| George Negus Tonight axed & Gardening Australia uprooted. |
| November 2004 |
| George Negus Tonight axed & Gardening Australia uprooted. How successful regional production will be sacrificed to build regional production! To understand why George Negus Tonight (GNT) was shut down and why Gardening Australia is to be moved, it is necessary to go back in time. The national broadcaster, in spirit and at law, is meant to be independent of government. Its charter, contained in the ABC Act, outlines in broad terms the functions of the ABC. Imagine what you would and would not hear on the ABC if any government was allowed to determine its programming. Click on heading above for more. |
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| George Negus Tonight axed & Gardening Australia uprooted. How successful regional production will be sacrificed to build regional production! To understand why George Negus Tonight (GNT) was shut down and why Gardening Australia is to be moved, it is necessary to go back in time. The national broadcaster, in spirit and at law, is meant to be independent of government. Its charter, contained in the ABC Act, outlines in broad terms the functions of the ABC. Imagine what you would and would not hear on the ABC if any government was allowed to determine its programming! While the amount of funding the national broadcaster receives is important, the manner in which funding is delivered is critical. The present Government is seeking to control the ABC through funding – by starving the ABC of funds, and through the manner in which it delivers funds. The Howard Government cut the ABC’s triennial funding by $66 million (12%) per annum shortly after its election to office in 1996. Triennial funding is important because it promotes an arms-length relationship from government that protects the ABC’s independence. The Government has since restored only a small proportion of funds – providing those funds on a one-off basis for specific purposes. Funding in this manner undermines the ABC’s independence because it is an intrusion of government into ABC planning and programming. In May 2001 – the time of notorious ABC managing director Jonathan Shier, not a year in which ABC funding would usually be addressed, and an election year – the Government provided one-off funds. Those funds, titled National Interest Initiatives (NII), were targeted for electoral advantage, to be used for regional service initiatives. NII was extended in 2004, again an election year. It is not clear how the ABC shuffles its internal funding to meet the Government’s criteria or expectations for use of NII for new regional initiatives. What Friends of the ABC does know, is that NII money was used to fund Australia Talks (an earlier George Negus program), and that the contract for George Negus Tonight, largely produced in Melbourne, expired in November this year. In late October, GNT was informed its contract would not be renewed, and the ABC issued a media release, titled "Good news for regional Australia". The ABC has announced that new programming will be created in West Australia, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. Recently, the ABC head of General Factual, Denise Eriksen, met with ABC Gardening Australia staff in Tasmania to inform them that Gardening Australia was to be moved to Melbourne. She explained: funds used to make George Negus Tonight can no longer be used to fund Sydney or Melbourne production units and have to be allocated to other states for new initiatives. Gardening Australia will be moved from Tasmania - to replace production work lost in Melbourne as the result of GNT finishing. Moving GNT away from Tasmania will also free up Hobart to make new regional programmes, allowing the ABC to book Tasmanian production against the NII budget. Despite the ABC Managing Director Russell Balding since refuting Eriksen’s explanation to staff, he has failed to provide alternative reasons for George Negus Tonight being axed. Similarly, the ABC failed to respond to a request several months earlier to explain to Friends of the ABC how the broadcaster goes about determining television programming. It appears the ABC is using NII funds to continue to create new regional programs, with the fanfare that surrounds announcements of new programming, at the expense of existing regional programs. George Negus Tonight and Gardening Australia may well be the victims of efforts of the ABC Board and senior management to meet the expectations of the Government. Take action, as follows: Let the ABC Board know what you expect from your ABC. Remind the Board it is responsible for upholding the ABC’s independence from government: GPO Box 9994 Sydney 2001 And complain to the Government about the ABC’s funding: Parliament House, Canberra 2600 If the ABC does not receive adequate triennial funding, increasingly, different interests and areas in the community will be forced to compete against each other for their share of the ABC. And those who win in the short-term may well lose next time around. |
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