Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion by the member for Fremantle and to make some comments about the importance of the ABC and SBS with regard to our national community and also to raise some concerns about what I believe may be behind comments made by some members of government with regard to the future of national broadcasters.

As we know and as both sides of the chamber have acknowledged, the ABC has performed an incredibly important role, as does SBS. The roles that they perform with regard to regional Australia in diversity and ensuring that there is a broader debate within our national political life are acknowledged widely and are important. That shows through with regard to the sort of support that shows up for the ABC and SBS and their reporting.

For example, Essential Media Communications says that ABC TV news and current affairs had some 70-plus per cent in trust in 2013. This was followed closely by SBS TV news and current affairs at 65 per cent, then ABC radio news and current affairs at 63 per cent. I make the point that trailing far behind are the commercial TV news and current affairs at 41 per cent and commercial radio news and current affairs at 38 per cent. I think that in itself makes the point about the broader view in the community about trust and professionalism within the national broadcasters.

I would also make the point, with regard to the nature of the services that it provides, that some 85 per cent of Australians believe that the ABC provides a valuable service to the community. ABC radio, over just five cities, had a weekly metropolitan reach of 4.5 million people and some 66 million ABC podcasts were downloaded in 2013. The fact is that what we have here are national organisations that provide important services and provide those services throughout the nation like, frankly, no other broadcasters do. They do it with government support, and that support needs to be maintained.

Speakers opposite have said that a lot of what is in this motion is a beat-up—it is a beat-up because there is nothing happening about the broadcasters and essentially there is an efficiency review. Well, an efficiency review and the question of what that review examines and finds, and how that review is viewed within the government, suggest to me that there is an attempt being made to soften things up and to actually create a situation where cuts can occur. It is happening in the lead-up to a budget process. We have seen this before under governments of all persuasion: actions are often taken in the lead-up to a budget in order to set the tone for changes in the budget.

We know that the Prime Minister made it very clear before the election that there would be no cuts to the ABC or to SBS—not one dollar. But we also know that he is on the record since criticising the national broadcaster regarding the nature of its reporting and making some comments around how it has portrayed its role that actually suggest a great deal of criticism. I, for one, am not uncritical of the ABC or SBS. I believe that at times they have got it wrong. At times I have been quite critical of their coverage, and I think that at times they need to review how they actually report issues. But, having said that, the principle of and the need for national broadcasters in the situation that we have in Australian society are essential. The fact that those broadcasters need to be funded properly in order to provide those services is also something that needs to be understood.

Other speakers have spoken about comments made by various ministers around the criticism of the ABC. We have also seen comments from backbenchers, like Cory Bernardi, criticising the ABC. We have also seen the Institute of Public Affairs on record making a number of comments with regard to the national broadcaster, suggesting that changes need to be made—that cuts need to be made.

Frankly, we know from the Howard government that there was a term then used with regard to a whole range of issues: it was called 'dog whistling'. We know dog whistling when we hear it, and we know dog whistling when we see it. The nature of the way that members of the government have approached the ABC in recent times suggests dog whistling. It suggests that attempts are being made to soften up the Australian community for cuts to the ABC and SBS. It suggests that what we are seeing is an attempt to undermine the national broadcasters with regard to the role that they play in Australian society.

I would urge the government to think very carefully before moving down this track. The fact is that the ABC and SBS provide essential services throughout this country and they provide them well. They are not without criticism, but they ought to be celebrated as being premier providers of news, current affairs and community engagement throughout our society. They need to be supported. They do not need to be attacked in the manner in which this government looks to be doing it.

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