"All I'll say is ... I don't think someone should be making recommendations on something if they have a conflict of interest, or at least have an appearance of a conflict of interest." Thomas Clarke, a professor of management at the UTS Business School, who at the time of the controversy over the articles publicly criticised the government's then plans for a corporate tax cut, said Mr Milne should have recused himself from any decisions over the article. "It would be very unusual for a chair to take an initiative like this himself or even to become involved in it in any way," he said. Former managing director Michelle Guthrie, chairman Justin Milne and former PM Malcolm Turnbull in August. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "It is not the board's role to manage the company, that is the CEO's job, and that is fairly firmly adhered to [by most companies] for good reasons."

George Rennie, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Melbourne also questioned Mr Milne's intervention. "If Alberici is right and if he did intervene ... he should have recused himself, because if nothing else the perception of bias is damaging," Mr Rennie said. "Too many people are saying 'I trust myself to make decisions' even though there is a clear conflict of interest." Heavyweight allies of Mr Milne rushed to offer their support for the ABC chairman. "I have the highest regard for Justin Milne as a board member," said Ziggy Switkowski, who chairs the board of government-owned NBN, of which Mr Milne is also a director.

"In the community of senior executives and chairs he is probably without peer when it comes to understanding digital technology and media and in that capacity alone he is a valuable member of any board he chooses to sit on." Ziggy Switkowski has praised ABC chairman Justin Milne. Credit:Attila Csaszar Mr Milne's array of directorships is more extensive than other recent ABC chairs, corporate records show. Mr Milne is close to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who he worked for at dotcom-era business OzEmail. Mr Milne is also a director of ASX listed wagering giant Tabcorp and telco equipment maker Netcomm Wireless. In September, Netcomm renewed a contract to supply equipment to the NBN. "The potential for conflict of interest on the NBN board does arise, although infrequently," said Mr Switkowski. "But our processes for discussion and making decisions to manage conflicts are in place. It has never been an issue and I don't foresee that it will be."

Michael Malone, the former iiNet founder who now serves as a director of NBN alongside Mr Milne, said the ABC chairman has a "good track record". Loading "He survived through the [former Telstra CEO] Sol [Trujillo] years, he built Telstra Media, he has a lot of good history and experience," Mr Malone said. "My only experience with him as a director is at NBN. "He has a lot of domain experience there and he brings the mindset of a customer to the board, which is valuable." His immediate predecessor, James Spigelman, sat on the boards of various cultural institutions but did not hold any public company directorships during his tenure. Neither did Donald McDonald, chairman of the ABC between 1996 and 2006.