ABC chairman Justin Milne has resigned after reports he demanded journalists be sacked because the government didn't like their stories.
It came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier told journalists the reports are "very concerning".
The ABC board met this morning to discuss Mr Milne's future.
The Communications Department is investigating reports Mr Milne asked former managing director Michelle Guthrie to fire senior journalists Emma Alberici and Andrew Probyn because the government didn't like their reporting.
"They're pretty serious allegations I've got to say. And on the face of it that's very concerning," the prime minister told reporters on the Sunshine Coast today.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said he had never tried to have anyone sacked from the ABC, and he was not aware of any other government MPs trying to either.
He put the pressure back on Mr Milne to consider whether he should step down.
"It's a matter for every high office holder to continually assess whether they retain the capacity to effectively discharge the duties of their office," Senator Fifield told reporters.
An email has shown Mr Milne asked Ms Guthrie - who was herself sacked on Monday - to fire Ms Alberici in May.
"They (the government) hate her," he wrote in an email to Ms Guthrie obtained by Fairfax Media.
Mr Milne is also said to have ordered Ms Guthrie sack Mr Probyn by telling her "you just have to shoot him", because Mr Turnbull hated the journalist.
Mr Milne has not responded directly to the claims, while Mr Turnbull has rejected asking for specific reporters to be axed.
"That is not right. The bottom line is I have never called for anybody to be fired," the former prime minister told reporters in New York.\
"My concern has been on the accuracy and impartiality of news reporting."
Labor communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland said Mr Milne should step down.
"Labor does not believe his position is tenable. We do not have confidence in him," she told reporters.&
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called for the full ABC board to be overhauled to give the broadcaster a "fresh start".
Senator Fifield has ordered his department secretary Mike Mrdak to run an inquiry into the matter and expects a report to handed to him within days.
ABC executives will appear before a Senate estimates committee in October.
The broadcaster's staff yesterday unanimously voted for Mr Milne to step down while the departmental investigation takes place, but the board expressed confidence in him to continue in his job.
SHARE ME