Ruth Webber (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Has the minister’s attention been drawn to a report today that the KPMG review into the adequacy of ABC funding found that the ABC needs an increase in funding of $125 million above inflation over the next three years if existing services are to be maintained? Isn’t the report confirmation that the government has been running down the ABC for a decade? I ask whether the minister will now apologise for misleading the Senate yesterday when she stated:

ABC funding has been maintained in real terms for the whole of the time that this government has been responsible for the funding in the ABC ...

Can the minister give a commitment to a significant increase in funding for the ABC in the May budget? If not, can the minister identify which ABC services she would like to see cut?