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Labor Pledges To Reverse ABC Funding Cuts (Read 269 times)
whiteknight
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Labor Pledges To Reverse ABC Funding Cuts
Jul 1st, 2020 at 3:11pm
 
Labor pledges to reverse ABC funding cuts if elected   Smiley   

June 30, 2020 The Age

Labor leader Anthony Albanese is promising to restore $84 million of funding to the ABC in his first national spending commitment since taking charge of the federal opposition.

Seizing on the public broadcaster's budget woes days out from the Eden-Monaro byelection, Mr Albanese will announce on Wednesday a Labor government would reinstate funding the ABC has lost through an indexation freeze imposed by the Coalition.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese, alongside Labor's Eden-Monaro byelection candidate Kristy McBain, is promising to restore ABC funding.   


Under its current three-year funding period between 2019-20 and 2021-22, the broadcaster is subject to a freeze that will deny it up to $84 million. Last week, ABC managing director David Anderson announced a range of budget cuts, including 250 job losses and the end of the 7.45am radio news bulletin, in a bid to save $40 million.

Mr Albanese says Labor would "reverse Scott Morrison's $83.7 million cut to the ABC to save regional jobs, protect critical emergency broadcasting and support local news and content".



"ABC emergency coverage saved lives during the summer bushfires and staff came off leave to ensure Australians were kept informed. Now 250 dedicated ABC staff face the sack as a result of Scott Morrison's cuts," he said.

Announcing the funding alongside Labor's candidate in Eden-Monaro, Kristy McBain, Mr Albanese will say the byelection is a chance for local voters to send the Coalition a message on ABC funding.



ABC slashing up to 250 jobs
The ABC will slash up to 250 jobs and axe its flagship 7.45am radio news bulletin in a major shake-up at the national broadcaster.

Eden-Monaro suffered significant damage during the bushfire crisis. The ABC has covered more than 850 emergency broadcasting events in the past 12 months, compared to 256 events in 2017-18 and 371 events in 2018-19.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed last week the ABC proposed an expansion of its regional coverage if the indexation freeze was dumped, an idea that was disregarded by the government.


The exact details of Labor's funding boost for the broadcaster could depend on the timing of the next election, which is due between August 2021 and May 2022. A new three-year funding deal for the ABC will be finalised for the 2022 federal budget.

The government has not said what its plans are for the organisation's funding once the current indexation freeze ends.

The cuts announced by the ABC last week have triggered a fresh wave of criticism of the government, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher have staunchly defended the funding levels.

On Tuesday, Mr Fletcher said Labor was telling "porkies" and insisted the government was not cutting the ABC's revenue.

"ABC base funding, transmission funding and total funding are rising each and every year of the current funding triennium," he said.

The broadcaster will receive $3.2 billion from the government in the current funding period: $1.062 billion in 2019-20, $1.065 billion in 2020-21 and $1.071 billion in 2021-22.

The indexation freeze follows hundreds of millions of dollars worth of accumulated cuts that began with the 2014 federal budget.

In a statement last week, ABC chair Ita Buttrose said there was "some confusion in government circles" about the nature of funding reductions. She said funding was increasing but by a reduced amount.
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whiteknight
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Re: Labor Pledges To Reverse ABC Funding Cuts
Reply #1 - Jul 1st, 2020 at 4:01pm
 
JUNE 30 2020  Canberra Times
ABC considered a critical emergency service by Eden-Monaro voters ahead of by-election, a GetUp poll shows   Smiley

More than 70 per cent of voters polled in Eden-Monaro believed the ABC was a critical service during emergencies, polling from GetUp released on Tuesday reveals.

As Eden-Monaro heads for a pivotal byelection on Saturday, GetUp has released its findings from polling and a survey conducted by the organisation in the electorate in May and June.

The ABC has recently announced it would be cutting 250 jobs nationally, would dump the 7.45am news bulletin and restructure its emergency broadcasting team in a bid to accommodate funding cuts from the federal government.

GetUp national director Paul Oosting said in an electorate decimated by the summer bushfires, the ABC funding could be a vote-deciding issue.


Of the people surveyed, 85 per cent said they had been affected by the bushfires and 72 per cent agreed or strongly agreed the ABC provided reliable and up-to-date information during the emergency.

Bushfires tore through parts of Eden-Monaro, including Cobargo, during the summer and GetUp polling suggests residents found the ABC a crucial emergency service during the crisis.


Almost 70 per cent reported they would like to see the ABC receive greater funding or have its cut funding restored.   Smiley


"People across the electorate have relied on the ABC like never before this year - our public broadcaster has kept people safe while fires raged, had rolling informative coverage during a global pandemic and kept children learning while schools have been shut," Mr Oosting said.

"We're calling on all candidates to commit to fighting for a strong and fully funded ABC if elected.
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juliar
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Re: Labor Pledges To Reverse ABC Funding Cuts
Reply #2 - Jul 1st, 2020 at 7:49pm
 
Just GetUp! propaganda FAKE NEWS. Albo is nothing going nowhere.
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