Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to speak only briefly on this, because I am conscious that a lot of my colleagues want to speak on other matters. I want to congratulate the ABC on the work they do in rural and regional Australia. As I tell them direct to their face, I always have some issues with the stuff that comes out of Sydney that is masquerading as current affairs. Notwithstanding that, the ABC in rural and regional Australia do an absolutely fantastic job. They are part of local communities and deserve every congratulations.

I note in the report a comment on the Haywire program—a program that I must proudly say I have been involved in since its inception more than 10 years ago. That, as well, is a great use of ABC funds, and I congratulate the ABC wholeheartedly on their Haywire program, which gives regional young people a voice. Congratulations.

I alert the Senate to a question I asked at estimates for which I am still awaiting an answer. The Senate might have a little fight about whether we actually get the answer. I always get concerned when senior journalists criticise parliamentarians for the meagre salary they get, and I have always wondered what journalists might receive. So I raised the issue of the two Kerry O’Briens I know of: one, Senator Kerry O’Brien, is in this chamber and I know exactly what his salary is, what his allowances are and what top-ups he gets for having various additional jobs on behalf of the government. All of that is on the record. It is paid for by the taxpayer, so the taxpayer has every right to know what Senator Kerry O’Brien gets—as they have a right to know what I and what all of my colleagues get. What we do not know is what the other Kerry O’Brien gets. He is also paid by the taxpayer. I asked what I thought was a reasonable question. I am not particularly interested in what Kerry O’Brien gets, but as it would be representative of what a high-profile TV host gets, I put what I thought was a very reasonable question to the ABC managing director. I was told, ‘Senator, we can’t answer that, because it is commercial-in-confidence’—notwithstanding the fact that it is paid by the taxpayer, the same as Senator Kerry O’Brien’s salary is paid for by the taxpayer. I asked, ‘Why is this?’ This is all on the record; I am only repeating what is already there. I was told, ‘They don’t pay them very well at the ABC. If it were made public, he might be head-hunted by someone else who would offer him more.’

I do not want to interrupt the ABC’s program management, but I am very keen to see what taxpayers pay for. People are always assessing whether they get value for their money from senators and members of the House of Representatives; I think that taxpayers equally should be able to make an assessment of whether they are getting their money’s worth for other people whose salary they pay for. In spite of the fact that the ABC were a bit hesitant about it, I referred them to some precedents, some past practices, where the Senate insisted in similar circumstances. I think Geraldine Doogue was the person at the time. There is a well-documented precedent on why the Senate can insist on knowing this information, so I certainly look forward to the ABC giving me that information in due course. But nothing I say in that regard stops me from again congratulating the ABC and the work it does in rural and regional Australia—and particularly with regional young people.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.