ABC managing director David Anderson signed off on the payment.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
“I will tell you that the advice when it came to accepting the offer of compromise was the total exposure to the ABC was in the order of some $700,000,” Mr Anderson told the hearing.
“So even with fringe benefit[tax],if it turns out like that,we are still settling the matter for less than what the potential exposure was at that particular point in time.”
ABC chief financial officer Melanie Kleyn said there was the “potential” for fringe benefit tax to be applied,which could see Milligan’s legal bill cost taxpayers as much as $400,000.
Facing a grilling from Liberal senators Eric Abetz and Ben Small,Mr Anderson said he did not inform the board before agreeing to indemnify Milligan in May,telling the committee that he had delegated authority to make such a decision without board approval. He said the board was advised of the decision in June and agreed with the course of action.
The ABC paid star reporter Louise Milligan’s legal bill after settling a defamation case with Federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming.
“The board was satisfied that I took the appropriate action,and I made the appropriate decisions which minimised costs to the ABC,” Mr Anderson told estimates.
He said he acted on legal advice from the ABC’s general counsel that the broadcaster “could be vicariously liable for the tweets made on a private social media account,and that we could be very well joined to proceedings later on,had that escalated.”