Ita aims for stability in role as ABC chair
MEDIA veteran Ita Buttrose was yesterday appointed chairwoman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, following months of turmoil that saw her predecessor forced to resign amid allegations of political meddling.
Buttrose, 77, a high-profile former journalist and executive at major commercial media companies, is the sec- GRILL’D boss Simon Crowe says the move to eat less meat is no fad – and his restaurant chain has pledged to have half of its burger menu plant-based by 2020. ond woman picked to chair the ABC.
“Ita … has the strength, the integrity and the fierce independence that she is known for, to take stewardship of this important Australian institution,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in announcing her appointment.
Buttrose’s five-year term comes at a difficult time for the broadcaster, which has been under a two-pronged assault
Mr Crowe said the push to increase its vegetarian and vegan offer reflected rising concern about the environmental impact of meat production and animal welfare, and an interest in healthier eating.
“It’s no longer just a fad, it’s from the conservative government, which accuses it of leftwing bias, and from struggling commercial media, led by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which complains the ABC is unfairly competing for online audiences.
ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie, the first woman to hold the top management post, was sacked last year midway through her term, with then-chair Justin Milne saying a trend and our job is to build upon that trend and deliver on the healthy consumption pattern our brand is known for,” Mr Crowe said. “Australia is one of the fastest growing vegan markets in the world and there are already more than there were issues with her leadership style.
Milne, a close associate of then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, then resigned after emails emerged in which he urged Guthrie to sack journalists the government was not happy with, requests she rejected.
Under successive conservative governments, the ABC has seen hundreds of millions of dollars cut from its taxpayerfunded two million vegetarian consumers here. This plant-based eating movement is becoming more and more mainstream.”
Grill’d has partnered with Beyond Meats, a US food producer which makes plantbased meat substitutes and Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces the appointment of Ita Buttrose as ABC chairwoman budget, leading to the loss of hundreds of jobs.
Buttrose told reporters yesterday her priority as chairwoman would be to “get the ABC functioning again with proper stable management”.
A replacement for Guthrie has not yet been chosen.
Buttrose is widely seen as a trailblazer for women in Australian media and was the subject of biopic miniseries Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo in 2011. whose high-profile financial backers include actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
The push will shake up the Grill’d menu, which currently contains 20 meat-based burgers and three plant-based ones.