Regulator grilled on funds’ media ties

Jason Falinski questioned why APRA had failed to investigate how much money the ABC had received from Industry Super Holdings (ISH) and the fact that it was paying an ABC journalist “directly”, voicing concerns about the impact that might have on the ABC’s coverage of the superannuation sector.

“As of today, we’re told that The New Daily is paying the chief economics correspondent at the ABC, who this week is doing a series on retirement incomes. We do not know what the terms of that agreement are, we do not know how much money is being paid to him for that,” Mr Falinski said.

“If this was being done by Westpac, or CBA, or AMP, or any other institution in Australia, APRA or ASIC would be down on them like a tonne of bricks for this.”

Alan Kohler recently joined The New Daily as a part-time columnist and is set to spearhead the ABC’s coverage of the superannuation debate currently raging in Canberra, but Mr Falinski did not name the journalist he was referring to or specify how ISH was paying them directly.

“It’s not unusual for ABC presenters who are not full-time staff members to undertake work for other media organisations. Non-ABC work is always referred to the relevant manager for approval and any possible conflict of interest is taken into account to ensure ABC’s policies and expectations are adhered to,” an ABC spokesperson told ifa sister brand InvestorDaily.

“Whatever outside work is undertaken, content published on ABC platforms must not be influenced by political, sectional, commercial or personal interests to protect the ABC’s independence and integrity.”

The ABC has faced questions over a commercial arrangement with The New Daily, which it recently terminated in response to changes in the publisher’s business model and structural changes to Australian media.