Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about the ABC. Again, I put on the public record that I am a big supporter of the ABC. I think it does an outstanding job, for the most part, and it's very important that the ABC maintain its very high standards. Of course, the ABC, like the BBC, its brother or sister organisation in the UK, has had some issues with impartiality over the course of the years. One of the good things that the BBC has done under its director-general, Tim Davie, is put in place an edict so that BBC employees are forced to maintain impartiality in their dealings. It's very important to maintain confidence in public broadcasting. Tim Davie has said, 'Impartiality is the foundation on which we deliver insightful, exciting and groundbreaking stories. These guidelines are intended to help us continue to deliver this and build audience trust.'

Now, I raised these very good guidelines with Mr David Anderson, the managing director of the ABC, on multiple occasions at estimates last year, and the ABC has now followed suit. It has put out a code of conduct which deals with the personal use of social media. I think this is very, very welcome. This, of course, follows some unfortunate tweets last year by ABC staff, in which they referred to ideological bastardry and hoped people were feeling smug, which I think was very unfortunate. The ABC, under Mr Anderson, has now said that the guidelines for personal use of social media will be dealt with in accordance with relevant ABC employment agreements and may lead to disciplinary action, including possible termination of employment, if they are contravened. One of the key standards—there are four—is to not mix the professional and the personal in ways that are likely to bring the ABC into disrepute. This is good stuff by the ABC and David Anderson. They are incremental but very important changes which will ensure the integrity and impartiality of our public broadcaster.

This has been a week in which we can reflect on the great value of the ABC. When Facebook, in the dispute which I believe we are about to win with the big tech publishers, decided to switch off news, Australians could access news through the ABC, The Guardian, news.com.au and Sky News, but they always knew in their hearts that they could get ABC news on their apps and on their websites, because we spend $1 billion of taxpayers' funds each year to ensure that good news is available to all Australians. I think it has been a very important week for us to reflect upon the value of the ABC.

Now, I am concerned that the ABC is in business with people it should not be in business with. It has emerged from estimates and from my correspondence with Mr Anderson that the ABC is in business with an organisation called the New Daily, which is owned by a bunch of lobbyists who are owned by the Industry SuperFunds people. This, I think, is a grave error by the ABC because, in getting into business with a hyperpartisan lobbyist, it is putting at risk its veneer of independence, which I think it is on the cusp of crossing a new Rubicon on. I think that these statements from David Anderson are very welcome because they show the organisation's commitment to impartiality. How can you be impartial if you're doing deals with the super fund lobbyists, whose only mission in life is to distort the public record in relation to this huge experiment of superannuation? These are the most cashed-up lobbyists on earth. Who could imagine an organisation that is so rich it can run its own newspaper, the New Daily, and have an agreement with the national broadcaster? I think it's important that the ABC terminate this agreement. I'm going to write to David Anderson and ask him to terminate that agreement and, if it's not terminated, I will seek to introduce legislation to terminate all future agreements.