Labor pledges $60m more for ABC, SBS.
Labor & the Greens back public broadcaster funding & independence, after years of Coalition cutbacks.
- Published by David Knox
- on
Labor yesterday pledged an extra $40m for the ABC to fund drama and comedy, new children’s programming, more music content and $20m for SBS for drama, documentary, entertainment and factual.
Shorten was at Federaton Square to announce Labor’s Arts Policy before Friends of ABC.
“We will do more to make sure that the ABC is a well-funded, independent, public broadcaster consistent with its charter,” he said.
“So, first things first, if we are elected next Saturday, we will put back the $83.7 million dollars that this Government has cut in the last two budgets. All back. No arguments. Straight away. Save the jobs.
“On top of this, we will put an additional $10 million – and we have spoken to experts – this is not just what we think is a good idea, it is us talking with the people in the know what the ABC needs – we have consulted. $10 million to boost resources for regional news and sports and emergency broadcasters.
“Actually, we’ve got a few of these announcements, so you can contain that excitement. $2 million to upgrade audio-description services for Australians who are blind or have poor vision.”
Labor also signalled plans to extend the terms of funding agreements and offered talks with the board of the ABC, and new managing director David Anderson.
“We want to start the conversation about five-year funding, not three-year funding. Proper certainty locked away,” he said.
“All elections are about choices. We choose to put more resources into the ABC.”
Greens Leader Richard Di Natale also said, “Let’s lock the funding of the ABC into law. Let’s give the ABC funding certainty five years, not three years. Funding locked into law so that no future Liberal government can do the bidding of Rupert Murdoch and the ABC’s competitors and strip away funding to one of our most important democratic institutions.”
The Greens advocated $460m restored to ABC and $210m to replace advertising revenue for SBS, plus independent Board appointments for the ABC.
There were also speeches by Kerry O’Brien, Quentin Dempster, and Gael Jennings.
The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader have both been invited.
12 Responses
Thanks but my tastes are 100 per cent covered by SBS with all the subjects I have mentioned. Please check the doco slots any day of the week!
Fantastic news , now those hard working SBS commissioning editors can afford 20 million dollars worth of new British documentaries about UK sewers and Royals , plus a whole station full of train series. Good times good times.
Plus I hear Hitler is being coaxed out of retirement and is planning a second assault on SSBS with his new series about re-building Berlin using small bakelite blocks called ‘ Nazi Masters ‘…it’s really going to blitz the ratings…
May I suggest you stick to watching SKY after Dark, or perhaps 7Mate, 9 or 10 they may satisfy your
Television Taste more than SBS, VICELAND or NITV.
The long required modernisation of the London sewers (first built in the mid 19th century) will stand as one of the great engineering feats of this century. This is a great documentary series covering this mammoth project and is highly entertaining whether you appreciate this genre or not. Thankyou SBS for showing it. The comment by you is an ignorant one.
It’s really great that Bill has announced that there will be $40mil in extra funding specifically for “… drama and comedy, new children’s programming, more music content …”. But while every other media outlet quoted these details, ABC News itself only said the $40mil was for “local content”. It’s as if the news department can’t quite cope with the idea that there are other areas within the ABC that deserve additional funds other than themselves ?. Good luck to David Anderson in ensuring that Shorten’s wishes are carried out in the face of the relentless demands of Gaven Morris ?
It’s not an untrue statement, I guess they were summarising. But yes I had room to use actual quote, link to original and video.
Great Policy, I Love my ABC, Television and Radio.
Just another one of the reasons, I have Voted for Labor and the Greens…
Be very careful what you vote for!! there are other things than just the ABC?
So true. Where do you think all this money is coming from. No need to answer that question because all the smart people know.
Are the smart people aware of what happens when the ABC doesn’t receive adequate funding?
Yes, the ABC turns against the government of the day and delivers a one sided monologue of how terrible things are and how people should stand up against this injustice….should I continue?
So I guess it isn’t smart people looking into and continually rejecting any bias that the ABC is putting out there then? OK then.