Page 4170 - Week 13 - Thursday, 27 November 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
2XX when they lost their broadcast licence for a week, which was particularly memorable for one of my staff who worked at 2XX at the time. Our local 7.30 ACT will end. They will shortly broadcast a final and no doubt nostalgic and probably somewhat sad program, and this will be a very sorry loss for Canberra.
But the local impacts of these cuts do not stop here. As I have said in my recent media comments, I am particularly concerned about the impacts that the ABC cuts will have on women’s sports. As we all know, the ABC has for many years been a strong supporter of netball, women’s cricket and since 1980 has broadcast the Women’s National Basketball League, the WNBL. The ABC’s final WNBL game will be the grand final, scheduled for 8 March next year.
It remains to be seen how or what will replace the ABC’s role as the national broadcaster. The ABC coverage has been an important part of promoting our local women’s team, the Canberra Capitals, around the country, helping them to earn sponsorship, helping to promote the excellent quality of women’s sport and our local team to the broader population.
The same is true for the W-League, women’s soccer. We have watched women’s football grow from strength to strength, and the free-to-air televising of this sport has helped cement its place in the Australian sporting landscape. Our Canberra United team were the W-League premiers in 2013-14, a proud moment for this city and the many supporters of the team in green. Who knows where women’s soccer will go from here. It will certainly be more difficult.
I must acknowledge that the decision to pull these programs fell to the ABC board, as it did with all the program changes I have described. But the sheer quantum of cuts forces these decisions to be considered and to be made.
The void left by the ABC no longer broadcasting these sports will impact not just friends, families and fans around the country tuning in to watch elite women’s sports but also reduce the exposure of positive role models for young women. Further, there is a very real risk that the competitors and the competitions will suffer as players, clubs and leagues struggle even harder to gain sponsorship.
These cuts to the ABC are bad for Canberra, for our local identity, for our ability to have local information and for our local democracy. In democratic societies such as ours we use the news media to help us make decisions about who will represent us in parliament and make laws on our behalf. A diverse and objective news media is essential to help us make the right decision.
The media is essential to a healthy democracy, for two key reasons. It helps to ensure that citizens make responsible, informed choices when they go to the ballot box and their general participation as citizens in an active democracy. And widely available and accurate information serves an important oversight function by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video