Justin Milne

When erstwhile ABC chair Justin Milne pressured former managing director Michelle Guthrie to fire journalists who annoyed the government, it was his own decision, according to a review by Mike Mrdak, secretary of the Department of Communications and the Arts.

Plaudits for the ABC board’s decision to sack Michelle Guthrie from within the company have quickly soured, as a shocking leaked email showed chairman Justin Milne saying exactly the sort of thing the national broadcaster’s dedicated employees do not want to hear.

Michelle Guthrie took on the unthankful task of modernising the ABC’s organisational structure to focus on audiences, rather than the medium.