ABC managing director David Anderson announces he’s quitting the top job

The ABC’s embattled managing director David Anderson has resigned, with staff informed he’s set to leave the public broadcaster early next year.

The presenter of the network’s flagship current affairs program Sarah Ferguson confirmed the news on X, writing: ‘MD David Anderson announces his intention to leave the ABC early next year’.

Staff were told of the news on Thursday through an internal email.

Mr Anderson was permanently promoted to the role in May 2019, after serving as the acting managing director since September 2018.

‘I am still very much committed to the importance of the ABC to the nation. I believe it is the right moment for leadership renewal for the next stage of the ABC’s continued evolution,’ he wrote in the email.

‘To have the opportunity to serve the Australian public and lead such talented and dedicated people across the country, and overseas, for what is approaching six years is humbling. To have had this opportunity after a long career at the ABC is an achievement I am proud of and incredibly grateful for.

‘The relationships forged with hard working people who possess a shared passion for the purpose and value of the ABC is an experience I will always cherish.

‘It has been an absolute honour to be part of the ABC community. We are all custodians of this great national institution that has served Australians for over 90 years.’

Mr Anderson says he will remain in the role until a new managing director is appointed, at the request of ABC chair Kim Williams.

He is likely to stay in the role until early next year. 

Mr Williams lauded Mr Anderson as a ‘loyal, devoted and talented ABC executive’.

‘David’s agreement to offer support through the coming months to ensure a smooth the transition to a new managing director is welcome, generous and has been accepted,’ he said.

‘I have to say my admiration for him and his commitment to the ABC is undiminished and my respect grows ever greater. He is an exemplary executive in many ways.’

Mr Anderson’s departure comes after ABC News Breakfast host Lisa Millar announced last month she was resigning. 

Her exit from the network comes after she unleashed on ‘disgusting’ online trolls who’d criticised her appearance back in March last year, while also slamming media coverage of the abuse she’d copped. 

She’d been with the public broadcaster since 1998. 

In May there were calls for the ABC to be defunded after Laura Tingle, the chief political correspondent for 7.30, labelled Australia a ‘racist country’.

‘We are a racist country, let’s face it. We always have been, and it’s very depressing,’ she said during a panel discussion at the Sydney Writers Festival. 

ABC journalist Antoinette Lattouf meanwhile lodged an unfair dismissal case against the broadcaster with the Fair Work Commission and Federal Court.

Lattouf was dumped by the ABC in December over her posts on the war in Gaza, just three days into a week-long stint as fill-in host on Radio Sydney’s morning show.

Lattouf launched a Fair Work claim against the ABC after she was axed as fill-in host on Radio Sydney ‘s morning show for  her a social media posts about the war in Gaza

The former fill-in radio host launched legal action against the ABC at the Fair Work Commission claiming the decision was political, based on her stance on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage. 

The ABC has since rejected Lattouf’s settlement request, which included a public apology, reinstatement as a fill-in radio presenter and $85,000.

The national broadcaster has defended itself against the unfair dismissal claim and is understood to have put forward an undisclosed counter-offer.

The ABC claimed she breached the organisation’s social media policy around impartiality and she was not actually sacked because she was paid for the full week. 

However, the Fair Work Commission ruled in June that Lattouf was indeed sacked by the national broadcaster.