Topics: ABC and SBS funding arrangements.
E&OE…
CALLUM DENNESS
The Communications Minister, Scott Ryan, is today going to outline the extent of ABC budget cuts. Do you think the ABC has a problem with bias?
SCOTT RYAN
I think that it’s fair to say that the concern that some have expressed of the ABC – that there aren’t many Liberal or conservative type voices across the breadth of its programming – I think that’s a legitimate concern. It’s not for me to tell the ABC how to run their organisation, though, it’s independent. And I don’t want my comment there misconstrued with that because the ABC is given an amount of funding, but I don’t think that should make it free from criticism either.
DENNESS
So, is there any coincidence between the fact that there seems to be a strong anti-ABC sentiment here and the Government is cutting its funding, which Labor are saying is a broken promise, given Tony Abbott’s commitments prior to the election?
RYAN
Well, I don’t think there is any connection whatsoever. I mean, as Malcolm outlined on Q&A on Monday night – I didn’t watch it, but I read about the comments the following day – he has indicated that will be in the order of five per cent. I don’t think we can forget how dire Australia’s budgetary situation is. I mean, we’ve still got a Budget deficit on an annual basis in the tens of billions of dollars, and Labor is stymieing all the efforts we’re making just to bring that back into balance. Not to pay it off – the debt they ran up – just to bring it back into balance so that we stop borrowing.
But as Malcolm outlined, it’s not unreasonable then, when times get tough, to ask all parts of government to tighten their belt a little bit. And seeking five per cent in efficiency savings from any organisation that large, without affecting its core business of programming, as Malcolm outlined, should be easy. And he has extensive business experience. Five per cent savings from the back office, from administration, should be entirely achievable without impacting programming.
DENNESS
Ed Husic, can I ask you – other public departments have had to meet efficiency dividends, why shouldn’t the ABC?
ED HUSIC
A number of things – firstly, the Coalition said that both the ABC and SBS would be shielded from that. They said, and principally the Prime Minister as an opposition leader, made a commitment – no cuts to the ABC or SBS. And what we have now is the curtain has been drawn on yet another lie. That is, we’ve seen revealed the fact that the Coalition cannot make a promise without breaking it in the next breath and they’ve done it with the ABC and SBS. If they were going to do this, they should’ve been upfront with the Australian people before the election and not gone round on a roadshow – a promise roadshow – where they had made, as part of a big clump of promises, the commitment on the ABC and SBS.
And what I found surprising a few moments ago is that Coalition figures like Scott Ryan can hardly contain themselves in pointing to the fact that they believe there is bias in the ABC, and then trying to say that this shouldn’t be construed as the reason behind the cut. Rubbish! These people cannot wait for a cut to the ABC and SBS – it’s like they think they don’t have enough conservative cheerleaders in the Australian media at the moment, and they’re going to ensure that every aspect of Australian life has a conservative cheerleader there and if they don’t get it they’ll cut their way to getting it. And that’s what we’re seeing here.
But what’s interesting to note, too, is that while there might be Liberals that think there’s bias in the ABC, there are a lot of National Party supporters who believe in the value of the ABC in delivering information that is important to them and to their way of life in regional Australia. And I imagine that there will be some concern about this in National Party heartland and if National MPs have any strength in their spine they will be arguing against this cut because it will impact, potentially, on the programs that deliver value to regional Australia.
DENNESS
Senator, it would be fair to label this as a pretty clear broken promise, wouldn’t it? The Prime Minister did say there would be no cuts to the ABC and SBS and here we have a five per cent cut.
RYAN
As Malcolm outlined on Monday – Malcolm had, at length spoken, and as the shadow spokesperson at the time – had outlined that efficiency savings from the back office actually were not ruled out, and there was a long discussion about that on Q&A, and he pointed out that the comments that the Prime Minister, then the opposition leader, made were made in that context.
DENNESS
But you can understand why ordinary punters sitting at home seeing the Prime Minister say ‘there will be no cuts to the ABC or SBS’ may be surprised to hear that the Government is indeed making quite large cuts?
RYAN
I think all Australians – actually, let’s put it in context, it’s not a large cut. There are efficiency dividends on every aspect of government over the last few years, and indeed in Labor’s time in office, that have cumulatively amounted to a much greater amount of funding cuts. What this is, is seeking from the ABC and SBS a small contribution relative to other areas of government and relative to the contribution that the entire community is being asked to bear to clean up the financial disaster we’ve inherited from Labor. You know, when people talk about balancing the Budget, we have to remember that if we balance the Budget tomorrow that would not actually deal with a single dollar of the debt – the $200 billion-plus in debt – that Labor have accumulated over five short years.
HUSIC
That type of verbal gymnastics, it is just so shoddy. This is cirque du so lame by the Coalition when they say…
RYAN
[Interrupts] I’m not that nimble, Ed.HUSIC
… ‘oh, it’s only about efficiency dividends. We only spoke about efficiency dividends’. You didn’t – you said ‘no cut to the ABC or SBS’ and people will see exactly through that.
DENNESS
Okay gentlemen, we’ll have to leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us.
RYAN
Thank you.
HUSIC
Thanks.
(Ends)