with vigour by the Opposition, with the total support of much of the mainstream media, including Newscorp columnists such as Chris Kenny, Sky News LNP publicists such as Paul Murray and Nine Network shockjocks including Ben Fordham.
“The ABC’s duty to balanced, professional and ethical journalism cannot afford to be besmirched by a national political lead who seems happy to reinforce LNP talking points. Peter Dutton might very well be scoring some political points by criticising the PM’s travel and arguing that he should be home helping Australians battling a cost-of-living crisis but it’s not the job of any ABC employee – and especially you – to give him a leg-up in such endeavours.
“This is your final warning and you will be dismissed immediately if you show any further evidence of the pro-LNP bias you displayed on Friday’s News Breakfast program.”
The Bug can confirm from an examination of the most recent opinion polls that while the Labor Government and Albanese’s own standing are taking a mid-term dip in support, no polls have addressed the extent of “voter anger” over the PM’s travel in particular.
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