Karl Stefanovic is leaving Nine immediately, the network said in a statement this morning.
It follows days of controversy in which the highly paid Today presenter used his independent podcast series to interview British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
“Nine Entertainment and Stefanovic have agreed that it is no longer possible for him to continue hosting Today at the same time as his independent podcast,” a Nine Entertainment spokesperson said.
“While Karl and Nine had previously agreed he would leave Today at the end of this year, they have subsequently decided he will leave the network immediately.
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take the reins. Let’s see what Friday holds after a busy week in parliament.
Defence ‘hasn’t performed as well as it could’, minister says
Performance issues in the defence department have been found to be more widespread than expected with “congested” decision making, as Labor undertakes the biggest overhaul in five decades, Australian Associated Press reports.
The federal government in December announced an independent delivery agency would be set up to tackle cost blowouts and project delays, as Labor pours billions of extra dollars into defence over the decade.
Defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said inaccurate cost estimation and a lack of discipline in project management were behind lacklustre delivery.
“The analysis we commissioned found that the problems were more widespread than I thought,” he told AAP.
double quotation markThe processes have been setting up people (to fail), so the system as a whole has meant that defence hasn’t performed as well as it could.
Parts of the department were spending too much time in meetings, which resulted in a lack of action and decision making at the top end becoming “too congested”, Conroy said.
double quotation markWhat we’ve seen is fragmented accountability ... if everyone is accountable, that means no one’s accountable.
The defence industry minister will outline progress made on the reform in an address to the National Press Club next Thursday.
He will position Labor as the party of defence to tackle growing support for One Nation, as well as address discontent within his own party at the government’s approach.
“That intellectual framework is really important to flesh out, because we have to constantly make the case for why investing in defence is progressive,” Conroy said.
“It’s both about the rise of far-right populism, but also talking to the base of the Labor party about why this is important.
“You want to fight for a progressive Australia, but you also have to defend a progressive Australia.”
‘Right time for Karl to move on from Today and from Nine,’ network CEO says
In an internal email sent to staff, seen by Guardian Australia, Nine’s chief executive officer, Matt Stanton, said “you would have seen a lot of media reporting around Karl Stefanovic and his future here at Nine”.
“We’ve … announced this morning that after more than 20 years it’s the right time for Karl to move on from Today and from Nine,” the email says.
double quotation markKarl has been a fixture on our screens for over two decades, so we know this is a significant change for our viewers and all of us here at Nine, however it’s the right time to make it.
Who is Tommy Robinson?
Here’s a hot-off-the-presses explainer of the controversy that appears to have cost Stefanovic his planned long and cruisey farewell from Nine:
Karl Stefanovic is leaving Nine immediately, the network said in a statement this morning.
It follows days of controversy in which the highly paid Today presenter used his independent podcast series to interview British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
“Nine Entertainment and Stefanovic have agreed that it is no longer possible for him to continue hosting Today at the same time as his independent podcast,” a Nine Entertainment spokesperson said.
“While Karl and Nine had previously agreed he would leave Today at the end of this year, they have subsequently decided he will leave the network immediately.
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
Nine has confirmed this morning that Today host Karl Stefanovic is leaving the network “immediately” as it was “no longer possible” for him to both host Today and run his independent podcast. More on this soon.
We’re also kicking off with some rather frank comments from the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, about his own department, which he says “hasn’t performed as well as it could” and spent too long in meetings without making decisions.
And there’s plenty of more news to come, stick with us.
Source: Guardian - World News
