The ABC chairman, Justin Milne, has told the government the broadcaster will not agree to its “onerous” demands to publish the salaries of individual staff and that parliament will have to decide whether to legislate to force them to do so.



In a letter to the communications minister, Mitch Fifield, Milne said the government’s request last month that the ABC disclose individual names and salaries of all employees earning above a threshold of $200,000 would not be met.

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The ABC will instead reveal from January the salaries of the top four executives below the managing director, as well as the members of the board. “The board does not believe that the disclosure and reporting suggested in your letter is warranted or in the best interests of the corporation and its employees,” Milne said. “The requirements are onerous, exceed best practice in the public and private sectors, and will prove counter-productive.

“They will also require overriding the Privacy Act.

“The board notes your intention to legislate to enforce the disclosure requirement. Ultimately, this is a matter for the parliament to decide.”

SBS too has confirmed it has declined to reveal its salaries publicly.

Fifield wrote to Milne last month, before the introduction of legislation to change the ABC Act – which was part of a deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to get the media reform package through the Senate.

“Taxpayers are entitled to expect a high level of transparency about how their taxes are being expended on their behalf,” Fifield wrote in a letter, which was leaked to the Herald Sun. “I request that the ABC voluntarily agree to provide this enhanced level of reporting and disclosure.”

Milne said that from January, the board would disclose the total remuneration of the chair, the non-executive directors, the managing director, the chief financial officer, the director of TV, the director of news and the director of radio.

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These managerial positions will change on Tuesday when Guthrie unveils her restructuring plans for the ABC.

Guthrie’s salary was increased by the Remuneration Tribunal before she started in May 2016 to $900,000, up from the $833,000 Mark Scott earned in 2014.



The former corporate lawyer told Senate estimates last month that she was the highest paid person at the ABC and that about 150 people at the corporation earned more than $200,000 a year.



In reference to the salaries of BBC presenters, Guthrie said the ABC’s highest paid talent earned “roughly one-eighth [of $3.7m] and is a woman.”



That would make the ABC presenter’s salary $460,000. Senior women at the ABC include Sydney news reader Juanita Philips, Breakfast co-host Virginia Trioli, 7.30 host Leigh Sales and Four Corners host Sarah Ferguson.

Milne said that under section 8 of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, it was his duty to maintain the integrity and independence of the ABC and to ensure that its functions were performed “efficiently and with the maximum benefit to the people of Australia”.

“These principles go to the heart of the ABC’s relationship with the Australian community,” he said. “The board agrees with your statement that taxpayers are entitled to expect a high degree of transparency about how their taxes are being expended.

“The ABC is subject to a level of scrutiny well beyond that imposed on any other media organisation in Australia. As you note, the corporation has already taken steps to provide more information about the remuneration of its executives and on-air talent. These measures are consistent with guidelines that exist for commonwealth departments and portfolio agencies.

The ABC will also disclose the number of other ABC employees with salaries of more than $200,000 within $25,000 bands but no names will be provided.