The management of ABC rural radio has been accused of bias.

The claim has come from ‘Media Watch’, saying ABC Rural Editor, Shane Mahony, stopped part of a story about ABC Board member, Leith Boully, going to air.

Dubbo rural reporter, Meg Strang’s story dealt with a possible conflict of interest by Boully, who is an irrigator and cotton grower.

She also sits on a number of committees, advising on water sharing between NSW and Queensland.

NSW Liberal Senator, Bill Heffernan, has called on her to resign from the water advisory committee because of a perceived conflict of interest.

The scrapped section of the interview was when Strang asked Brewarrina farmer, Ed Fessey, what he thought about Senator Heffernan’s comments:
“Do you share his concerns that these people should be resigning?”

Fessey: “I don’t know about resigning, but I certainly think there’s a huge conflict of interest, and also it doesn’t send out a good message that Queensland is actually serious about trying to reform their water sharing plan up there”.

Mahony says he reviewed the story because he was concerned about a lack of balance.

Boully says she does not express her views on what the ABC should report on and that management determines what is reported.