Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australians trust the ABC. The ABC tells our stories and provides us with accurate, independent information. In a pandemic where misinformation is putting lives at risk and creating divisions in our society, the role the ABC plays in providing independent, accurate information has never been more important. But it's in this environment that the Morrison government has launched its latest attack on the ABC, with Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg's proposed Senate inquiry into the ABC's complaints process.

This is an absolute overreach by this government, and one can only assume it's about political control over what the ABC covers. As Ita Buttrose said:

Any incursion of this kind into the ABC's independence should be seen by Australians for what it is: an attempt to weaken the community's trust in the public broadcaster.

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If politicians determine the operation of the national broadcaster's complaints system, they can influence what is reported by the ABC.

This government has form when it comes to the ABC, with $84 million budget cuts and hundreds of jobs lost. I have worked at the ABC both in regional Victoria and in metropolitan Melbourne. I know how important it is that local, independent stories get told and that they get told accurately, without political interference. Labor will restore funding for the ABC and we will protect its integrity and its independence, because we know how important it is.

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