Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

In speaking to these appropriation bills, I want to highlight that there are two truisms in budgets and in politics. The first, in terms of budgets, is that they are about choices. The second, in terms of politics, is that it is often that which is small that can be the most significant. It may not be the biggest line item in the budget, but it is certainly of enormous significance: I am talking about this government's $83.7 million cut to the ABC. I want to make it clear that Labor will fight these cuts. It is quite apparent that this government fails to appreciate the strong faith and value that Australians have when it comes to their ABC. It is a trusted institution and it is one that is relied on for quality news, as a provider in regional Australia and for emergency broadcasting.

It was quite telling in Senate estimates last night, for example, where we did have some specific questioning about the potential impact of these budget cuts on Tasmania. The question asked by Senator Urquhart to the ABC was, 'Can you guarantee Tasmania will be spared any cuts because of the government's budget decision?' The CFO of the ABC replied, 'No, Senator, I cannot guarantee Tasmania will not experience any cuts.' This comes off the back of then Leader of the Opposition Abbott's solemn promise on the eve of the 2013 election of no cuts to the ABC. This is a persistent reminder that the Liberals can't be trusted when it comes to such an important public institution. Since the 2014 budget, we have already seen a cut of some quarter of a billion dollars to the ABC. Since 1 July 2014, around 800 jobs have been lost at the ABC, including 23 at ABC Tasmania. Now, with this latest cut of around $84 million, we know that this will have—and cannot it be ruled out, as the ABC has said—adverse impacts on Tasmania.

I took the opportunity, since the questioning was about Tasmania, to have a look at the track record of the former member for Braddon, Mr Brett Whiteley. Speaking on appropriation bills nearly four years ago, he talked about why he wanted to be a member of parliament. He said:

I wanted to be a member of parliament since I was 12 …

Good on him. He said:

It was to ensure that the excellent services that Australians have come to expect are sustainable into the future. … This budget fulfils those aspirations.

That was the 2014 budget. The aspiration was to cut around a quarter of a billion dollars from the ABC. That was when, as I said, the night before the 2013 election a solemn promise was made that there would not be cuts to the ABC. I would like to know where those aspirations are for a strong, viable and independent public broadcaster. It is very clear that support for the ABC is strong. For example, a poll done by the Australia Institute found that 70 per cent of people wanted a strong ABC and 60 per cent of people agreed the ABC needed a boost to long-term funding. They view it as critical to a healthy democracy and oppose a cut to ABC funding.

The Essential Reportcame out only the other day. Let's look at the specific line items of what people do and don't support in this budget. Total opposition to cutting spending on the ABC was 45 per cent. Indeed, a list of items in the budget were assessed. It is abundantly clear that people trust the ABC and do not want it cut. We had the Minister for Communications yesterday in Senate estimates specifically asked, 'Can you make a declaratory statement—can you declare—whether or not the people of Australia can trust you with the ABC?' He gave a response that had all the enthusiasm of a wet weekend. He replied, 'They can have confidence that this government will always support the independence of the ABC and assure that it is appropriately resourced.' The truth of the matter is, indeed, a very different story. This government has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted with the ABC. It just shows how out of touch this Prime Minister is with the Australian people.

The ABC is the public broadcaster, not the state broadcaster—a distinction that appears to be lost on this Prime Minister and his minister. I think it is clear that there is a stark contrast when you look at attitudes towards the ABC and at the attitudes of the government and individual government members—and I'm sure the member sitting at the table will agree with me as well. We on this side of the parliament actually believe in the ABC. It's something that we actually support—we support public broadcasting as an important part of our democracy; it is a trusted institution—whereas it is quite clear that those in the government do not in their heart of hearts support the ABC.

This budget once again exposes the weakness of this Prime Minister. I have another choice quote. In 2013 the now Prime Minister said:

… there is no more committed defender of public broadcasting … than me.

Well, God help us. In 2014 he said:

… the role of the public broadcasters in our national life today is more important than ever, as the business model of the newspapers in particular is under threat and newsrooms dwindle.

With defenders like that, the ABC certainly doesn't need any enemies—they've got enough on that side of the parliament.

What have we seen from the Liberals and this Prime Minister on the ABC? As I said, on the eve of the 2013 election the member for Warringah gave a solemn promise, while staring down the barrel of a camera, 'No cuts to the ABC.' Have a look at their record. In 2014 they cut $254 million over five years in the horror 2014 budget. In 2016 they cut a further $28 million from the enhanced news-gathering service that Labor helped set up. In 2018 they cut a further $83.7 million from the ABC with a freeze on indexation. The reality is that Liberal cuts to the ABC hurt and they have consequences. Since 2014 around 800 ABC staff have lost their jobs, the Australia Network has been axed, shortwave radio has been shut down and the number of hours of ABC factual programming has dropped by 60 per cent, drama has dropped by 20 per cent and documentaries have dropped by 13.5 per cent.

Then in 2015 the Prime Minister appointed Senator Fifield—a card-carrying member of the IPA—as the Minister for Communications. The minister's membership of the IPA is disclosed in his register of interests and was confirmed at Senate estimates yesterday. Let's have a look at what the IPA advocates. It advocates that the ABC be broken up. In 2012, in the article 'Be like Gough: 75 radical ideas to transform Australia'—one I'm sure Gough certainly would not have endorsed—the following items are listed:

50 Break up the ABC and put out to tender each individual function

51 Privatise SBS

In October 2008 the now minister for communications said in an address to the Australian Adam Smith Club:

Conservatives have often floated the prospect of privatising the ABC and Australia Post. There is merit in such proposals.

This minister is a serial complainer about the ABC. The list of what he has complained about is as long as your arm: everything from the date of the Triple J Hottest 100 to a host of others. We know that this government did a dirty backdoor deal with Pauline Hanson's One Nation for the repeal of the two-out-of-three media ownership rule. Senator Pauline Hanson has basically said the ABC is a waste of money. We had well-known reports of her threats to block some of these changes unless money was cut from the ABC budget. We have three bills currently before the parliament and a faux 'competitive neutrality' inquiry. Those three bills include, supposedly, some commitments to rural and regional Australia—it is quite ironic that this government thinks by cutting the ABC it can expand the services it provides—a so-called 'fair and balanced' bill and a bill about salary disclosure. Now Australians risk losing much-loved programs and services just because this Prime Minister won't stand up to those in his own party that simply hate the ABC.

It is very clear that the ABC is one of our most important public institutions. It contributes to our national identity, reflects our cultural diversity and encourages our musical, dramatic and performing arts interests. When there's a need for trusted emergency information during natural disasters, the ABC is there. As I said, the latest polling shows that most voters oppose the funding cuts to the ABC in this budget. In that Australia Institute poll, 58 per cent of respondents disagreed with the following statement:

The ABC and SBS should get less funding and provide fewer online and streaming services, so that they don't undermine commercial media.

Labor has a strong record of fighting for the ABC. It's not just about fighting the cuts. The Leader of the Opposition made very clear in his budget reply statement, which was very well received, his and Labor's commitment to always stand up for the ABC and to fight these cuts. It's not just funding cuts that we're going to fight—and of course we are fighting them and we will continue to do that—it's about opposing the government bills already before us, aimed to undermine the ABC. We'll call out this faux 'competitive neutrality' inquiry for what it is: a vindictive attack on the ABC. We affirm the value of the ABC and we know that a grassroots movement of Australians know, love and continue to support the ABC.

Friends of the ABC are not only in Labor; they are members of the public. As I said, sometimes the items you think are the smallest end up having the most significance. I know that the more Australians find out about and come to understand what these cuts to the ABC will mean for Australians, the more people will be opposed. It is essential that the ABC endure as a trusted independent voice that adds to the diversity of news and provides an opportunity for Australian stories to be produced, seen and heard. We on this side of the House believe it's imperative for the ABC to be properly supported by government, not stretched too thinly, as it delivers on its mandate in the contemporary media environment.

It's very clear that you can't trust the Liberals—or One Nation, for that matter—with the ABC. The ABC cannot sustain another term of this destructive Liberal government and its vendetta against our trusted public broadcaster. Liberal cuts mean cuts to the ABC content and services that people trust and rely upon. Labor will continue to fight for the ABC, because we know what an important institution it is in our democratic processes. We have a strong record of supporting the ABC, and we will continue to do so.

In conclusion, we know that there is a cut of $83.7 million to the ABC in this budget. You only have to look at the Minister for Communications' thought processes here. He announces a cut to the ABC and then announces that he's going to undertake an efficiency review into what savings can be made at the ABC. At least when the current Prime Minister held the post of Minister for Communications he held a couple of inquiries into ABC efficiencies before he made the cuts. The current minister makes the cuts and then does the review afterwards. This budget pauses indexation of the ABC's operational funding, amounting to that $83.7 million cut.

This will have an impact on what the ABC can do. It's quite clear, as I said, from budget estimates yesterday and as it continues today, that the ABC will need to make those difficult choices. It cannot guarantee, for example, that services and jobs will not be cut in Tasmania. Following that, it is quite clear that it cannot guarantee where else its services will be cut. As they have said themselves, there is no fat left to cut—it's cutting into muscle. It's cutting into that muscle that is an important institution of our democracy.

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