Professor David Flint has long been an accident waiting to happen - a myrmidon of John Howard's political conservatism sitting in faux impartiality as head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority. The dogs have been barking for years about Flint's lack of independence. Now the yelps have reached a cacophony and the message is clear: Flint must go.

His position is totally, hopelessly compromised - a regulator who plays partisan politics, who exchanges letters of admiration with those on whom he sits in judgment, and who openly parades as a class warrior. Each of these actions would normally be enough to create the perception that they could compromise the quasi-judicial nature of his office. Together they make a conclusive case that he has fatally undermined the integrity of the ABA.

It is traditional that people appointed to independent statutory boards, where they may sit in judgment of others, go out of their way to be seen to be independent and free of partisanship. Not Flint. He is head of the Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy and an activist on behalf of that organisation. That is in itself, unwise. He is the author of a book, Twilight of the Elites, in which he sneers at those members of the media and academia he brands as elites. That is also unwise.

Now it is revealed he has engaged in a 'stream' of letters between himself and broadcaster Alan Jones, expressing his admiration for Jones, before sitting in judgment on him. That is unforgivable.

Flint argues that he stood aside from the cash-for-comment inquiry in 1999 after claims of conflict of interest, and therefore did not judge Jones. But he presided over two further inquiries, which gave the green light to Jones's ownership of 20 per cent of Macquarie Radio - owners of 2GB Sydney - and the nature of 2GB's $1.2 million-a-year deal with Telstra to sponsor Jones's breakfast program.

And the plot thickens with John Laws's allegations that Jones went into bat for Flint with the Prime Minister, allegedly threatening to withdraw his support for the PM if Flint were not reappointed. That sounds far-fetched to me. Jones not supporting Howard? Come on! But it shows what a convoluted can of worms we're dealing with.

All these revelations have become the straw that broke the camel's back. No matter how much Flint protests and squirms and relies on a defence of technicalities, it
is impossible for the public to have faith in his ability to conduct the business of the ABA impartially.

But this is all about perception. Clearly, any report that carries Flint's signature will be tarnished by his political partisanship, and cannot be taken seriously. It is in this way Flint's continued occupation of the ABA's chair corrupts the independence - and therefore the credibility and effectiveness - of the ABA.

Flint has six months' tenure left at the ABA. He is serving his second term and cannot be re-appointed. He must leave by October 4 - that is, unless he can pull a rabbit out of the hat.

That could take the form of a merger between the ABA and the Australian Communications Authority, an option that Communications Minister Daryl Williams has confirmed the Government is looking at. While the ABA is called on to regulate broadcasting content and standards, the ACA has a largely technical role, presiding over the use of spectrum outside the broadcasting services bands. The ABA's technical departments handle spectrum within the broadcasting bands, so there is a logic in combining these technical roles.

The merger option - strongly pushed by Flint - would open the door to the appointment of Flint as the head of a new organisation. But in the light of this week's allegations not even a conservative government in search of a conservative head of an independent statutory body would dare to nominate Flint.

The great irony here - the paradox - is that Flint, by parading himself so conspicuously as a spear-carrier and cuirassier for the Howard Government's brand of conservatism, has made himself useless to them.

MARK DAY The Australian 29apr04