Statement from Senator Andrew Bragg on the ABC at Senate Estimates

Senator Andrew Bragg today expressed his disappointment in the blurred lines around ABC staff reporting on programs and social media posts. This was in response to evidence by ABC Managing Director David Anderson under questioning in the Senate Environment and Communications Committee. “The new guidelines for ABC social media don’t appear to work,” Senator Bragg said. “It’s even worse when the tweets seem to be coming from ABC lawyers, “ he said Senator Bragg was referring to an instance of an ABC lawyer working on 4 Corners appearing to attack the government. These statements refer to the Morrison government as “fascist” and apparently referring to the Prime Minister as an “awful human being.” “To his credit, Mr Anderson admitted it was disappointing and promised to look into it,” he said. Senator Bragg said the incident shows the issue of impartiality still hasn’t been addressed properly by the ABC. “If the ABC’s taxpayer funded employment allows a member of its legal team to call the government fascist, the ABC’s code of conduct isn’t working,” Senator Bragg said. "Journalists are responsible for what they say under the ABC charter in programs which go to air but when it comes to tweets about those same programs there’s confusion.” “All I want is for the ABC to restore its integrity and remain impartial,” he said. **‍** MEDIA | John Mangos | 0401 392 624