Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Australia) Share this | Hansard source

It is good to hear the member form Goldstein say that he'd like to see the ABC do more; most of us would. It's just a shame that they cut their budget, which makes it incredibly hard for the ABC to do even what it does now, which I personally believe it does incredibly well. I grew up with the ABC, many of us did, and there wouldn't be a parent or a grandparent in this country who doesn't live with ABC Kids every day of their lives and watch their children discover the ABC in the same way that we did.

On the eve of the 2013 election, Tony Abbott said there'd be no cuts to the ABC, and we all hoped that was true. Then what happened? There was $254 million cut from the ABC in 2014 and a further $28 million was cut in 2016. We've all seen the results: around 800 ABC staff have lost their jobs; the Australia Network has been axed; short-wave radio has been shut down; and the number of hours of ABC factual programming has been dropped by 60 per cent, drama by 20 per cent and documentary by 13.5 per cent. We can expect to see future cuts this year, because, while the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government has found $30 million for Fox Sports this year, they have cut another $83.7 million from the ABC.

Let's face it, that suits the government. It has a habit of trying to silence its critics with legislation or with the overblown rhetoric and bullying that we saw in this chamber just prior to me standing. If Australians need any more proof the Liberals are on a mission to destroy the public broadcaster, they got it when the Liberal Federal Council voted to privatise the ABC in June this year. The Liberal Federal Council voted overwhelmingly to sell off the ABC, and when we, Labor, stood in this House and moved a motion in parliament calling for the Turnbull government to pledge that it would never support the privatisation of the ABC, they squibbed; they voted it down.

Don't expect any better now that we have a third Prime Minister. It might be a new Prime Minister, but it's the same tired old bunch. We still have Mitch Fifield, a card-carrying member of the Institute of Public Affairs in the role of Minister for Communications, and the IPA advocates strongly that the ABC be broken up and privatised. Not only is the minister a member of the IPA; he's made a donation to the IPA and spoke, in 2008, about the merit of the privatisation of the ABC and Australia Post. That's not all. We know that Minister Fifield is a serial complainant on the ABC—on everything from ABC internal staffing policies to the disclosure of presenter salaries, the date of the Hottest 100 and the content of comedy sketches. He's fixated on the ABC, but not in a good way.

The ABC is more important than ever. In a world where fake news is prevalent, the ABC delivers news and information that Australians trust. The ABC reaches 71 per cent of Australians each week; 12.3 million Australians watch ABC TV each week; 7.6 million visit ABC online each month; 4.9 million Australians in five capital cities listen to ABC Radio each week; the ABC News channel reaches an average of 4.4 million viewers a month; and more than 80 per cent of Australians trust the ABC compared to an average trust of just 57 per cent for commercial media. There is no Australian media organisation in the country that is more trusted, valued and distinctive than the ABC.

But, let's face it, if the Morrison government can't cut the ABC to death, or privatise it to death, there are other ways. They can meddle with the ABC Act, and, thanks to a deal with Rebekha Sharkie and her colleagues in Centre Alliance, that's exactly what is happening now. The Prime Minister is forging ahead with his government's attack on the ABC, with three bills to amend the ABC Act and charter which are being debated in the Senate this week. On top of that, there's a damaging so-called 'competitive neutrality inquiry' aimed at undermining the ABC in the online environment. These are all deals which undermine media diversity and the public interest in Australia, and they are a real live threat to the ABC as we know it.

Labor believe that the ABC is one of our most important institutions and part of the fabric of our nation. We're united in our belief in a strong, independent and properly funded ABC. That's why we've committed to reversing Scott Morrison's unfair $83.7 million cut and to guaranteeing stable funding for our ABC. At a time when too many Australians feel disengaged from their democracy and distrustful of their institutions, Labor want to restore trust and faith in our wonderful ABC.

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