ABC boss Hugh Marks has refused to confirm whether he told scandal-plagued news director Justin Stevens to resign or risk being sacked.
The hearing before the Environment and Communications Committee comes a day after Mr Stevens abruptly resigned from the public broadcaster on Wednesday, citing “personal and professional reasons”.
Mr Stevens presided over the ABC News division during a period when the broadcaster faced calls to be defunded and claims of editorial bias.
He oversaw a series of scandals and failures, including more than 65 corrections and admissions of fault in a single year.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson asked Mr Marks if he threatened Mr Stevens with dismissal.
Ms Henderson said she received a tip-off that Mr Marks “threatened to terminate” Mr Stevens if he did not resign.
“I have received some information that you threatened to terminate Mr Stevens if he didn’t resign, is that the case?” she asked.
Mr Marks said he did not know where the information had originated.
“There were two people in our meeting, maybe three so I don’t know where that information is coming from,” Mr Marks said.
Ms Henderson said she would not disclose her source and asked whether the information was true.
Mr Marks told her: “I don’t make threats, Senator”.
Ms Henderson continued pressing the issue.
“Did you suggest that you were going to terminate Mr Stevens if he didn’t resign?” she asked.
Mr Marks said: “Senator, I think it’s inappropriate to go into the details of individual discussions with Mr Stevens about a very serious matter in this forum.”
“But I think the outcome is that Mr Stevens has resigned.”
‘It just looks really bad’: Controversial Giggle v Tickle thrust under microscope
Editorial Director Gavin Fang has defended the ABC’s coverage of a major gendered rights case under a heavy scrutiny from Senator Henderson.
The Federal Court earlier in the month upheld a ruling in which it was established the Sex Discrimination Act protected trans woman Roxanne Tickle from exclusion from a women’s only application.
The Giggle vs Tickle case proved divisive among trans and women’s rights activists.
Shortly after the ruling was passed down, the ABC featured an opinion piece celebrating the ruling as “good for both trans rights and women’s rights”, but did not share any articles of the opposing view.
Ms Henderson questioned whether the editorial decision constituted a failure to adhere to the broadcaster’s impartiality standards.
Mr Fang said the article appeared on the Religion and Ethics platform where pieces of varying opinions are featured.
“I’m not aware particularly of others that might have been referring to this case, but over time we have published a variety of different opinions about these issues,” he said.
Ms Henderson said: “In the case of this issue you haven’t, it was clearly marked opinion, I appreciate that”.
“But there were claims made that are very highly contested, and there has been no attempt by the ABC to present the other side of the story,” she continued.
Mr Fang contended the ABC had published several stories on the issue “more broadly”, but Ms Henderson focused on articles published following the conclusion of the Federal Court case.
“There’s been no attempt by the ABC to seek other opinions,” Ms Henderson said.
Mr Fang hit back at the Senator, saying: “It may be, Senator, that the religion and ethics site is looking for other opinions about this issue at the moment, I don’t know”.
“But the fact that we published one opinion piece does not indicate an issue in our coverage,” he continued.
Ms Henderson took issue with the claim.
“No it does, it absolutely does because it shows that you’re only prepared in relation to the outcome of this full federal court decision,” Senator Henderson said.
“The ABC’s made the decision to only publish one opinion piece which is very, very slanted.”
Mr Fang repeated he was not aware of what else the website was looking to publish.
“Can I suggest that it would be appropriate that you balanced your coverage with other opinions in relation to this case,” Ms Henderson continued.
“It just looks, it looks, really bad; it just looks like the ABC has a very jaundiced view when it only publishes opinions which reflect one side of the argument.”
Mr Fang said he would take it “on board”.
ABC boss admits hunt to replace scandal-plagued news director began months before resignation
The ABC’s search to replace scandal-plagued news boss Mr Stevens began at least six months before his resignation on Wednesday, Mr Marks has confirmed.
Mr Marks said he had been “informally” preparing to replace Mr Stevens for about six months.
“I have met many senior news people from around the world over the last six months. That’s been an informal process,” he said.
“In terms of formal process, knowing that Mr Stevens was potentially leaving the organisation, I interviewed a number of candidates for that role.”
Mr Marks later suggested the process for replacing Mr Stevens may have taken as long as 12 months.
ABC boss refuses to confirm if news director Justin Stevens was forced to resign
Mr Marks has refused to confirm if Mr Stevens was forced to resign from his position.
“Well, so now I think it’s inappropriate for me to go into detail and specific staff matters,” Mr Marks told the enquiry.
“I won’t give any further background on that other than what we’ve already said in our public statements and what I mentioned today.
“It is an opportunity for us to move forward and look at a refreshed and rejuvenated output as we work out what you know the future of the ABC is.”
Senator Henderson questioned whether there had been too many instances where Mr Stevens made the “wrong judgement”.
“It does very much look like he was pushed. He was encouraged to resign,” Ms Henderson said.
Ms Henderson put to Mr Marks that Mr Stevens was “encouraged to resign” and “on the chopping block” before asking what would change in his absence.
Mr Marks did not touch the commentary before saying the ABC was entering a “future that is rapidly changing”.
“I guess we are at a time as an organisation where we need to say what has served in the past may not serve us well in the future,” he said.
“This applies to all of our divisions, not just current affairs. I expect across this year that there is a lot of work that will go on in the organisation to position us better for a future.”
Mr Marks told the inquiry that he had been “informally” preparing to replace Mr Stevens for about six months.
“I have met many senior news people from around the world over the last six months. That’s been an informal process,” he said.
“In terms of formal process, knowing that Mr Stevens was potentially leaving the organisation, I interviewed a number of candidates for that role.”
Social media platform X too ‘hostile’ for ABC staff as posting ramps up on BlueSky
The ABC has moved an as-yet unknown amount of content to a social media platform once derided as an “ideological echo chamber” for its staff safety.
Nationals Senator Bridgette McKenzie questioned whether the ABC was best serving its audiences by moving content to BlueSky from X.
“Why are we reducing the amount of content to X followers of which at last count was about 2.6million… following the ABC on X… Is the BlueSky platform getting more content from ABC News posted than X?” she asked.
Mr Marks replied he assumed it came from “a concern about the environment of X for some of our people”.
“Our people being? Left wing people?” Ms McKenzie asked
Mr Marks replied: “People that work for the ABC generally”.
“We have concerns for the environment in which we operate and that environment can become increasingly hostile and aggressive,” he said.
“I can only assume that its done on the basis that BlueSky provides a better environment for those people to do their work without being exposed to hate and without being exposed to aggression.
“We’re seeing rising violence towards many of our people.”
Ms McKenzie repeated her question as to whether the ABC was reducing content on X and putting more of its daily news update on BlueSky, which Mr Marks put on notice.
‘Culture of defensiveness has got to stop’: Henderson clashes with ABC bosses over star presenter’s external doco
Senator Henderson has clashed with Mr Marks over an ABC star’s producing credit on a film funded by animal activists.
Sarah Ferguson asked her bosses for “urgent” permission to receive an executive producer credit on the Sentient documentary after the film was accepted into the Sundance Film, according to emails released under Freedom of Information first reported by The Australian in May.
The film had been directed by her husband Tony Jones, and funded with $3 million from animal rights groups. Ms Ferguson said she “co-developed with Jones an idea for a series that became a documentary concept later”.
Ms Henderson said there was “no way” she – as a former ABC host – would have been permitted to partly produce a documentary funded by activist organisation “which is highly political” and campaigned against political parties at elections.
“How could the standard be set that the ABC would permit one of its leading current affairs presenters to be the executive producer of a documentary funded by an activist organisation which completely undermines trust in the ABC when it comes to issues of impartiality,” she questioned.
Mr Marks said the project was “taken forward by other people that did not involve Ms Ferguson”.
“Ms Ferguson had no active role in the production of the program, no active role in the financing of the program obviously when it came to us with the notion that she was involved with the initial conception of the idea and that that was going to be a credit, it was important that we were transparent with the public and make sure that that credit was going to be on the film,” he said.
Ms Henderson reminded Mr Marks that Ms Ferguson held a “very special position” as a TV presenter bound by impartiality.
She added the ABC’s guidelines required staff seek approval “before” external work, no matter the nature.
Mr Marks defended the presenter, saying he could not “stop people talking or creating” because they are involved in “a million ideas”.
Ms Henderson said the ABC representatives’ continued backing for Ms Ferguson on the matter at Estimates was “the culture of defensiveness that has got to stop at the ABC”.
“The ABC, Ms Ferguson has done the wrong thing here and the ABC should never have allowed this situation to exist,” she said.
“This is the very culture of defensiveness that needs to be eradicated from the ABC. What restrictions… were placed on Ms Ferguson’s future coverage of Animals Australia, animal welfare, scientific testing or other policy issues?”
Editorial director Gavin Fang said Ms Ferguson’s disclosure of the credit “was the mitigation”.
Editor in Chief dismisses ABC Chair’s anti-Israel comments
Senator Henderson has raised anti-Israel comments made by ABC Chair Kim Williams.
Mr Williams recently described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “aberrant creature in the history of Israel”.
He later apologised for the comment and said it was a “very inappropriate thing” for him to have said.
Mr Marks said that the comments were “not reflective” of the ABC and said Mr Williams had apologised.
“We immediately commented that they were personal views. I know he regrets making them… The rest of the organisation takes no guidance from those comments.”
Ms Henderson said she would like to see a greater commitment from ABC executives to ensure impartiality in their public comments.
“I would like an undertaking that we’re not going to see that sort of conduct from the ABC chair, whether or not it’s his personal views, there’s no justification for it,” she said.
Mr Marks said: “Unfortunately, Senator, it’s not my role to tell the chair of the organisation what to do.”
Four Corners reporter sacked
The ABC has fired Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal over breaches of the public broadcaster’s editorial policy.
“Mahmood Fazal is no longer employed at the ABC. We do not comment on individual staff matters.”, an ABC spokesperson told SkyNews.com.au.
According to reports, Mr Fazal did not tell the ABC about his paid role in a podcast titled “Word on the Street” for which he asked to be paid in cash so his employer wouldn’t find out.
Earlier
Most recently, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson called for the broadcaster’s $1.3 billion in public funding to be scrapped over claims of bias.
The ABC has faced calls for the Antisemitism Royal Commission to investigate its reporting, over concerns about political bias and anti-Israel sentiment.
The broadcaster has also been criticised for editorial decisions related to its coverage of the Middle East, Charlie Kirk and more.
Accusations of bias have also haunted the broadcaster’s star politics journalist Patricia Karvelas.
Viewers from all sides of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have also lodged complaints with the broadcaster over coverage.
Senator Henderson this month called for the Antisemitism Royal Commission to launch hearings into the broadcaster over reporting on Israel and Palestine.
“We’re seeing systemic issues. A lot of anti-Israel sentiment is running through these cultural organisations,” she said.
The ABC also faced public backlash for an opinion piece celebrating the Federal Court’s ruling on the contentious Giggle v Tickle case as a “victory for women’s rights”.
It did not publish an opinion piece presenting the opposing view on the discrimination case regarding transgender rights.
The ABC has a statutory duty to disseminate news and information impartially and accurately as a taxpayer-funded organisation.
Its was also criticised for a decision to reduce posts on social media app X in favour of Bluesky, labelled an “ideological echo chamber” by the shadow communications minister.
At Senate Estimates in October 2025, the ABC faced questions over its coverage of the Middle East, Charlie Kirk, and incidents in the NT.
Senators raised concerns about selective reporting and whether the ABC had met its charter obligations to provide accurate and impartial news.
“There have been many times when the ABC has failed the impartiality test,” Senator Henderson told Sky News Australia at the time.