Page 3004 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 15 August 2018
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this all serves to alienate Canberrans from their local Assembly and from the issues that are happening here and affect them every day.
As has been touched on today, the ABC has a long and proud history in this city. The ABC was launched in 1932, with the broadcast heard across the country. During the Second World War we heard Australia’s first ever female newsreader on the ABC, Margaret Doyle. The radio station 2CM, which today we know as ABC 666 Canberra, started in this city in 1953. ABC television was launched in 1956. A current affairs program was first introduced in the 1960s with Four Corners.
In 1986 we welcomed the 7.30 Report, which has evolved into what we now know as 7.30. At this time we also got Stateline, the local focus version of the 7.30 Report, which started in 1996. Since 2011 we have known our ACT Stateline as 7.30 ACT. Sadly, 7.30 ACT aired for the last time on Friday, 5 December 2014. The program provided a fantastic local focus, with quality stories that celebrated Canberra and profiled local Canberrans and events, as well as conducting serious current affairs reporting on issues that were important and topical to locals. Many current and former members of the Assembly have probably appeared on Stateline or 7.30 ACT. I think we all appreciated the professionalism of that program and its journalists and presenters, perhaps even if we did not always share their interpretation. That, of course, is part of the robustness of a modern Western democracy. Over the years there were many favourite stories and memorable Stateline pieces that stick in our memories. There were stories on the Canberra bushfires, a moving piece about a homeless security guard in Canberra, a story showcasing Namadgi National Park and, of course, in-depth coverage of our local elections.
The local effects of these cuts do not stop at news and current affairs. It has been particularly concerning to see the impact of these cuts on the broadcast of women’s sport. The ABC has previously been a strong supporter of women’s sports, including having broadcast until recently the Women’s National Basketball League, the WNBL, since 1980. The ABC stopped broadcasting the WNBL after the 2014-15 season. The coverage has been an important part of promoting one of our most successful teams in any sport, the Canberra Capitals. It has helped the players and team to earn sponsorship and has helped to promote the excellent quality of women’s sport and our local teams to the broader population.
The WNBL went for two seasons without a TV broadcaster, putting at risk millions of dollars of potential sponsorship money and leaving young girls without the opportunity to see their favourite players—and, for that matter, probably some young men as well. The WNBL has since returned to TV on Fox Sports, which is very welcome. However, we all know that pay TV reaches a much smaller audience than free to air, and therefore the WNBL will not reach as wide an audience as it did on the ABC.
I hold similar concerns about the continued coverage on free to air of Australia’s women’s soccer league, the W-League. 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, which was a very proud moment for the city. The
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