Page 493 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 8 March 2006
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The taxpayer currently pays 10c a day for an ABC which runs 60 local radio stations, four national radio networks, ABC Online, TV stations, digital TV and a number of other services as well. What is the impact of too little funding? First of all, last year Four Corners, which I think most people would agree is a pre-eminent documentary program, was only able to afford to make 26 out of the 41 programs that it chose. It is true we saw some quality programs from overseas that we were interested in but it is very hard to imagine the ABC having the resources to do hard, cutting analysis of the type that resulted in the investigation of Queensland police back in the eighties, I think it was. I am not sure. It is very hard to imagine the ABC having the resources, or indeed the political freedom, to do that kind of work now.
Any question of cutting funding to triple J, the youth station, will have a dire impact on the Australian music scene. It provides air time and an audience across Australia for emerging talent. But this was exactly the part of triple J’s program, which was cut out of the 1996 ABC budget. This is an area where Australia has potential for economic growth, apart from just thinking about giving our musicians an audience. It is not really possible to become a world famous band or even a nationally famous band unless there is a setting in which your music can be heard and nurtured.
This is also true of drama. Locally produced drama is at an all time low. I think I heard Ms Porter say 20 hours, compared with 102 hours in 2001. That is enormous—20 hours compared with 102 hours. The cost of drama production is rising at a higher rate than the indexation of ABC’s base funding. Yet local drama provides opportunities to Australian writers and actors and all the other expertise needed to make a successful program. Think of Brides of Christ and Seachange for starters and how many actors they brought to our attention. Cate Blanchett, an excellent actor who struts the stage and brings welcome attention to Australia, first came to our attention on the ABC program Heartland, along with indigenous actor Ernie Dingo.
Whether we like it or not, television provides services to parents with young children. Many children spend more time than is good for them in front of the TV. It is better for their health and development if they are not subjected to a string of advertisements for unnecessary toys or unhealthy food. Therefore the ABC provides a crucial service to families and it needs more money to increase its hours of local children’s television.
Radio Australia plays an important role in our relationships with Asian and Pacific countries, yet its funding was halved in 1995-96 by an ALP government. I believe that that has been restored to some extent, but given our concerns about our region in which we were willing to spend millions and millions of defence dollars, how about a few dollars for the ABC to improve our relationships? Where would we have been in the bushfires without our local radio station?
A 2002 study by Macquarie bank showed that the ABC was ranked 16th out of 17 public broadcasters in terms of government funding in developed countries. We know that most Australians, when they are asked, support the independence of the ABC. The community education role that the ABC plays will be particularly important to an ageing population. It is already important for people who lack mobility and there is a great deal more that the ABC could do in this area.
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