Ita Buttrose will be stepping down at the end of her five-year term in March as Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) board and former News Corp CEO Kim Williams will take over. Appointed in 2019 by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Ms. Buttrose, 82, noted that she would not seek reappointment. Mr. Williams, praised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, was nominated by an independent panel. Mr. Albanese described Mr. Williams as “a true renaissance man,” who has experience in media and arts management as well as a background as a former AFL commissioner.
Mr. Williams holds leadership roles in numerous other organizations in the creative industries. Additionally, he was Deputy Chair of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music and is a former professional clarinetist and composer. In discussing the role of the ABC chair, he referred to it as “probably the hardest job in media in Australia.” He added that he thought much of the ABC’s content was “bland,” and lacking in attention to the arts. However, he believed that the ABC’s role was to bring life and personality to its charter.
The announcement of Mr. Williams’s appointment followed Ms. Buttrose reiterating her support for ABC managing director David Anderson, in the face of a union vote of no confidence after his sacking of presenter Antoinette Lattouf. The ABC denied that lobbying efforts had influenced its decision, stating that Lattouf had disobeyed orders from management not to post about controversial issues while in her presenter position. Ms. Buttrose underlined Anderson’s support for independent journalism and journalists, affirming that he had always supported the independence of the ABC.