Embattled ABC Chairman Justin Milne made a desperate plea to the board to keep Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown on Australia Day for fear of upsetting his friend Malcolm Turnbull, according to a report.
The radio station moved the countdown from January 26 after backlash and claims it was upsetting to Aboriginal people.
Milne opposed the move and attempted to convince the board to reverse the decision saying, ‘Malcolm [Turnbull] will go ballistic’, a leaked email suggests.
The now sacked ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie supported the board in their decision to move the Triple J countdown and told them to not ‘bow down’ to pressure to reverse their changes, other sources revealed.
Embattled ABC Chairman Justin Milne (pictured) made a desperate plea to the board to keep Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown on Australia Day, a leaked email suggests
![Milne opposed the move and attempted to convince the board to reverse the decision saying, 'Malcolm [Turnbull] will go ballistic', a leaked email suggests](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/26/07/50AD9F8E00000578-0-image-m-45_1537941593768.jpg)
Milne opposed the move and attempted to convince the board to reverse the decision saying, ‘Malcolm [Turnbull] will go ballistic’, a leaked email suggests
The now sacked ABC boss Michelle Guthrie (pictured), supported the board in their decision to move the Triple J countdown
The decision to move the Triple J countdown came about in November following increased debate around the celebration of Australia Day.
A series of surveys stated that as many as 60 per cent of people were in favour of a change in date.
The musical tradition now takes place on the fourth weekend of January.
The national broadcaster’s chairman and seven other board members deposed the ABC’s $891,000-a-year managing director, following a clash over its direction and a series of controversial calls.
‘I am devastated by the board’s decision to terminate my employment despite no claim of wrongdoing on my part,’ Ms Guthrie said in a statement on Monday.
‘I believe there is no justification for the board to trigger that termination clause.
‘I am considering my legal options.’
The decision to move the Triple J countdown came about in November following increased debate around the celebration of Australia Day
On Wednesday, ABC staff have called on Mr Milne to step down after leaked emails
In an email leaked to Fairfax from Milne to former ABC chief executive Michelle Guthrie, Milne reportedly wrote: ‘I think it’s simple. Get rid of her. We need to save the ABC — not Emma. There is no guarantee they [the Coalition] will lose the next election’.
Mr Turnbull had complained to Milne about a controversial report by Ms Alberici on corporate tax, which had angered the coalition.
Ms Guthrie, a former media lawyer, posted a statement two hours after the ABC announced she had been sacked and added that ‘at no point have any issues been raised with me’ about her staffing changes.
On Wednesday, ABC staff called on Milne to step down after leaked emails suggested he wanted a high-profile journalist sacked because former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was unhappy with her reporting.
Angry workers passed a unanimous motion calling on Milne, a long-time friend of Mr Turnbull, to stand down while investigations examined allegations he sought to have ABC presenter Emma Alberici fired.
Staff called on an independent inquiry into the allegations on Wednesday, saying: ‘the idea behind the investigation is to secure the editorial independence of the ABC from top to bottom,’ at a meeting coordinated by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
Pictured in February now former ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie (right) and ABC Chairman Justin Milne during the ABC Annual Public Meeting in Ultimo, Sydney
MEAA official Greg Miskelly speaks to the media as ABC staff hold a meeting outside their offices
Media Watch host Paul Barry weighed in on the drama, responding to a Tweet suggesting Michelle Guthrie was intending to sue ABC for defamation, writing: ‘Uglier and Uglier. What a mess.’
Milne responded to allegations he emailed Ms Guthrie in May, who was sacked as managing director on Monday, saying the Coalition Government hated Alberici.
In a statement released Wednesday morning he wrote, ‘The job of the ABC Board is to independently govern the Corporation, protect its best interests, ensure that it is well funded, well managed and that our content is of the highest standards.
‘That is precisely what the Board has done and will continue to do. I do not propose to provide a running commentary on day to day issues which arise in pursuit of our duties.’
ABC political commentator Barrie Cassidy also took to Twitter Wednesday to express his opinions, writing: ‘Justin Milne’s exposed rationale behind its stance on a govt complaint goes to the heart of the ABCs independence. And he’s the chairman!’.
ABC staff exit their offices ahead of a meeting in Ultimo (pictured)
Hundreds of ABC employees stood in alliance as they crowded the Ultimo office’s foyer demanding Milne step down from his position.
‘This meeting calls on the chairman to publicly acknowledge if the political interference in the reported email is true and, if so, immediately resign from his position,’ a Tweet from ABC anchor Matt Wordsworth read.
Ms Guthrie, a former Google executive, was sent an email by Milne demanding she ‘get rid’ of chief economics correspondent and former Lateline presenter Emma Alberici to appease the government.
‘They hate her,’ Milne wrote in the email which a source close to the ABC board gave to Fairfax.
‘We are tarred with her brush. I think it’s simple. Get rid of her. We need to save the ABC – not Emma. There is no guarantee they [the Coalition] will lose the next election,’ it continued.
The email was circulated to ABC board members last week ahead of Ms Guthrie’s sacking as managing director Monday, halfway through her five-year appointment.