Appointments to the ABC Board are supposed to be merit-based, involving an external recruitment agency and an independent nominations panel.

But the Coalition has repeatedly ignored the recommendations of the panel in favour of handpicking their mates to board positions. Of the six current government-appointed board members, four were appointed without the endorsement of the nominations panel.

We’ve recently witnessed the devastating consequences of this inside job. The rest of the Board sat on their hands while former ABC Chair Justin Milne - an old friend of Malcolm Turnbull - repeatedly sought to interfere in the ABC’s editorial and fire senior journalists for reporting that angered the Government.

And Prime Minister Scott Morrison has already point blank refused to rule out appointing yet another Coalition lackey as the new ABC Chair.