Like you, Labor is concerned that successive cuts to the ABC by the Liberal National Government are undermining our trusted institution and threatening ABC Charter delivery.
The ABC is a trusted public service that has been invested in and built up by generations of Australians and dedicated ABC staff.
The need for this trusted national platform is greater now than ever, yet the Morrison Government continues to cut ABC funding.
Scott Morrison is cutting the ABC despite the fact that:
• climate change means there will be increasing need for life saving emergency broadcasting by the ABC;
• public interest journalism is in decline, news outlets are closing and the ACCC found that the ABC is not resourced to fully compensate for the decline in local reporting;
• misinformation and disinformation is on the rise and Australians need trusted sources of information like the ABC;
• Australia’s creative industries are reeling from COVID-19 restrictions and need investment and support from the ABC; and
• Australia should be ‘stepping up’ in the Pacific yet ABC international broadcasting and regional connections are underutilised.
Since 2014, and in breach of an election promise not to, the Liberals have cut general ABC funding as well as reduced funding for local news gathering, including in regional Australia.
The recent report by Per Capita estimates that the cumulative funding cuts to the ABC under the Coalition Government, over the three triennial funding periods from 2013-2022 will be over $783 million.
This estimate matches that figure calculated by Alexander Wake, RMIT and Michael Ward, University of Sydney in their April 2019 article for The Conversation.
At a recent Senate Estimates hearing, the ABC Managing Director confirmed that the ABC will have to absorb cumulative budget cuts that amount to $105.9 million per annum by 2022. This puts an extraordinary strain on the ABC's ability to meet community expectations and will impact more jobs and services.
Australia needs a strong public broadcaster yet Scott Morrison has locked in a further $83.7 million in cuts that will force the ABC to cut 200 staff.
This Government has ignored the ABC’s warning that the latest cut of $83.7 million will make it difficult for the ABC to meet its Charter requirements and audience expectations.
What’s more, the Minister for Communications and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, is pressuring the ABC to sell ABC property to cover Liberal National cuts. In March 2020, the Minister wrote to the ABC Managing Director to encourage the inclusion of a detailed property asset strategy as part of the ABC’s five year strategic plan.
Labor has called on the Government to reverse these cuts and will continue to hold the Government to account for seven years of attacks on the ABC by the Liberals and Nationals.
When the Government cuts the ABC, Australians miss out.
The ABC needs stable and adequate funding and now is no time to cut the ABC.
