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Auditor-General considering investigation into damages paid by ABC

Auditor-General may look into payments by ABC over Louise Milligan / Andrew Laming case.

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The Auditor-General’s Office is considering an investigation into ABC payment of the damages and legal costs for one of its employees in a private defamation proceeding.

The matter surrounds ABC payments on behalf of Four Corners journalist Louise Milligan to Andrew Laming MP for damages and costs.

It follows a query by Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz to the Auditor-General’s Office.

“The recent case of ABC management paying the damages and legal costs of one of its employees in a private defamation proceeding invites your thorough examination as to the propriety and appropriateness of such a payment by ABC management,” Abetz wrote in his letter to the Auditor-General.

He questioned the use of public monies for payments around defamation proceedings.

ABC has indicated it decided to pay Milligan’s costs, estimated at $129,000, due to “particular and exceptional circumstances” but has not outlined what they entail.

4 Responses

  1. It’s quite probable that if it was not the ABC the payout could have been a lot more, defamation is a serious matter whether they are ex government politicians or not.

  2. The ABC gets it’s money from our left pocket and 7,9&10 get theirs from our right pocket. It’s funny that the ABC gets all the Govt scrutiny and the others are “hands-off”. Would the A/G still investigate if the ABC was privatised?

  3. These ”particular and exceptional circumstances” should be outlined, the ABC is a tax payer funded organisation and should be subject to checks and balances like any other government funded organisation. In my opinion, unless there are contractual clauses regarding her terms of employment with the ABC Louise Milligan should pay for her own damages and legal costs. To my mind Ms.Milligan and her style of investigative reporting is designed to stir up the ire of the right wing media and federal government, this is not the ABC’s job, especially when they get their published facts wrong, it’s poor work by the ABC’s editorial staff.

    1. > and should be subject to checks and balances like any other government funded organisation.

      Sorry, this government doesn’t do scrutiny, just partisan press releases. Perhaps you were thinking of some other, more competent, one – maybe in Narnia?

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