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The long-awaited report of a review of the ABC com­plaints-handling process was released today. The review was conducted by former Com­mon­wealth and NSW Ombudsman Professor John McMillan and former SBS Director News and Current Affairs Jim Carroll.

Com­ment­ing on the report, ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim said: “Although it is heart­en­ing to note the Reviewers’ recom­mend­a­tion that the current ABC com­plaints system should be scrapped and replaced with a more impartial and trans­par­ent system headed by an Ombudsman, this does not go far enough.”

He added: “The proposed Ombudsman and all of the members of the com­plaints unit will be employees of the ABC, as is the case under the present system. The com­plaints unit will therefore not remain apart from the ABC’s organ­isa­tion­al culture and ‘group think’, which have been a perennial source of com­plaints over many years.”

The ECAJ has long main­tained that to be truly inde­pend­ent and at arm’s length, the com­plaints process must be external to the organ­isa­tion, as is the case in other sectors of public and corporate life in Australia.

Wertheim also ques­tioned the powers of the proposed Ombudsman. “It is far from clear whether the Ombudsman and the com­plaints unit will have any real teeth, or will simply be more window dressing. Apart from reporting to the Board, will the findings of the Ombudsman about a complaint be made public? What powers, if any, will the Ombudsman or the complaint’s unit have to order redress and, if needed, a change of approach by the organ­isa­tion?”

Wertheim also expressed dis­ap­point­ment in the fact that even though the report was completed in April, it has only been released now, “while public attention is focused on the Federal election four days away.”