The ABC says it’s “deeply sorry” after a review found staff experienced racism

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It comes as the findings of an independent review, commissioned by the ABC, found “systemic issues” within the public broadcaster.
The ABC has issued an apology to current and former diverse staff who detailed their experiences of racism in a newly released report.

The ABC has issued an apology to current and former diverse staff who detailed their experiences of racism in a newly released review.

It comes as the findings of an independent review, commissioned by the ABC, found “systemic issues” within the public broadcaster.

Of the 120 participants involved in the review, only one had not experienced racism in the workplace.

Here’s what you need to know.

Review

Calls for an independent racism review at the ABC came following several high-profile resignations from the public broadcaster.

The ABC’s Managing Director formally commissioned the report in May 2023, after some of its most senior Indigenous staff members echoed the calls.

The “Listen Loudly, Act Strongly” review was led by Indigenous lawyer Dr Terri Janke.

Racism

The review found reports of both overt and covert racism such as stereotyping, poor management, and having assumed issues on impartiality.

The majority of participants reported the ABC is a “culturally unsafe” workplace. This includes the use of racial slurs, offensive comments about appearance or cultural practices, and staff being socially excluded due to their background.

Staff also reported experiencing abuse from “individuals and organisations in connection with their work”, detailing incidences of being racially targeted while field reporting.

The report found that “entrenched” racism created barriers when it came to recruitment, employment contracts, pay discrepancies, staff support, and complaints systems.

Out of the 120 participants, only one said they had not personally experienced racism within the ABC, but that they had been aware of incidents within the workplace.

Many participants said “despite the challenges to come forward”, they wanted the public broadcaster to succeed and develop.

Recommendations

The review made 15 recommendations that included improving cultural representation through recruitment, providing further organisation-wide cultural training, and improving diverse representation at a management level.

It also recommended the ABC conduct a pay audit of all First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse staff.

The ABC said it’s agreed to all the recommendations in principle and has developed a list of action items to begin implementing change.

ABC

ABC Manager Director David Anderson, who will step down from the role next year after resigning in August, called the review “an important piece of work”.

Anderson said the behaviours detailed were “completely unacceptable” and “shouldn’t have happened”.

“If people believe that it’s ok to behave like this, this is not the place for them… This must stop. It must stop in society and it must stop for the ABC.”

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