Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can someone tell me again why Australian taxpayers fork out more than a billion dollars a year to fund the ABC? In this day and age of wall-to-wall information, surely the need for a national broadcaster is long past. Not only do the overwhelming majority of Australians not watch the ABC, but most of them are appalled that so much of their money is being frittered away supporting what is, in my opinion, garbage. Far from serving the national interest, far too often the ABC seems to be actively working against the national interest.

I've got some examples of this; we're sadly spoilt for choice unfortunately. What about this one? The ABC tell the Pacific islands all the time that they are disappearing into the sea thanks to Australian emissions. Obviously that's a lie. The ABC's anti-Western agenda is never-ending. They continually tell us that our country is inherently racist. Nothing better highlighted the disconnect between Australians and the activists at the ABC than what we saw last week, when an ABC journalist asked the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Peter Dutton, why Hezbollah was listed as a terrorist organisation. Come on, guys! Granted, there are some people—not many but some—who enjoy listening and watching this sort of carry-on. You know what? Let them subscribe and pay. The Labor Party will never defund the ABC, of course, because the broadcaster, effectively, functions as their propaganda arm, but, if the next conservative government is serious about honouring taxpayers and about servicing the national interest, it will save the country a billion bucks a year—and a lot of heartache, might I add—by removing this media outlet from the national teat.