Western Australia

  1. Home
  2. Get Involved
  3. Western Australia

Western Australia

Welcome to ABC Friends Western Australia (WA)

Join ABC Friends WA

If you are new to ABC Friends, click on the JOIN button above. If you just want to renew your membership without setting up an account, click here and complete the membership form. Your details will be automatically updated if they have changed.

If you wish to set up an account, with a password, or have already done so, login here. Having an account enables you to change your own details at any time.

Latest News from WA

Candidate questionnaire responses in WA

We did try to find candidates’ responses on support for the ABC. ABC Friends WA sent emails to all candidates (those we could get contact details for) in the electorates of Cowan, Curtin, Hasluck, Pearce, O’Connor, and Swan.

ABC Friends WA at Northam Market

ABC Friends ignored the weather forecast and went ahead with its plan to hold a stall at the Lions Club of Northam’s Saturday morning market on 5th February.

ABC Friends WA held stalls in two Perth suburbs in late 2021

We held a stall at the Victoria Park Community Market in John Macmillan Park on 14 November.

ABC Friends WA AGM 2021

This year’s AGM was held, again, as both an in-person event and a teleconference, because of WA border restrictions due to Covid 19.

ABC Friends WA Annual General Meeting 2021

When: Sunday 24 October 2021, 1 o’clock for a 1.30pm start, to 3.30 pm AWST. Guest speaker at approx. 2.15pm. Where: ABC Studios Perth, 30 Fielder St, East Perth and online.

Latest news in WA September 2021

This year the WA committee tried to reach a younger audience by holding a stall at Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) Mt. Lawley campus Open Day on Sunday, 18 April.

ABC Friends WA AGM 2020

This year’s AGM was held, for the first time, as both an in-person event and a teleconference. The in-person event was well attended, despite a new venue (the ABC not being available due to tight COVID restrictions on entry to the building). Unfortunately, only a handful of people joined us online despite a much higher number of RSVPs. If you didn’t catch it, there’s a link to a recording below.

ABC Friends WA billboard

Heading south along Albany Highway in September? Look out for our billboard at Kojonup Airstrip.

You're invited to the ABC Friends WA Christmas Dinner

ABC Friends WA will be holding a Christmas Dinner on December 2 with special guests Gillian O’Shaughnessy and her husband Glynn Greensmith.

Read earlier news items here

Get Involved with ABC Friends Western Australia

Email [email protected] to find out how you can get involved.

We organise our own events and activities including:

  • organising community stalls
  • lobbying Federal MPs
  • letter writing
  • fund raising 
  • doing social media and website content
  • and MORE!

About Us

ABC Friends WA Incorporated was established under the name ‘Friends of the ABC (WA) Inc.’ in 1996 in reaction to an observed need for a support group for the national broadcaster.

Please click here to view our constitution.

ABC Friends WA is an Incorporated Association managed by a Committee of volunteers elected each year at the AGM. The Committee is closely connected to the membership and, as a community-based organisation, is wholly dependent on the support of its members. ABC Friends is not aligned to any political party and operates independently of the ABC.

We have members in all areas of metropolitan Perth and in regional areas from Broome to the South West. Each year we hold an Annual General Meeting in Perth to which all members are invited, with a speaker of interest to our membership.

During the year we attend community events that have a bearing on the ABC (such as media freedom, about which we also ran a forum in 2019); seek opportunities to inform the public (such as people waiting for a tour of the ABC at the ‘Open House’ held annually at the ABC Perth Centre); run a stall at the annual Fremantle Festival on the Esplanade, lobby WA-based politicians, and similar activities as they arise.  We also have a local presence on our WA Facebook page and on Twitter.

Our goals are the same as those of ABC Friends nationally - you can see them here. We have specific State concerns as well:

  • The reduction in ABC TV production in Perth since 1999. To see this in detail click here.
  • The under-utilisation of the purpose-built ABC Building in Perth.
  • The reduction in coverage of WA news and other cultural events, including the lack of publicity for WA events.
  • The ending of ABC short-wave coverage, which affects remote and regional users.

Committee Members

Full committee biographies available here.

  • President/National Committee representative: Bobbie Mackley
  • Vice-President: Robert McCormack
  • Secretary/National Committee representative: Cathy Bardon
  • Treasurer: Liz Millward
  • Henry Bateman
  • Terri Brown
  • Michael Dowling
  • Eric Findlay
  • Jenny Meyrick

Contacts

Phone: 0422 489 711 (Bobbie Mackley - business hours)
Email: [email protected]

Postal Address: PO Box 534, Subiaco, WA, 6904

Facebook: ABC Friends WA Inc.

Twitter: @abcfriendswa

Join ABC Friends Western Australia