Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

The details of Michelle Guthrie's settlement with the ABC have been revealed.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Ms Guthrie and the ABC reached the resolution last week after Ms Guthrie filed an adverse action in the Federal Court over claims her dismissal was in retaliation for raising complaints against former chair Justin Milne.

The payment of $730,000 is in addition to a $911,000 payout she received when she was fired halfway through her five-year contract,meaning she will receive a total of $1.64 million following her acrimonious departure from the broadcaster.

Under questioning from Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam,Mr Anderson was reluctant to answer the question in a public forum because of the settlement's confidentiality requirements. He requested a private hearing to reveal the details but senators said they must be provided publicly.

Under parliamentary privilege,witnesses are protected from legal action when giving evidence to a committee. The Senate also has the power to compel a statutory body like the ABC to hand over information.

Mr Anderson said the decision to reach a settlement was based on consideration of the best interests of the taxpayer-funded broadcaster. This included the potential costs of a full trial,with estimates ranging from $1 million to $2 million.

He said"the parties had started a long way apart"in their negotiations. Ms Guthrie initially sought reinstatement to her position or payment for the remaining two-and-a-half years of her contract for the $900,000-a-year job.

He said there was"to-ing and fro-ing to arrive"at $730,000. He said the costs would be paid by Comcover,the government insurance agency.

When approached at an event in Canberra on Wednesday,Ms Guthrie declined to comment.

In the Senate hearing on Wednesday,Mr Anderson also defended the ABC's lifestyle content afterThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age revealed that a new reviewtargets ABC and SBS work that is not "core" to the broadcasters' charters.

The efficiency review,handed to the broadcasters on Monday evening,suggests they refocus their content. ABC Life was referenced as being"further away"from charter obligations.

Mr Anderson said he had not read the 100-plus page document but he would be surprised if there were specific recommendations on editorial content,which he said was outside of the review's scope.

"When it comes to our content,when it comes to strategy and editorial matters,it’s a matter for the ABC board and it’s a matter for ABC management,"he said.

He said ABC Life was in line with content the broadcaster had produced for"many,many years",pointing toGardening Australia and cooking programs.

The terms of reference for the review ruled out consideration of editorial policies at the broadcasters. The final document has not been released publicly yet.

"The purpose of the review was to assist the ABC and SBS to operate more efficiently. Any responses to the review will be matters for the independent boards of the ABC and SBS,"said a spokesman for Communications Minister Mitch Fifield.

From July,the ABC's funding indexation will be frozen for three years,representing a cut of $84 million. The broadcaster,which receives more than $1 billion in funding each year,says services will be affected by the squeeze.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the government has"used ABC funding as a weapon to exert influence over our public broadcaster".

She said multiple reviews and budget cuts amounted to an"ideological vendetta"against public broadcasting.

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