What will the Parties do with SBS after the election?
Lobby group Save our SBS has put the same six questions to the Coalition, Labor and Greens.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Election
What policies do the Coalition, Labor and Greens have for SBS in the coming election?
Lobby group Save our SBS put the same six questions to each party, and has published the results on their website.
It summarises:
The Greens are the only party who will move advertising away from programs on SBS.
Labor does not plan to alter the advertising arrangement at all.
The Coalition have already introduced a Bill to increase primetime advertising.
Labor has not promised to return the cuts made to SBS by the Coalition but the Greens have.
On the topic of an ABC-SBS merger, Labor communications spokesperson Jason Clare said “there may be potential for some shared services between the ABC and SBS” but desires the ABC and SBS remain separate entities while the Greens oppose a merger saying that would “amount to an ABC takeover [of SBS]”.
The Coalition states it has no plans to merge SBS and the ABC.
Although in his May Budget media release, Communications Minister Senator Fifield said that later this year the government will consider “a broader package of reforms that will include consideration of the pricing of broadcasting spectrum”, the Coalition says it has “no plans to remove SBS from the free-to-air broadcast spectrum”. Earlier this year it was widely reported such propositions were being considered, that SBS would be relegated to internet only. Labor and Greens do not support the removal of SBS from free-to-air either.
The Greens, Labor and Coalition place great value on the role of SBS in fostering multiculturalism and social inclusion of those from non-English speaking backgrounds. All parties express immense importance in having SBS as Australia’s national multicultural public broadcaster.
You can read in more detail here.
One Response
IF SBS was removed from FTA spectrum (and i’m glad to read that’s off the table) what on earth does anyone think that spectrum will be used for?
It’s too low (in most cases, apart form a few rural transmitters) to be used for mobile broadband, and there is no way the commercial broadcasters will pay more for extra spectrum.
The commercial broadcasters don’t want to pay (at all) for the spectrum they have now.
Community TV is already being pushed out of FTA, even though they only have 1 channel utilising very little spectrum, and now there is talk of SBS going too?
No wonder common sense has prevailed and it’s off the table, hopefully for good.