background briefing 3-1 ...............7

What has Mr Shier cost the ABC?

from the records of the Senate Estimates Committee

SACKINGS: redundancy costs to Nov 2000 $5,648,000

INCREASE of 55 senior management positions $7,412,000 However, this figure is from a leaked document and is denied by Mr Shier.

SALARY INCREASES for top-level Directors $635,000 The total cost of executive salaries has risen 28% to $34,340,000

CONSULTANTS' costs Mar-Sept 2000 $746,075

STAFF RECRUITMENT agencies $737,530

The Community & Public Sector Union estimates the cost of getting rid of the former management team and its replacement at $15m.

Many new positions have been created in the area of new media, content rights, and finance. Reportedly $9.3m has been transferred to the newly created Division of Program Content and Development.

The three executive sackings in February - including key Shier appointee Guy Dunstan - are expected to cost another $2m.

One report has said that 105 positions in production will go, and Mr Shier told a Senate committee that 40 producers on full pay but without work would be retrenched and some re-employed on a casual basis.

Costs: the basic problem

The basic underlying affliction suffered by the ABC is the absolute inadequacy of its funding to fulfill its charter obligations. The Howard Government cut 12% or $66m annually, which it has maintained for the second triennial period.

But in this time it has imposed additional obligations upon it: $120m share of the cost of digitisation, production costs for digital channels, increased use of subtext for the hearing impaired, increased costs for overseas programs and now the cost of Mr Shier's sackings, increased executive salaries and restructure.

Since 1996 the ABC has not campaigned against the cuts. It has absorbed them, sacked well over 1000 staff, continued to innovate and done more with less.

Enter Mr Shier with his promise of a flatter management structure, with more money to go into programming, and a 'revitalised' ABC. He told staff he wanted to streamline the ABC and eliminate waste.

What a joke.

Ancillary budgets for RN and Classic FM cut

ABC's radio arts budget has been slashed by 32%, senior sources have confirmed. The cuts will come from production, and mean less money is available for commissioning of artists, including musicians, writers and composers. Arts programs planned for Classic FM and Radio National have been cancelled, with an ABC source saying that scripts were being returned to writers.

The Australian Writers Guild issued a bulletin yesterday calling on members to act. "Given we are halfway through the financial year, this is an appalling scenario which can only result in the suspension of new drama commissions, with the slots being filled instead by repeats."

SMH 25/1/01

However, although the networks were informed of these cuts it seems that funds were found for some of the activities the staff believed had been cancelled. The exact situation regarding ancillary budgets remains confused.

More redundancies and cuts to come

The Managing Director's vision is high risk: he is gambling the limited resources of the ABC in the hope that additional funds are found either from commercial sources or from the government (both state and federal). If the additional funds are not found within a few months, the next round of redundancies and program cuts will commence.

GRAEME THOMSON CPSU