Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In short, Minister Fifield and the Turnbull Liberal government have launched a multipronged, large-scale intervention against the ABC, and they want Australians to believe it is just because they want the ABC to be better, stronger and more efficient. Let's look at what these cuts by the Liberal Party will deliver to the ABC. In 2019-20 the ABC will be $14.6 million worse off. That is the full annual operating budget of both NewsRadio and Radio Australia. In 2020-21 the ABC will be $27.8 million worse off. That's the full annual operating budget of ABC Classic FM, Heywire, iview and the school-age and preschool version of the ABC KIDS app. In 2021-22 the ABC will be $41.2 million worse off. That is the full operating budget of ABC KIDS, ABC COMEDY, triple j, Double J and triple j Unearthed. Yet when Minister Fifield was asked at estimates if he could guarantee that none of these programs would be cut as a result of his efficiency review and his $84 million cut to ABC funding, he said that this was just a matter for the ABC—as if this Liberal government's $334 million of cuts to the ABC funding could have no impact on ABC programming.

Make no mistake: these upcoming by-elections and the upcoming general election are is an opportunity for Australians to show their support for the ABC. We've seen some remarkable statistics in recent times: surveys show that 70 per cent of Australians think a strong, independent ABC is critical to a healthy democracy; 60 per cent of Australians think the ABC needs a boost to its long-term funding; and 82 per cent of Australians rate the ABC as trustworthy. The ABC is a trusted institution, one that Australians look to as a place that safeguards their democracy, a place to get their news and entertainment and a place that tells their Australian stories, available to all—not behind some paywall, which is what I think the Liberals would like to see happen. When it comes to that fundamental issue of trust, it is important to remember that 82 per cent of Australians rate the ABC as trustworthy. Australians know—and the Liberal federal council it confirmed this weekend—that you cannot trust the Liberals with the ABC.