background briefing .....................5 |
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Friends of the ABC Australia
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"We are but temporary stewards entrusted with this mighty institution."At the national conference Donald McDonald, chairman of the Board of the ABC, had some heartening things to say to us. Below are excerpts from his address. Mr McDonald began by sharing our desire for FABC and the ABC to work positively together for the betterment of the ABC. He went on to say: 'Your public support for the ABC is very important. There are many things you can do to help us which are difficult for the ABC to do in a more formal sense. Your efforts to support the ABC, to argue its case, to sustain and encourage us are greatly appreciated. As is your constructive criticism.' 'Funding remains a critical issue for the Board. We are in the middle of our current three year funding cycle and we are very concerned to secure all the money we need for digital broadcasting as well as proper on-going indexed funding.' On the introduction of digitisation he had this to say: 'One very real possibility is that these streams of new digital services will be swamped by other people's culture, by other people's news and other people's values. And this is where we need to remember that we are Australian. Whilst we need to work with many partners in developing our content, our principal supply of talent, our principal source of inventiveness and programming, which relates directly to Australians, will come from within the ABC.' The Chairman had some encouraging things to say about the future of the ABC: '...there is a need for a special voice which is not just independent, but unifying, different, sane, learned, surprising, quizzical, courageous and Australian.' 'The ABC is a positive force in society: just look at the interest in the televised lecture of John Ralston Saul recently. The ABC is a civilising force. It is the platform of our history. For our views and our differences. 'The ABC will act as a counterweight to rampant commercialism and media concentration of a scale we may not have seen before.' 'Our business is not selling soap. It is ideas. It is culture - not always high brow. We should stick to our guns, stick to our Charter, stick to our principles. They have stood the test of time.' 'I believe the next few years will prove all over again that if they hadn't already invented it, Australians would have needed to start an ABC. |
'Fortunately, we already have it. So our job is to keep it renewed, revitalised and refreshed so that its real value is recognised as widely as possible.' 'In the end the ABC is not mine or yours. It's theirs, the citizens of Australia -past, present and future. 'We are but temporary stewards entrusted with this mighty institution.' When Mr McDonald took questions he was asked about Board member Michael Kroger's call to sell off 49% of ABC On-line . He was unambiguous in his reply - saying it is unimaginable that he could be persuaded to that view. A welcome outcome of our meeting with Mr McDonald was an agreement that we would be provided with a report on board meetings similar to that given to ABC staff.
Changes to the ABC Board In 1999 three members of the ABC board will be replaced when their five year terms expire - John Bannon and Wendy Silver in July and Ian McPhee in December. In addition the board will be seeking a replacement for managing director Brian Johns, whose contract expires in March 2000. This means that by the end of the year, of the nine members of the board, five will be appointees of the present government. Of the two appointed so far , Mr McDonald is a personal friend of the Prime Minister, and Michael Kroger is a powerful Liberal Party power-broker. It remains to be seen how 'political' the next three appointments will be. In opposition Senator Alston, the Minister for Communications, deplored political appointments, and even board members seen as political appointees have a a habit of becoming more independent when on the board. In overt and covert ways the government has attempted to interfere in the ABC - cuts in funding, allegations of bias, making clear to the ABC its expectation that the ABC sell property and outsource television production,while witholding funds needed for digitisation. But the decisions on whether or not to implement many of the changes desired by the government rest with the ABC board. Its role will be crucial in the year ahead. |
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