Cory Bernardi (SA, Australian Conservatives) Share this | Hansard source

Australian Conservatives broadly support the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017 and Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017 and will support their second reading. The caveat is we don't know how they are going to be modified by the crossbench during the committee phase. Ultimately we want to make sure that these bills act as a mechanism to enhance our broadcasting mediums and to ensure they are sustainable and viable going into the future, rather than subsidised basket cases, as some would seek them to be.

But, of course, Senator Macdonald has talked about the elephant in the room. The great disruptor in the space of broadcasting in this country is the government funded broadcasters, the ABC and SBS. They are the gorilla and the elephant in the room, if I can say that. They get well over $1 billion. There is no financial accountability for it. There is no ratings ability for it. They are a law, effectively, unto themselves. That's why the Australian Conservatives believe they need significant reform. They are not only disrupting the viability of commercial operations. We see it in the case in point that Fairfax is laying off journalists, yet, principally, the same editorial line that has been taken by the ABC is being run, and ABC continues to receive more and more money. The ABC does fulfil a very important role in sections of Australia. I'm a supporter of the ABC. I recognise it has some very talented and capable people. It is just too big. But it is important to many, particularly in regional and rural areas of Australia, where there is sometimes a breakdown in the market economy and market forces. But, if you are serious about reform in this space, in broadcasting reform, you have to address the ABC and SBS.

The Australian Conservatives have some very clear and considered policies in this space. Firstly, we would merge the ABC and SBS into a single consolidated broadcaster. We would reduce the joint budget to save the taxpayers around $1 billion every year, which should be directed to the intergenerational debt that has been accrued by successive governments. We would give the consolidated broadcaster a greater rural and regional focus, which is where the market breakdown is happening. It is where people don't often have access to very fast broadband internet to access online services or streaming services and where they, sometimes, don't have all of the commercial networks available to them. We would ensure that the consolidated broadcaster is truly impartial and unbiased, and presents a diversity of views. I think there is little challenge to the fact that the ABC and SBS are cheerleaders in a space. Most notably, Managing Director Michelle Guthrie had to send out a memo warning her journalists and editorial staff not to be cheerleaders in the marriage debate. I understand they may feel strongly about that, but, as a taxpayer funded entity, they shouldn't be cheerleaders. They should present the facts impartially.

We also believe that, because of the sheer size of it, if you want to save some money, does ABC and SBS need eight television stations between them? I think the simple answer to that is 'no'. I think they could easily provide two television stations that would adequately serve the Australian community. There should be an additional focus on local content, and that should cover news and current affairs, and drama and entertainment. There seem to be some sacred cows in this space. We saw the ABC and SBS both bidding for the World Cup soccer rights. It cost an additional $700,000 or $800,000 because two taxpayer funded entities were bidding against each other. That's just foolish. It has squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you wonder why. I could say the same about ABC Radio stations. There are myriad stations around the country. They have a national reach, but let's just say there are five stations that have a national presence. My question is: why? What's the purpose of that? I was asked on ABC Radio whether I supported K-pop being on the radio. That's Korean pop music. I don't think we need a Korean pop show on the ABC broadcaster. You could easily cut that and people could watch it on Channel Ten on a Sunday morning, which I have done on occasion.

We want to also see the ABC limited in its provision in the online services as there is a migration out of print onto the online services. The ABC has never been in the print media, except for its commercial operations. It's never been in the commercial printing industry, so why should it be encroaching into what are the newspapers of 21st century? If it wants to compete in that space, it shouldn't cannibalise the existing markets. Let it compete on commercial terms and let it charge for the content that it's generating in that space. But I don't advocate that necessarily. I'm saying it should be limited. A merged broadcaster should have two television stations and two national radio networks. That is adequate. It will support diversity in our media landscape and the profitability and viability of existing operators.

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