background briefing 3-1 ...............4

Restructure begins to self-destruct

After sacking most of the senior 'old ABC' executives, managing director Shier has started on his own 'new ABC' appointees. Signs that his radical restructure is falling apart comes with the sacking of Guy Dunstan, head of the content development division.

The reported $9m division is the keystone of Mr Shier's restructure. It embraces the 21 content and development units, and revolutionises the way programs are originated and commissioned. It was set up to centralise control of all new programming, and will take away responsibility for their own development from television, radio and online. However, the implementation of the new division has been stalled by confusion over its budget and lines of responsibility.

It seems that Guy Dunstan found the structure faulty or even unworkable, and that he had put proposals to remodel the division to Mr Shier. Others on the senior executive have expressed frustration that the model is unnecessarily costly and bureaucratic, according to the Dossier team.

This sacking comes ahead of another 100 redundancies, including 30 compulsory retrenchments, mostly from television production in Sydney. These were approved by the board at its February meeting.

Mr Shier is determined to use the opportunity to rid the ABC of those he does not want.

"There are a group of people in the past voluntary redundancies who have never put up their hand," he told The Australian. "In some cases, thereÕs a skills issue. If people are not prepared to multi-skill and not prepared to learn the new way of doing things, that's an issue".

The Australian, 16/2/01.16/2/01.

Staff representative rejects Mr Shier's claim

Comments attributed to the Managing Director that "if people are not prepared to multi-skill and not prepared to learn the new way of doing things, that's an issue" as an explanation for the current redundancy round are offensive. Staff have been multi-skilling for decades. In July of last year staff agreed to a fundamentally new approach to multi-skilling through the adoption of a single classification structure under the ABC Employment Agreement 2000. In return for that commitment staff were promised that the Corporation would regularly inform employees about changing employment trends. This has not occurred.

Staff call upon you to step to the helm of this rudderless ship. Public confidence in one of the most important cultural organisations in Australia is at threat. The silence of the Board over the destruction of the ABC cannot continue. Staff request that you and the Board immediately intervene to protect the welfare and health of the national broadcaster.

From a letter to ABC chairman Donald McDonald from Graeme Thomson, Community and Public Sector Union

Showing Wolfe the door

If there is one story that encapsulates the insensitivity and absurdity of current ABC management it is the sacking of Ian Wolfe, the head and founder of NewsRadio (formerly PNN).

With the spin on language which characterises today's management, head of radio Sue Howard denied Wolfe had been sacked. "He wasn't sacked - his position disappeared. He was invited to apply for another position, head of radio talks, but declined." She did not mention that other people had also been Ôinvited to applyÕ for this position - the head of RN and NewsRadio combined - which went to Mark Collier.

Founding network manager Ian Wolfe was given what can only be called the bum's rush for reasons that have yet to be explained. A long-standing ABC employee of more than 40 years' service[he joined at 17], Wolfe was the one who persuaded then managing director David Hill to fling him an oily rag, with just enough whiff in it to power up the parliamentary networkÕs down-time and produce hundreds of hours of current affairs every week.

Wolfe is a highly respected manager and a person who inspired great loyalty at NewsRadio's Sydney head office.

David Hill emailed Wolfe from London:

"Ian, I've heard on the grapevine that you are leaving, and was sorry to hear it. If I had to nominate the most impressive things to happen in the last 30 years at the ABC, the establishment of NewsRadio would be up near the top somewhere. I still don't know how you did it. By harnessing the news service of the ABC you brought us a wonderful service at minimal cost. The ABC and Australia are both richer for your creation."*

If delivering an excellent 24-hour service on a minute budget is no guarantee of job security at what's left of the ABC then what is?

PAT SHEIL Media, The Australian, 1/3/01

It is with infinite caution that any man ought to venture upon pulling down an edifice which answered in any tolerable degree the common purposes of society.

EDMUND BURKE