Since pre-poll voting has begun and apparently is attracting many voters, I thought I had better send you our assessments.
I sent our questionnaires to the main candidates in five electorates of interest – CURTIN, BULLWINKEL, CANNING, TANGNEY and MOORE. There was very little response. No response was received from any One Nation candidate or from the one National candidate (Mia Davies in BULLWINKEL).
Two Liberal candidates sent the Coalition’s standard response – Matt Moran in BULLWINKEL and Andrew Hastie in CANNING. Extracts:
‘The Coalition recognises the unique role the ABC plays in Australia, especially in relation to producing high quality Australian content, in regional Australia and during national emergencies.
We support the current resourcing of the ABC, however it will be held to the same standards of ensuring they spend taxpayer funds responsibly and efficiently….
…The Coalition is committed to the ABC remaining free-to-air and free-to-access for all Australians. The ABC will never be privatised or sold under a Coalition Government….’
I did not receive a completed questionnaire from the Independent MP in CURTIN, Kate Chaney, but Ms Chaney is a strong supporter of the ABC and provided the Friends with a number of promotional videos, one of which can be seen here
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1202037357800158
I received no reply from Ian Goodenough, Independent MP for MOORE, but from another Independent candidate in MOORE, Nathan Barton, I got a response indicating his full support of the Friends’ platform: ‘I agree that the ABC should be properly funded, safeguarded from political interference, and that it remains independent and accessible to all Australians.’
The Greens candidate in MOORE (Scott McCarthy) returned the questionnaire, fully supportive: ‘An independent public broadcaster, free from private or political interests is essential to a healthy democracy. We must protect the ABC.’
No questionnaires sent to Labor candidates in these five electorates were returned officially. However, we met with the Labor candidate for CURTIN, [Dr] Viktor Ko, who is personally very supportive.
‘Part of my training took place in regional WA (Geraldton, Albany and Kalgoorlie)..… I understood how isolating the regions are, and the dominance of local newspapers and cable television (due to sports). Hence ABC programming is essential to bring media balance, and I want this [funding] restored ASAP.’
The Labor member for PERTH, Patrick Gorman, was not surveyed, but provided the Friends with a promotional video
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1708451759880650
The Labor Party had given ABC Friends National a party response. Extracts:
‘…the Albanese Government has provided the ABC with: - stable 5-year funding terms;- additional funding of $55.6 million to extend and roll previously terminating measures (for regional newsgathering and audio description for blind and vision impaired Australians) into ongoing base funding; - additional funding of $40.5 million under the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy, to increase ABC content, transmission and training in the region. … The ABC is a lifeline to Australians in times of crisis, and that’s why the Albanese Government has provided $20 million through the Broadcasting Resilience Program (BRP) to strengthen the resilience of 98 ABC AM and FM radio broadcast sites during natural disasters such as floods and bushfires.
This work includes the provision of emergency power backup batteries, upgraded satellite access and mobile broadcast assets that can be transported to affected sites if transmission fails. These upgrades benefit more than 800,000 regional and remote Australians….The ALP National Platform states that we will properly fund and support the ABC by keeping the ABC in public hands and maintaining the ban on ABC advertising and sponsorship….’
The three major parties had all provided a party response. Here are some extracts from the Greens response:
‘The Greens will safeguard the ABC and SBS from privatisation and rule out ABC iView and SBS on-demand from being put behind a paywall….
…The Greens plan to restore every dollar cut from the ABC’s budget since 2013 will revive the ABC’s budget and enable independent funding for services, including emergency services….
… The Greens will also establish a clear non-partisan process for selecting the board of the ABC. This process will include but is not limited to, legislating the role of the Nomination panel, requiring nominees to come before the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications and be referred to the Minster, as well as requiring the Minister to explain any rejection of a nominee recommended by the panel. This process will ensure the ABC board continually upholds a high standard of journalism and accountability….’
Based on the party responses, and the long memories of ABC Friends, our National Committee produced a summary of major parties’ attitudes to the points of our platform.
Cathy Bardon
ABC Friends WA
President