background briefing .....................6

Introducing Penny Wright, National Spokesperson

Penny Wright is a lawyer and has also worked as a lecturer. She has three children, aged 3,6 and 9 (and a very supportive partner!) Penny has been President of the South Australian Friends for three years.

I am honoured to take up pen (well, mouse, in these computerised times) and greet you as the new National Spokesperson. And what a great opportunity to have a national newsletter to do it in.

I was born in 1961 in Red Cliffs, Victoria, a little town about 10 miles from Mildura, which was the 'Big Smoke'. We didn't have television in those early years so all our entertainment came from radio and the local community. My mother was very keen on books, plays, 'talks' by visiting speakers and music, and would go to whatever ''cultural' offerings were available, which were fairly sparse. Because of that I grew up with a background of classical music playing on 3AR, interspersed with Blue Hills and the kids' programs like Kindergarten of the Air, Let's join in, and later The Argonauts. I think these early days of listening to radio were excellent training in listening skills, imagination and concentration and so I am disappointed that there are now no children's programs on ABC radio.

I studied law at Melbourne University, practised as a solicitor for four years and then travelled for 18 months by bicycle with my partner in Europe, carrying a little portable radio that we would listen to at night in our tent. We also worked in London and had a chance to sample British broadcasting.

Back in Adelaide with a baby I discovered how isolating motherhood can be in a new city. I found that ABC radio kept me stimulated and in touch with the world outside nappies and feeds. In fact, I think I was better informed about news, issues, world events and ideas at that time than at any other time in my life. I felt part of a community of people listening in to their favourite programs.

ABC radio kept me sane and ABC television was the icing on the cake at night, with its dramas, comedies and documentaries. At that time I came to appreciate just how much my quality of life depended on the existence of the ABC and the stimulating, intelligent programming it offered.

Now my three children are older, I am grateful that there is a channel I can turn to where they can watch quality programs from a diversity of sources (and not predominantly from the US). I also know that when watching ABC TV they won't be subject to the blandishments of advertisements which have been deliberately contrived by highly paid adults to seduce young minds.

I asked Penny what motivated her to take on her new exacting role with so many other demands on her time.

Well, I am passionate about the ABC's contribution to the moral and intellectual life of Australia. The ABC programs I enjoy are replete with values and ideas. The best of ABC programming is brilliant; it goes below the surface, challenging, informing and entertaining me. It enriches my understanding of what it is to be human, what it is to be humane.

On the ABC I can still hear speak of old-fashioned notions like compassion, equity and the public good, and even the word 'value' itself used to refer to things other than a dollar price. I can watch or listen without being importuned to buy happiness or advance myself at the expense of someone else. The ABC tells me intelligent stories about the wide world and my own community. And it is available to everyone, regardless of their income.

What is it that makes the ABC so different? I believe there is something irreplaceable about the concept of the 'public' in 'public broadcasting'. It is becoming increasingly clear that the idea of public broadcasting is anathema to those who believe everything should be owned and milked for profit by private interests, but the best ABC program-makers are dedicated to their craft and still serve no god but the love of broadcasting for its own sake.

And so, I feel I must do what I can do to defend this institution against those who would dismantle it or tear out the guts of its independence.

What a dull, soul-less, tawdry world it would be without our ABC.

PENNY WRIGHT