Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

You might ask why the ABC’s funding was maintained in 1996. It was because of the extraordinary debt left by the Labor government which this government had to address when it came into office. The ABC’s funding was reduced in the 1996-97 budget because the ABC—like virtually all other government agencies, as we remember only too well—was required to contribute to the whole-of-government budget savings necessitated by the parlous financial situation inherited from the previous Labor government.

The question gives me the opportunity to remind the Senate of what the current funding arrangements are for the ABC. At the start of the new funding triennium in 2003-04—and of course we are coming up to the next one in the next budget—the government fulfilled its 2001 election commitment to maintain the funding in real terms. This year, 2005-06, is the final year of the current triennium. In the 2005-06 year the ABC’s total government funding will be $792.9 million of taxpayers’ dollars. The ABC will receive nearly $2.3 billion from the Australian government over the 2003-06 triennium. In the 2004-05 budget the government went beyond the terms of its election commitment and provided additional funding to the ABC of $4.2 million per year—ongoing and indexed. The funding was to assist the ABC meet the increase costs of television program purchasing.

In addition to the 2004-05 budget, the government continued the ABC’s regional and local program funding at a further cost of $54.4 million over three years from 2005-06. I know the Labor Party does not think that regional and local programming is important, but there are people around Australia who rely on local programming on the ABC and value these services. This government understands how important it is to those people who listen to the local ABC. Sometimes it is the only real source of news that they get.

The government has done this to provide the ABC with certainty in its planning for its range of radio, television and online services which have been funded under this initiative. We will continue to maintain the ABC’s funding in the next triennial funding round.