Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

Although it's not part of the bill that's before us, I'm happy to address Senator Hanson-Young's question. In the budget last night, the government did indicate that there would be a pause on the indexation of the ABC's base funding from the next triennium. The funding for the ABC in the current triennium remains intact and that has another year to go. We think, as a government, that it's important that the ABC be the best possible steward that it can be of each taxpayer dollar that it has. We have indicated that we will have an efficiency review which will assist the ABC in that task.

I should point out that, in the next triennium, total ABC base funding will be $3.16 billion. The ABC will continue to receive in excess of $1 billion a year. This funding is one of the important underpinnings of the diversity in the Australian media environment and is one of the important supports for civic journalism in Australia.

We are fully confident that the ABC will be able to discharge its responsibilities to the nation, and particularly to rural and regional Australia. Indeed, in an effort to underscore the importance of the ABC's work in rural and regional Australia, we have legislation before the parliament to put specific reference to their obligations to rural and regional Australia in the ABC Act, which is something that people assume is in their legislation but isn't currently the case. I should acknowledge Senator McKenzie's role in putting that proposition forward in her pre-ministerial incarnation.