WEBVTT - Peter Costello's decade at Nine: Is this the end of his public life?

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<v Speaker 1>From Schwortz Media. I'm Ashlin McGee. This is seven am.

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<v Speaker 1>Peter Costello's legacy was set the longest serving treasurer in

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<v Speaker 1>Australian history, and under John Howard, he transformed the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>economy into what it is today. That was until he

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<v Speaker 1>pushed into a journalist asking pesky questions at Canberra Airport,

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<v Speaker 1>all of it caught on camera. Three days later, he

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<v Speaker 1>resigned as chair of Nine and made a storm of

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<v Speaker 1>scrutiny about its workplace culture. Today, National correspondent for The

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday Paper Mike's second on Peter Costello's reign at Nine

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<v Speaker 1>and the enemies he made along the way. It's Tuesday,

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<v Speaker 1>June eighteenth, Mike. Peter Costello resigned last week as the

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<v Speaker 1>chair of Australia's biggest media company. Is it going to

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<v Speaker 1>be me?

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<v Speaker 2>Frankly, I don't think so, not very much. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>to be honest. You know, he's sixty six, So on

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<v Speaker 2>his way out he reckoned that he was planning to

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<v Speaker 2>go anyway. And I don't think he was planning to

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<v Speaker 2>go anywhere here as quickly as he did. But you know,

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<v Speaker 2>his time was pretty much up, Frankly, and even if

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<v Speaker 2>it hadn't been. It was after the events of a

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<v Speaker 2>week or so back, where he appeared to shoulder judge

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<v Speaker 2>a pesky reporter who was asking him questions about the

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<v Speaker 2>goings on at Channel nine. Mister Cassello, my name is

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<v Speaker 2>Liam Mendez from the Australian. Do you support He was

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<v Speaker 2>walking through Canberra Airport. A reporter from the Australian approached him.

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<v Speaker 2>Were you aware of the allegations against mister Whipp Before

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<v Speaker 2>he left? He followed him more or less from the

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<v Speaker 2>gate to the car, which is a little more aggressive

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<v Speaker 2>than even is done by most journalists at the airport.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, sometimes the scrum develops out in the public

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<v Speaker 2>section of the airport, but he pursued him along the

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<v Speaker 2>entire concourse. Well, you've got to answer the questions, mister Castillo.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't know the next thing. We know the reporters on

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<v Speaker 2>his back on the ground. You've just assaulted me, You've

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<v Speaker 2>just pushed me. It's all on. Come.

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<v Speaker 3>Well.

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<v Speaker 2>One interesting thing about this is that even Costello's political

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<v Speaker 2>opponents kind of sympathized with his agitation at this Australian reporter.

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<v Speaker 2>Liam Mendez, I have to say he's widely disliked by

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<v Speaker 2>politicians of all stripes, and a number that I've spoken

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<v Speaker 2>to said, well, it was a really bad look for Costello,

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<v Speaker 2>but geez, it was nice to see that guy hit

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<v Speaker 2>the deck. That video was published in The Australian while

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<v Speaker 2>Costello was in the car from the Port to Parliament

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<v Speaker 2>House to attend a nine News function. By the time

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<v Speaker 2>he gets to the function, he's faced with the ignominy

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<v Speaker 2>of being questioned by his own journalists, that is nine journalists,

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<v Speaker 2>not just news court ones, about whether he would now

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<v Speaker 2>survive as chair. It's already speculation that this could put

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<v Speaker 2>your chairmanship at risk. What is your response to that? Roch?

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<v Speaker 2>He tried to laugh it off, tried to say that

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<v Speaker 2>the reporter had just fallen down. Gee, that was bad luck.

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<v Speaker 2>I walk past him. He walked back into an advertising

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<v Speaker 2>plat card and he fell over. I did not strike him.

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<v Speaker 2>If he's upset about that, I'm sorry. You know. By

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<v Speaker 2>Friday morning, he was attending an emergency board meeting explaining

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<v Speaker 2>himself to the other directors. Then we had a couple

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<v Speaker 2>of days of silence while speculation mounted, and then on

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<v Speaker 2>Sunday afternoon, in the sort of dead spot at the

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<v Speaker 2>end of the news week. Three days after the incident

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<v Speaker 2>at the airport, Nine announced that Costello was gone and

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<v Speaker 2>his departure, I might say, wasn't much mourned at nine.

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<v Speaker 2>The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday ran an editorial under

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<v Speaker 2>the headline Peter Costello had to go, and thank goodness

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<v Speaker 2>he has and it said. His presence on the nine

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<v Speaker 2>board was also a source of concern for loyal subscribers,

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<v Speaker 2>suspicious of the influence of a former liberal treasurer over

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<v Speaker 2>the company's master heads, and a source of frustration for

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<v Speaker 2>editorial staff, who had to frequently reassure readers and stakeholders

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<v Speaker 2>that our independence remained a guiding principle of how we operate.

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<v Speaker 2>So in other words, they thought he was always a

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<v Speaker 2>bit of an impediment to their reputation for being independent.

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<v Speaker 2>And of course, there was already speculation about Costello losing

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<v Speaker 2>his job even before all of this, because Nine, and

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<v Speaker 2>particularly the TV division of nine, had been engulfed in

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<v Speaker 2>turmoil for a couple of weeks preceding that.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it hasn't been a great time for Nine Entertainment,

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<v Speaker 1>to say the least, tell me a bit more about

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<v Speaker 1>what's happened over the past month or so.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, Well, it all started with allegations about the

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<v Speaker 2>behavior of Channel Line's former head of News and Current Affairs,

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<v Speaker 2>a man named Darren Wick, and the first allegations came

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<v Speaker 2>out in the news court press, alleging that he had

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<v Speaker 2>made unwanted advances, groped, and harassed several women at nine.

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<v Speaker 2>It included one anonymous on air person who spoke to

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<v Speaker 2>News Corps Sherry markson tonight.

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<v Speaker 3>The scandal surrounding Channel nine deepens with shocking allegations that

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<v Speaker 3>the company betrayed the confidence of a high profile female

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<v Speaker 3>presenter when she raised concerns about sacked newsboss Darren Wick.

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<v Speaker 2>And footage was revealed of Wick allegedly making advances on

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<v Speaker 2>the dance floor at a Logi's after party. And Wick

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<v Speaker 2>had already resigned from nine, which is kind of interesting,

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<v Speaker 2>but he went out with what was reportedly a million

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<v Speaker 2>dollar payout and a warm sendoff.

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<v Speaker 3>Vic was given a warm sendoff, and there was no

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<v Speaker 3>public mention of any complaint against him. Nine's Director of Television,

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<v Speaker 3>Michael Healey, praised Wick's enormous impact at nine, including his

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<v Speaker 3>reason so.

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<v Speaker 2>The scandal escalated anyway? And it kind of implicated the

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<v Speaker 2>broader culture at nine because there were allegations that nine's

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<v Speaker 2>own communications team had leaked against on air talent, that

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<v Speaker 2>the on air presenter had told a director on the

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<v Speaker 2>board about what she called the toxic culture at nine

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<v Speaker 2>and had been assured that something would be done, but

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<v Speaker 2>nothing was done, and a.

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<v Speaker 3>Most damning remarks were for the board member who ignored

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<v Speaker 3>her concerns about the toxic culture at nine. She said

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<v Speaker 3>there was no assistance provided by the network to source

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<v Speaker 3>the leaks, stamp out the toxic behavior, or change the culture.

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<v Speaker 2>The question started being asked, you know who knew about

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<v Speaker 2>all this stuff? How well was the bord across it,

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<v Speaker 2>if they were across it, Why I had nothing been done?

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<v Speaker 2>And why I was wik allowed to exit the premises

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<v Speaker 2>with a million bucks in his.

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<v Speaker 1>Kick And Zugostello's resignation follows all of this, but his

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<v Speaker 1>resignation wasn't explicitly tied to it, so a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>it's still unresolved. What state is he leaving nine in.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you're quite right, the situation at the TV you know,

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<v Speaker 2>News and Current Affairs division would look pretty culturally precarious,

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<v Speaker 2>I would say at the moment. But you know, that's

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<v Speaker 2>not really his fault. That is not a matter specifically

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<v Speaker 2>for the bord. I have to say, that's a mora

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<v Speaker 2>an issue for management. But you know, like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>how much did the board know? But what's interesting here

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<v Speaker 2>is we have a cultural division here, right because we

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<v Speaker 2>have what's clearly a very blokey culture at the nine

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<v Speaker 2>TV part of the business. But the nine newspapers, the Mastheads,

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<v Speaker 2>the Sydney Morning Herald and the finn Review have been

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<v Speaker 2>very strong on pursuing the weak stuff and have gone

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<v Speaker 2>in very hard on Costello. So there's an interesting cultural

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<v Speaker 2>schism I think within nine as well. But measured otherwise,

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<v Speaker 2>the Costello era at nine has been hugely significant, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>not just for the company itself, but for the news

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<v Speaker 2>business and the media landscape as a whole if you

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<v Speaker 2>have a look back under him, Nine took over the

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<v Speaker 2>form of Fairfax Newspapers and created the biggest locally owned

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<v Speaker 2>media company in the country. And as I reported this

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<v Speaker 2>story last week, it appeared that Costo I put quite

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<v Speaker 2>a few noses out of joint along the way. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>people have pointed to his relationships as a problem for

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<v Speaker 2>the broader Nine culture, and many might have thought that

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<v Speaker 2>his you know, his legacy. We was said as John

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<v Speaker 2>Howard's former treasurer. But his time at nine and his

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<v Speaker 2>downfall might start to loom now for how we think

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<v Speaker 2>about Peter Costello, and I would suggest might well be

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<v Speaker 2>the end of Costello's public life.

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<v Speaker 1>Mike, help us understand a bit more about the Costello

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<v Speaker 1>era and how Nine changed with him at the helm Well.

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<v Speaker 2>By the time Costello became chair in early twenty sixteen,

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<v Speaker 2>he'd been on the board for a couple of years

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<v Speaker 2>before that. Nine was a bit past, you know, the

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<v Speaker 2>heyday of the Kerry Packer era, when the Packer family

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<v Speaker 2>owned it. It was still a TV business. It was

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<v Speaker 2>no longer as dominant there as it had been. But

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<v Speaker 2>the problems were bigger than that, and they were industry wide.

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<v Speaker 2>If you like, you know, you had PayTV, you had

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<v Speaker 2>streaming services, you had the Internet, all competing for eyeballs,

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<v Speaker 2>all taking advertising revenue. So things were pretty dire for

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<v Speaker 2>the legacy media general, and free to AIRTV in particular.

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<v Speaker 2>So under Costello some big things happened to try and

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<v Speaker 2>shore up the business. He was on the board when

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<v Speaker 2>Nine did a joint deal with Fairfax to set Upstand

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<v Speaker 2>the streaming service, which people who watch these things described

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<v Speaker 2>me as a pretty inspired move. Actually, then after he

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<v Speaker 2>became chair, Nine made the biggest deal in its history

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<v Speaker 2>taking over Fairfax Media. I mean it was sold as

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<v Speaker 2>a merger, but it was really a takeover and the

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<v Speaker 2>biggest media deal in Australian history. The owner of the

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<v Speaker 2>Nine television network is taking over newspaper publisher Fairfax Media.

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<v Speaker 2>Under the plan, Nine will merge with Fairfax Media, publisher

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<v Speaker 2>of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Australian Financial

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<v Speaker 2>Review and WA Today. So that gave it three very

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<v Speaker 2>big quality newspapers and crucially also a string of talkback

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<v Speaker 2>radio stations like two GB and Sydney and three AW

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<v Speaker 2>in Melbourne. So that deal made them the biggest locally

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<v Speaker 2>owned Australian media company. But more interestingly, in my view,

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<v Speaker 2>it also made them the most diverse in sort of

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<v Speaker 2>id theology and audience range. You know, it catered for

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<v Speaker 2>all kinds of demographics, whether you wanted to hear you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the talkback shouters like Ray Hadley.

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<v Speaker 4>Into the question how long are you going to put

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<v Speaker 4>up with brigid Archer, she's briefably crossed the Floridas a

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<v Speaker 4>port labor on housing emissions reduction and sensor mentions against

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<v Speaker 4>the Prime Minister and now embarrassed.

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<v Speaker 2>Or watch the tabloid TV of a current affair against

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<v Speaker 2>me and am Australias grumpy his grandmother?

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<v Speaker 3>Why take out an ovo on an eighty six year

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<v Speaker 3>old woman because she's a bitch?

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<v Speaker 2>Or if you wanted serious journalism you know, a slightly

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<v Speaker 2>progressive bent in the Sydney Morning Herald in the Age,

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<v Speaker 2>or whether you wanted specialist financial journalism in the Australian

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<v Speaker 2>Financial Review. The nine network now had all bases covered,

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<v Speaker 2>so it became a very very powerful political force as

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<v Speaker 2>well as a much stronger commercial one. Through all of this,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, you know Costeo's on the board apparently a

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<v Speaker 2>very dominant figure on the board. As one person I

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<v Speaker 2>spoke to said, he would be the worst person to

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<v Speaker 2>have on a board, any board, unless he was the chairman,

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<v Speaker 2>and because he would have to be the dominant figure

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<v Speaker 2>in the room. And that's absolutely accords with what we

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<v Speaker 2>already knew from his time as treasurer. You know, he's

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<v Speaker 2>a very dominant, very forceful personality. I guess you would say,

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<v Speaker 2>to put the best spin on it, some would call

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<v Speaker 2>him a bit pumptious. I think he did rub people

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<v Speaker 2>the wrong way quite often.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, tell me more about that, because you mentioned before

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<v Speaker 1>the editorial from the editor of the SMH Bevin Shields,

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<v Speaker 1>essentially saying that they were constantly battling against Costello's reputations.

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<v Speaker 1>So how much did his role as a Liberal Party

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<v Speaker 1>elder affect his role as chair?

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<v Speaker 2>Well. Having spoken to a number of former senior executives,

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<v Speaker 2>a number of former editors, and you know, also Stephen Main,

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<v Speaker 2>the sort of shareholder activist who is apt to bob

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<v Speaker 2>up at nine agms and things and ask hard questions,

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<v Speaker 2>they suggest to me that Costello was actually not very

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<v Speaker 2>interventionist at all when it came to individual stories. To

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<v Speaker 2>that extent, he was probably in actuality impartial, but the

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<v Speaker 2>perception lingered. And you know, as a former editor of

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<v Speaker 2>a nine newspaper told me, you know, Costello was sufficiently

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<v Speaker 2>arrogant never to seek to kind of downplay his partisanship,

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<v Speaker 2>and that infected the public perceptions, even if it didn't

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<v Speaker 2>affect the reality of how, particularly the form of Fairfax

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<v Speaker 2>papers reported things. So remember a few examples. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>at the last election, Costello turned up at a polling

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<v Speaker 2>booth to support the foundering campaign of his fellow Liberal

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<v Speaker 2>treasure Josh Fridenberg, you know, and they had a happy

0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.840
<v Speaker 2>snap taken of the two of them smiling together, and

0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.360
<v Speaker 2>that went up on fridenberg social media. There have been

0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:40.440
<v Speaker 2>a number of incidents like that. I think you would

0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.920
<v Speaker 2>say most concerning of all was an incident back in

0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.800
<v Speaker 2>twenty nineteen when nine actually hosted a ten thousand dollars

0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:50.640
<v Speaker 2>ahead fundraiser for the Liberal Party, attended by Scott Morrison

0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:53.800
<v Speaker 2>and another senior members and hosted by the then CEO

0:12:54.160 --> 0:13:00.160
<v Speaker 2>of nine, Hugh Marx, and that created enormous outrage the

0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.800
<v Speaker 2>journalist at the nine papers in particular and among the

0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:08.480
<v Speaker 2>media union, and eventually the nine newspapers acknowledged that it

0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.760
<v Speaker 2>was a quote unquote mistake and emails were sent out

0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:13.640
<v Speaker 2>to all staff saying it would not happen again and

0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.440
<v Speaker 2>apologizing for these errors of judgment and so on. So,

0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.160
<v Speaker 2>you know, these kinds of incidents, according to the former

0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:24.000
<v Speaker 2>editors that I spoke to, were indicators that Costello just

0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.880
<v Speaker 2>couldn't keep his mouth shut in public. And as one

0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:30.200
<v Speaker 2>told me quoting here. It just made it impossible for us,

0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.480
<v Speaker 2>you know, to convince readers and subscribers that there wasn't

0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.160
<v Speaker 2>bias in the reporting. You know, even when there was none,

0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.320
<v Speaker 2>the perception persisted, and that was a big problem. So

0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:44.040
<v Speaker 2>I think to emphasize the point, we have a dichotomy

0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:48.240
<v Speaker 2>here of perception and reality, and so the perception hurt

0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:52.640
<v Speaker 2>the journalism, and it upset the journalists and people and

0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:54.800
<v Speaker 2>be lining up to employ him for other corporate gigs.

0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.640
<v Speaker 2>Because there's another former nine editor pointed out, you know,

0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.679
<v Speaker 2>once you go out like this as he did, you know,

0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.720
<v Speaker 2>it's pretty hard to get another public company gig. So

0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.560
<v Speaker 2>one of them actually said, you know, Costell Costello would

0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:11.120
<v Speaker 2>never get another public gig unlesson until the Liberals got

0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.520
<v Speaker 2>back into parent maybe they would make him ambassador Tonga

0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.680
<v Speaker 2>or something. So that's that's the way he was perceived there.

0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:19.240
<v Speaker 1>Not the worst gig in the world.

0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.680
<v Speaker 3>I think make it would be.

0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:23.280
<v Speaker 2>It would be a nice gig. He could work on

0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:23.840
<v Speaker 2>his son Tan.

0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:28.160
<v Speaker 1>You know, well look on that on that reputation issue,

0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.720
<v Speaker 1>Peter Costello's legacy seemed like it was set in stone.

0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:33.960
<v Speaker 1>He was John Howard's treasurer, the man who oversaw this

0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.520
<v Speaker 1>huge transformation of the Australian economy. But now with this

0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:41.080
<v Speaker 1>one little video of an airport altercation, how much will

0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:45.000
<v Speaker 1>his legacy instead be about the culture and what he

0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:46.080
<v Speaker 1>oversaw at nine?

0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.200
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, it reminds me of a very rude

0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.360
<v Speaker 2>joke about a goat. You know, suddenly people don't remember

0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:54.760
<v Speaker 2>all the good things he did and he actually did.

0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:57.400
<v Speaker 2>You know, he was a very successful treasurer. He delivered

0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.520
<v Speaker 2>a string of surpluses. I mean, admittedly they were easy

0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.320
<v Speaker 2>economic times to do it, but still, you know, he

0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:07.240
<v Speaker 2>did deliver a string of surpluses. He to some extent

0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.360
<v Speaker 2>resisted John Howard's inclination to just spray the money around

0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:12.880
<v Speaker 2>buying votes, you know. Instead of that, he set up

0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:16.160
<v Speaker 2>the Future Fund essentially, you know, an investment vehicle to

0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:21.320
<v Speaker 2>provide for Australia's future. He then ran the Future Fund

0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.000
<v Speaker 2>and under him it significantly outperformed the market in general,

0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:28.000
<v Speaker 2>and at nine he oversaw these changes that made it

0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:32.600
<v Speaker 2>far more secure than its legacy TV competitors. So, you know,

0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.160
<v Speaker 2>he did a lot of good things. Unfortunately, his achievements

0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.520
<v Speaker 2>were kind of overshadowed to some extent by his personality,

0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:45.520
<v Speaker 2>so sadly, and then he's gone in very inglorious circumstances.

0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:49.840
<v Speaker 2>It's you know, it's all about Shakespearean really, Mike, thanks

0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.000
<v Speaker 2>so much for your time. Thank you for having me.

0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:11.400
<v Speaker 1>Also in the news today, opposing groups of protesters yesterday

0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.720
<v Speaker 1>confronted each other outside a lunch where Prime Minister Anthony

0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:20.080
<v Speaker 1>Alberanzi welcomed Chinese Premier Lie Chiang. Angry confrontations broke out

0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.640
<v Speaker 1>between supporters of the Chinese Communist Party and supporters of

0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:27.640
<v Speaker 1>causes such as Tibetan independence and Hong Kong independence, with

0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:30.560
<v Speaker 1>one alleging that at least one punch was thrown, although

0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:34.120
<v Speaker 1>no arrests were made. And one hundred and two people

0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.640
<v Speaker 1>who had an annual income of more than one million

0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:39.720
<v Speaker 1>dollars paid no net tax in the financial year twenty

0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:43.240
<v Speaker 1>one twenty two. According to information released by the Tax

0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:46.080
<v Speaker 1>Office yesterday, it was an increase in the number of

0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:49.480
<v Speaker 1>millionaires paying no net tax, with only sixty six in

0:16:49.520 --> 0:16:52.960
<v Speaker 1>the last year those figures were released. That's all from

0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.960
<v Speaker 1>the team at seven am for today. My name's Ashlin McGee.

0:16:56.000 --> 0:17:05.920
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for your company. We'll see you again tomorrow.