The Australian Democrats have entered the growing Flint-Jones-Laws controversy, saying appointments to the ABA must be merit based, not subject to political interference by politicians or broadcasters.

Democrats’ Communications’ spokesperson, Senator John Cherry, says allegations that Alan Jones demanded David Flint be reappointed as ABA Chairman, show how open the process is to inappropriate political interference:

“The ABA, as the regulator of media standards, must be seen to be above politics and that means its Chair and its Board must be seen to be above politics.

“If the allegation about Mr Jones is true, it raises serious questions about the appointment of David Flint as ABA Chair and makes his position as an impartial regulator increasingly untenable.

“With a new ABA Chair needing to be appointed by October, the Democrats believe a robust, merit based appointment process is absolutely crucial.

“I will be moving to make all appointments merit based and reduce the opportunity for political interference, when the media ownership bill returns to the Senate in two weeks.”