The hallmark of a good Government is that it rejects bad policy. For the Howard Government, the May budget provides an opportunity to abandon the bad policy decisions it has made concerning the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The National Committee of Friends of the ABC released today the 1997-98 budget submission that it has made to the Commonwealth Government. The Committee urges the Howard Government fulfil its election promise and maintain current (1995-96) levels of funding to the ABC.

The ABC provides essential broadcasting services to the nation. It is a bedrock public institution, akin to the public service, the courts and the parliaments, and is diminished at a cost to society in general. However, the operations of the ABC cannot be considered without assessing the budget of the Corporation and the level of funding provided by the Government.

From 1983-84 to 1995-96, the trend rate in real appropriations declined by almost eight per cent. According to official budget figures, for the five year period from 1986-87 to 1990-91 real funds appropriated for the ABC averaged $543 million. In the following five year period real appropriations averaged $519 million.

On top of this, the Howard Government implemented arbitrary funding reductions - in clear breach of its unqualified election promise.

The challenges facing the ABC are considerable. Funds in the order of $200 million are required to convert from analogue to digital. In addition, Australian content broadcast on television has slumped to record low levels. The fact is that the capacity of the ABC to commission new Australian work has been substantially damaged by funding cuts.

The National Committee of Friends of the ABC is not asking for much, just the full implementation of the Coalition's Better Broadcasting policy.

25 February 1997

Further Information:
June Factor: 0419 557 844
Chas Savage: (06) 257 4810

ATTACHMENT 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) provides essential broadcasting services to the nation. It is a bedrock public institution, akin to the public service, the courts and the parliaments, and is diminished at a cost to society in general.

Friends of the ABC (FABC) agree with the specific comments of Mr Bob Mansfield that "A strong and effective ABC is still greatly valued by the people of Australia. It is seen as making a vital contribution to the social fabric of the nation and the development of a distinctive Australian culture".

Funding

The future operations of the ABC cannot be considered without assessing the budget of the Corporation and the level of funding that is provided by Government. They are separate, but ultimately related issues.

From 1983-84 to 1995-96, the trend rate in real appropriations declined by almost eight per cent. For the five year period from 1986-87 to 1990-91 real funds appropriated for the ABC averaged $542.75 million. In the following five year period real appropriations averaged $519.28: a reduction of some $20 million per annum.

As part of its reorganisation called One ABC, the ABC Board has already announced savings of $27 million per annum. This means that, for $55 million in savings to be made, additional cuts of $28 million need to be found. This will reduce already diminished staffing levels by another 600.

Australian Content

The ability of the ABC to produce Australian programs of a high standard is diminished by funding reductions. Australian-produced drama costs between $100,000 to $200,000 per hour while imported drama typically costs commercial networks about $40,000 per hour. In comparison, a GP-style program costs an estimated $350,000 per hour, and Police Rescue costs around $800,000 per hour.

The economics of production mean that Australian content is swamped by imports (in the form of programs bought overseas, or programs based on an overseas format, with little creative input from Australian producers).

As a proportion of total television hours broadcast by ABC television, Australian content has declined in recent years from 57 per cent in 91-92 to 54 per cent in 1994-95. In evidence to the 1995 Senate Select Committee on ABC Management and Operations the then managing director of the ABC indicated that it would cost $100 million to bring Australian content from 55 per cent to 90 per cent.

Regional Services

The expansion of radio networks by the ABC means there is no longer a strict divide between country and city. Increasingly, Australians living in regional and rural areas are provided with listening choices.

FABC regard it as essential that the ABC continues to provide the full range of broadcasting services to Australians in both urban and regional areas. However, because of the inter-dependent nature of ABC broadcasting, no single service, such as regional radio, can be quarantined from the effect of funding reductions.

Radio Australia and Australia Television

FABC concur with the view of the Coalition, as expressed in Better Broadcasting that: "The Coalition is strongly supportive of radio Australia's existing services and will ensure that they are not prejudiced or downgraded in any way".

It is in Australia's national interests for Radio Australia (RA) and Australia Television (ATV) to continue as independant, quality public broadcasters. Both are held in high regard in the countries of the Asia Pacific region because they are independent of government and commercial interests.

Outsourcing of television production

Mr Mansfield admitted he was "not able to obtain a reliable comparison of the production costs of the ABC and the independent production sector because of the different methods used and their lack of transparency". The ABC should be required to develop a comprehensive process and clear criteria to determine both the financial and creative benefits of increased outsourcing. This would be finalised, and released for public scrutiny, prior to any decisions being made on the sale of production facilities and infrastructure.

Digitisation and New Technology

The reality of technological change (so-called digitisation) is that the ABC must convert from analogue to digital; the cost has been estimated at around $200 million. As a matter of urgency, the budget task and process of digitisation needs to be defined precisely and clearly by the ABC. To protect programs and services, the Government should fund the ABC, by means of a one-off grant to enable the process of conversion to proceed.