Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I will not detain the chamber for long. I thank the minister for providing that information on behalf of Minister Turnbull. I do acknowledge that this is a complex question; it has multiple parts. It relates among other things to the closure of specific units within the ABC providing specialist programming, both radio and television broadcasts, and also the increased casualisation and outsourcing that we are seeing within the ABC. The question goes to the sustainability of funding for our ABC, the national broadcaster; the degree to which funding shortages are driving ever-increasing outsourcing; and the running down of production capacity in states other than New South Wales—and, you could argue, Victoria—particularly Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia.

The ABC has a large and relatively new studio in East Perth in Western Australia which operates practically empty for much of the week

The ABC is already juggling an immensely tight budget, largely as a consequence of more than a decade of neglect and funding cuts by the former Howard government. The ABC and SBS are now facing extraordinary challenges on two fronts. I do acknowledge former communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy for beginning to address and turn around the finances of both the ABC and SBS, which were indeed on starvation funding.

The ABC is having to wear direct threats on two sides: firstly, to its editorial independence by repeated criticisms and attacks from the Prime Minister on down and, secondly, through the so-called efficiency review into public broadcasting. This is where I think some timely answers to the questions that we have put through Senator Fifield to Minister Turnbull would help give some comfort.

We know that the ABC appears at item 50 on the Institute of Public Affairs hit list. Item 50 says, effectively, 'Break the ABC up and let the private sector get on with the job.' I put this proposition to Mr Mark Scott in budget estimates this time last week. His comment was, 'That would be catastrophic.' SBS, a beloved national broadcaster, appears at item 51 on the IPA's hit list, which effectively says, 'Sell them. Just get rid of SBS; it is surplus to requirements.' It is unbelievable.

Senator Fifield, I am interested to know what confidence can the Australian public have that the Abbott government is not simply pursuing a vendetta—a peculiar, personal vendetta—against public broadcasting. Whether you justify it in terms of the so-called efficiency review or whether you think the ABC is simply being unpatriotic and reporting things that you would prefer that it did not, the ABC is not the equivalent of a Chinese state-owned broadcaster. It is fiercely independent, it is beloved by the vast majority of Australians and it should be left alone.

The best thing that Minister Turnbull could do with this portfolio would be to increase and lift the funding of our national broadcasters—both the ABC and SBS. A first step towards regaining the confidence of the Australian public would be to provide an answer to these questions which are now some 2½ months overdue. I thank the chamber.