ABC’s new ombudsman Fiona Cameron brings a political past — but will it matter?

Let’s see how this goes.

The ABC has stepped into a whole new realm with the appointment of an ombudsman, named last night as former media executive Fiona Cameron. The new role adds yet another layer of accountability when it comes to audience complaints. The bold step is that the inaugural appointee has no journalism record. How will this play out if and when Four Corners offends a hostile government? 

As it happens, the odds of that occurring have markedly reduced with the end of the perpetually aggressive Coalition government in Canberra, which had acted as a key ally for News Corporation in its never-ending mission to be rid of the public broadcaster for its own commercial ends. It is therefore possible that Cameron steps into the role when it is needed least.

But what does her appointment mean inside the ABC?  

Cameron moves into the position having spent the past four years as a full-time member at the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). ACMA adjudicates complaints against the ABC from people unhappy with its internal complaints handling. So Cameron’s technical experience is a neat match for what the ABC’s new ombudsman will do.

But it’s Cameron’s previous experience in what the ABC’s official announcement calls “various political adviser roles at the state and federal level” that is likely to trigger internal reactions. It turns out her unspecified “various political adviser roles” have been entirely with Liberal government figures. 

Let’s go from the beginning.

In 1990 Cameron was press secretary for the member for Maranoa, then Queensland Nationals Party MP Bruce Scott.

In 1994 she switched to the office of Victorian Liberal MP Don Hayward, who was minister for education in the Kennett government.

In 1995 she became chief of staff for Victorian Liberal senator Richard Alston. Her LinkedIn profile records that after the Coalition won the 1996 election, she took on the role of advising Alston on “all matters pertaining to media and broadcasting” when he was appointed minister for communications.  She was also Alston’s chief parliamentary adviser.

For those engaged in the forever wars of the ABC, Alston holds a particular place in history. His hostility to the ABC came in various forms. One was the appointment of Jonathan Shier to the role of ABC managing director, who arrived with a remit to remake the place. Alston also distinguished himself by lodging 68 complaints about coverage of the Iraq war by the flagship current affairs program AM.

It is important to underline that Cameron was no longer on Alston’s staff at that point. But Alston’s ABC hostility went back a long way.

Cameron has since been appointed to other roles that are ultimately in the gift of the Coalition government. In 2003 she was appointed to the board of the Australian Film Television and Radio School by Howard government attorney-general Philip Ruddock (or Daryl Williams — there is a date overlap).  Members of ACMA, too, are appointed by the government of the day. Government relations have never been far from what she does.

So what guide do we have for Cameron’s new role? ACMA has investigated a handful of high-profile complaints against the ABC during her term as a member, which started in 2018. The results have been a mixed bag for those who consider the ABC a hotbed of lefty bias.

ACMA found no breach of the ABC standards over an allegation that an episode of Q+A about conflicts between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza lacked accuracy and impartiality. On the other hand it upheld two complaints about a Four Corners episode on the Murray-Darling Basin.

The appointment of Cameron will be a form of Rorschach test inside the ABC. Those who suspect political motives may well see it in Cameron’s past. The members of the ABC board who made the appointment have, of course, largely been appointed by the former Coalition government. Whether there is any substance to the fear of political bias remains to be seen.

But one thing’s for sure. The ABC has sidestepped any culture war it might have brought on with the appointment of any former ABC grandee or indeed any titan of the journalism world.