The announcement of yet another Coalition-initiated Senate inquiry into the ABC and SBS is entirely unwarranted and a further example of this government’s unceasing desire to baldly interfere in the editorial independence of the national public broadcasters, says the union for ABC journalists.
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance calls for an end to the ceaseless political attacks on the independence of the ABC.
“The ABC is A world-leading source of information and entertainment for Australians, an essential service in times of national emergency, and is acknowledged as Australia’s most trusted source of news and current affairs,” said MEAA Chief Executive Paul Murphy.
“The ABC’s complaints handling processes are extremely rigorous and go far beyond those available at other media outlets.
“The ABC has already embarked on its own entirely independent inquiry to look for improvements that could be made, so the Senate inquiry is simply a waste of time, effort and taxpayers’ money.
“The Senate Committee must do better than orchestrate yet another overtly political inquiry into the affairs of our public broadcasters.
“It would be better for the Government to cease interfering in the independence of the ABC and, instead, restore the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding that it has denied the broadcaster since 2014 so that Australians can enjoy the programming and services that they admire and trust.”