Accused Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik praised four Australian conservative leaders in his 1500-page manifesto, abc.net.au reported on July 26.
“In a manifesto posted online under the Anglicised pseudonym Andrew Berwick, the killer quoted [former prime minister John] Howard, former treasurer Peter Costello, Catholic Cardinal George Pell and conservative writer and historian Keith Windschuttle,” the ABC said.
But the report failed to mention that Windschuttle was a director of the ABC for years until just a few weeks earlier, when he stepped down on June 14.
It also failed to mention that another ABC director, its board’s current chairman, Maurice Newman, is a close personal friend of John Howard.
It’s hardly surprising that the report did not include a disclaimer — the ABC thrives on its image of being “impartial” and “balanced”. Many Australians even think it is too left-wing. Yet a closer examination of its board of directors reveals a different story.
Newman, Windschuttle and another current ABC director, Steven Skala, were all appointed by Howard. Windschuttle is notorious in Australia for claiming the story of the “stolen generations” of Aboriginal children is a myth invented by left-wing historians.
Yet Breivik, who is accused of slaughtering 72 people in a July 22 killing spree, used his manifesto to praise Windschuttle for being “tired of that anti-Western slant that permeates academia”.
He quoted Windschuttle as saying: “For the past three decades and more, many of the leading opinion makers in our universities, the media and the arts have regarded Western culture as, at best, something to be ashamed of, or at worst, something to be opposed.”
In praising Howard, Breivik noted that the former prime minister “caused outrage in Australia’s Islamic community when he said Muslims needed to speak English and show respect to women”.
He praised the Howard government’s border protection policies by saying: “They have taken serious steps towards actually enforcing their own borders [and] despite the predictable outcries from various NGOs and anti-racists, prime minister John Howard has repeatedly proven to be one of the most sensible leaders in the Western world.”
Newman has spent decades in stockbroking and investment banking and was the chairman of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX Limited) until late 2008. Some of the biggest traders on the ASX are mining giants.
Little wonder then, that Newman does not agree with the vast majority of scientists on climate change. He created controversy last year when he said “group think” was extant at the ABC, and that on the subject of climate change “contrary views have not been tolerated, and … those who express them have been labelled and mocked”.
Skala is the vice chairperson of banking giant Deutsche Bank for Australia and New Zealand. Another ABC director, Cheryl Bart, has served as a non-executive director on several company boards including Spark Infrastructure Limited, ETSA Utilities, Shaw of Australia, Growth Properties Limited and the Buckland Foundation.
Another, Julianne Schultz, is a former reporter for the Australian Financial Review.
The ABC’s pro-establishment, pro-business board is predictable. The ABC is “balanced” only if you think it needs to strike a balance between the views of the Labor Party and the Liberal Party.
In fact, research undertaken by the broadcaster has indicated that out of a total of 19 former staffers moving into party political positions, 10 have joined the Labor Party and nine the Liberal Party.
Both parties are pro-establishment and pro-business.
It is for this reason that "Aunty" is hardly ever likely to be anti-capitalist. Its directors should continue to receive little serious criticism from the likes of right-wingers like Breivik.