ABC boss Mark Scott will not rule out collaborating with The Guardian on further intelligence leaks despite being accused by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull of a "shocking error of judgment" over the Indonesian phone tapping affair.
The ABC has come under government fire for teaming up with The Guardian to publish details of the leak from US whistleblower Edward Snowden that plunged Australia's relationship with Indonesia into crisis.
The alleged bias of the ABC sparked a discussion in the coalition joint party room on Tuesday, with one MP calling it a "taxpayer-funded behemoth" prepared to damage the national interest.
Mr Turnbull told the meeting he believed the publication of the documents was a "shocking error of judgment".
He said the key question for the ABC was whether it was adhering to its statutory charter in being fair and balanced.
But Mr Scott on Tuesday again defended the decision to publish, calling it a "very important story".
"Yes, it has caused some short-term difficulty but we absolutely feel it was in the public interest," he told ABC television.
"When an important story was presented to us, were we really going to walk away from that because it was controversial?"
Mr Scott said the ABC doesn't have an ongoing arrangement with The Guardian on future Snowden leaks but he would not rule out further collaborations.
"It would depend on the story, and it would depend on our ability to independently verify that story, and it would depend on whether we felt that story was in the public interest," he said.
The managing director also hit back at critics of the ABC in Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
"I think we've come under concentrated attack from News Corporation," he said. "Some sections of News Corporation seem quite obsessed by us."
These people have a "deep ideological opposition" to public broadcasting, he said.
Mr Scott declined to comment on his recent discussions with Mr Turnbull.
