With a Federal Election due this year, what support are the candidates in the seat of New England willing to give to the ABC, as the primary independent broadcaster in Australia? To find out, ABC Friends and ABC Alumni have co-developed a set of questions which will be put to candidates in electoral seats across Australia, including New England. We will then hopefully receive responses from each candidate, and be able to report back to you what those responses are by the start of May. A copy of this questionnaire is provided below.
Questionnaire for candidates in the XXXXXX electorate, 2022 federal election
ABC Friends and ABC Alumni are seeking information on your views about the ABC, and your commitment to a strong, properly funded and independent public broadcaster. Your responses will assist us advise our members and voters about candidates’ views in the 2022 election
Responses should be returned to XXXX no later than xxxx.
Candidate’s name Candidate’s signature Date
Please indicate your responses to the following statements (X).
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I support measures that will: |
I agree with this statement and will work to achieve this outcome. |
I disagree with most or all elements of this statement. |
I’m not sure of my views about this statement. |
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1. Guarantee that ABC services will remain independent of government, free-to-air and free-to-access, and publicly funded from consolidated revenue. |
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2. Improve funding certainty and the ABC’s ability to plan ahead, by introducing five- year funding agreements, indexed annually to compensate for inflation. |
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3. Enable the ABC to fulfil its charter obligations, including the provision of comprehensive rural and regional services, by progressively restoring the ABC’s operational budget to the level of funding it received before the budget cuts imposed in 2014. |
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4. Ensure that all ABC Board appointments are made from a short-list selected on merit by an independent non-partisan nominations panel, as laid down in the ABC Act. |
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5. Restore and enhance funding for ABC International, so it can resume its vital role as Australia’s trusted voice in the Asia- Pacific. |
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6. Ensure that good quality ABC radio and television broadcasts can be received throughout rural and regional Australia. |
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Personal views, actions and commitments
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7. What, if any, actions have you taken in the past to show your support for the ABC?? |
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8. What actions will you commit to undertake in the future to support an independent and properly funded ABC, whether or not you are elected? |
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Do you wish to add anything to your previous answers, or have any other comments about the ABC or this questionnaire? |
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Please return your completed questionnaire to XXXXX by 5.00pm on XXXX. Thank you.
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