Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. quarterly newsletter June-July 2003 Vol 14, No. 6 incorporating background briefing national magazine friends of the abc Page 1 u p d at e “The ABC is very disappoint- ed. We argued in a logical, con- sistent and candid manner, that without a modest increase in our budget, programs would suffer. The Government has decided to reject that request in the full knowledge that it would have a negative effect on ABC pro- gramming. The ABC must now assess its position. Hard deci- sions must be made The Board will need to con- sider the ramifications...over the coming months. This low-key statement by ABC Managing Director, Russell Balding, was the cor- poration’s initial reply to the Government’s very pointed Budget in which the ABC received not one additional cent. “Hard decision” were con- fronted swiftly: within days, Russell Balding had announced the closure of ABC Digital TV. It will run only until June 30. “The difficult decision has been made as a result of the inability of the ABC to secure funds for these services in this year’s Federal budget,” Balding said. “This is the first of several hard decisions the ABC will make over the coming months concerning its output.” Friends of the ABC (FABC) said the closure of national Digital TV was a blow to the ABC’s status, coverage and creativity, but it was a prospect the ABC had foreshadowed, subject to funding. Continued on Page 5 Lamenting Digital TV Cartoon courtesy Clement and The Sydney Morning Herald On Sentry Go The Bias Barricades Where the ABC is concerned, you can never afford to lower your guard. Its 70th birthday had been celebrated appro- priately, the Shier era of bad memory was over, Russell Balding was confirmed successor, the Government seemed to be toning down its sometimes strident attacks on the Corporation, outstanding issues were basic, not tumultuous and amongst those of us ‘heaving a sigh of relief’ there was a widespread feeling that we could also draw breath. Wrong! The ‘peace’ was disrupted in May. The ‘rough winds shook’ but for the ABC there was nothing merry or darling about it: With no increase in ABC funding, Russell Balding, with no dilly-dallying, disman- tled ABC Digital TV. The government was embarrassed and furious. So no sooner had Balding cut, then Senator Santoro (Qld.) launched into a tirade about instances of ‘ABC editorial bias’, a proposition quantified with his ministerial colleague, Senator Alston, as a list of 68 allegations of anti- Americanisms committed by AM. Shrewder or illusion-less veterans saw it somewhat differently. NSW FABC President Gary Cook noted the Government’s discomfort over other matters - the GG, the Prime Ministerial wine bill, another Amnesty International attack on us and Mr Howard’s hotel bill in Rome. Continued on Page 6 Inside: President’s Report..............................3 Bias Report Continued.......................7 ABC Chairman Writes to Alston..........7 ABC Budget Decline.....................10-11 U.S. Media Ownership Lessons........12 GATS, FTA & SAFTA........................ 13 Brunton’s Appointment..................... 15
Transcript
Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc.q u a rt e rly new s l e t t e rJu n e - Ju ly 2003 Vol 14, N o. 6
i n c o rp o rat i n gb a ck ground briefingnational magazine
friends of the abc
Page 1
u p d at e
“The ABC is very disappoint-ed. We argued in a logical, con-sistent and candid manner, t h a twithout a modest increase inour budget, programs wouldsuffer.
The Government has decidedto reject that request in the fullknowledge that it would have anegative effect on ABC pro-gramming. The ABC must nowassess its position. Hard deci-sions must be made
The Board will need to con-sider the ramifications...over thecoming months.
This low-key statement byABC Managing Director,Russell Balding, was the cor-poration’s initial reply to theGovernment’s very pointedBudget in which the ABCreceived not one additionalc e n t .
“Hard decision” were con-fronted swiftly: within days,Russell Balding had announcedthe closure of ABC Digital TV.It will run only until June 30.
“The difficult decision hasbeen made as a result of theinability of the ABC to securefunds for these services in thisyear’s Federal budget,”Balding said.
“This is the first of severalhard decisions the ABC willmake over the coming monthsconcerning its output.”
Friends of the ABC (FABC)said the closure of nationalDigital TV was a blow to theABC’s status, coverage andcreativity, but it was a prospectthe ABC had foreshadowed,subject to funding.
Continued on Page 5
Lamenting Digital TVCartoon courtesy Clement and The Sydney Morning Herald
On Sentry Go T h eBias Barricades
Where the ABC is concerned, you can neverafford to lower your guard.
Its 70th birthday had been celebrated appro-priately, the Shier era of bad memory was over,Russell Balding was confirmed successor, theGovernment seemed to be toning down itssometimes strident attacks on the Corporation,outstanding issues were basic, not tumultuousand amongst those of us ‘heaving a sigh ofrelief’ there was a widespread feeling that wecould also draw breath. Wrong! The ‘peace’ wasdisrupted in May. The ‘rough winds shook’ butfor the ABC there was nothing merry or darlingabout it: With no increase in ABC funding,Russell Balding, with no dilly-dallying, disman-tled ABC Digital TV. The government wasembarrassed and furious.
So no sooner had Balding cut, then SenatorSantoro (Qld.) launched into a tirade aboutinstances of ‘ABC editorial bias’, a propositionquantified with his ministerial colleague, SenatorAlston, as a list of 68 allegations of anti-Americanisms committed by AM.
Shrewder or illusion-less veterans saw itsomewhat differently. NSW FABC PresidentGary Cook noted the Government’s discomfortover other matters - the GG, the PrimeMinisterial wine bill, another AmnestyInternational attack on us and Mr Howard’shotel bill in Rome.
In an age of uncertainty,where does the truth lie?
In late March the Northern Rivers FABC branchwas addressed by the Executive Producer ofForeign Correspondent Greg Wilesmith – a meetingcrowded by Friends, other local people and highschool and university students.
Greg spoke about his varied experiences inBrussels, the Balkans, the Middle East and Africaunder a universal heading - "The Role of theForeign Correspondent in an Age of Uncertainty".
His comments on conflict in the Gulf Region hadparticular relevance, given the events then unfoldingin Iraq.
After his address, question time ran to an hourand he shared some particularly memorable andharrowing moments from an eventful career.
Northern Rivers FABC branch President NevilleJennings said after the meeting:
”Those who attended were treated to a firsthand account of modern day journalism. Greg gavea timely warning that in an age of uncertainty weshould keep in mind that no media source has amonopoly on the truth. We are indebted to him formaking time in his busy schedule to share insightson the role of the foreign correspondent with us. Wealso thank him for addressing a group of journalismstudents and lecturers at Southern Cross Universityin the afternoon.”
Mr Jennings said the branch planned to run sim-ilar events later in the year in Lismore and ByronBay. Further details would be posted on thebranch web site at: http://home.iprimus.com.au/web-formation/friendsabcnr
ABC OnLine Covered ‘BeefAustralia 2003’
Held in Rockhampton, Queensland24 April - 4 May, Beef 2003 was a signature event forthe Australian beef industry.The Queensland CountryHour team was on-site, and specialist online reporterscovered all the news and colour in Rockhampton.
The expo included1800 head of cattle representing30 different breeds,making it one of the largest beefexhibitions in the world
It's not all serious beef business just take a look atthe singing butchers belting out their latest hit,Amazing Steak
C e n t ral Coast Bra n ch More Ideas Please!
Central Coast FABC is keen to keep its program of anencounter with guest speakers going. Two more areplanned for August and November. Guest speakers arebeing arranged.
Cost of course is a factor. Central Coast Convenor,John Hale, says the Committee is exploring methodsof fund raising and invites suggestions from members.29 members have given the branch their emailaddresses; would others who haven’t done so pleasenotify John at [email protected]
The branch enjoys a venue at no cost in the CentralCoast Leagues Club - an ideal central location forwhich the branch is most grateful … but other costshave to be met.
Bathurst BranchWearing of the Green
FABC Bathurst looked back to the city’s colonialorigins this month with an Irish night in a pub, on theeve of Bloomsday. If any blarney was involved it wasto persuade patrons not only to support the ABC butto sign up and join the Friends.
Replete with great Irish food and grog, theevening included prizes and giveaways that were inthe mood.
So in the comfort of a roomy, fire-warmed lounge(alas, no peat) in the Family Hotel, Bentinck Street,guests, patriots all, were invited - expected - toentertain with dramatic sketches, verse, readings,music and song... impromptu if you liked but featur-ing local and national talent, including BlueMountains FABC president, writer and actor JohnDerum, well known for many distinguished roles, par-ticularly that of C.J Dennis.
Page 3
When our lastedition went to print,war in the Gulf wasimminent. Of course,history will record the
events of March/April 2003 and wehave our personal views of the just-ness or otherwise of that war.
It was hardly a surprise though,that the Communications Minister,Senator Alston, should launch into anattack on the ABC program, AM andthe Director of News and CurrentA ffairs, Max Uechritz for what healleged was a serious anti-Americanbias in its coverage of the war. SenatorAlston and his staff trawled throughtapes of AM from 21 March to 14 A p r i l ,citing more than sixty examples –“where it appears that appropriate jour-nalistic standards may not have beenupheld”.
Most of the allegations are absurdand totally lacking in objectivity. Itwould be no more difficult to find asmany examples which, to a reasonableperson, would convey the impressionof being pro-American or pro-Coalition.
Senator Alston readily reminds theABC and the Australian people that theABC is funded by the taxpayer.Perhaps it is now time to deliver a notso gentle reminder to the Minister thathe and his staff are also paid by thetaxpayer and, as such, should havebetter things to do than embark onwitch hunts. Staff of the ABC are alsobetter served in creating and deliveringquality public broadcasting thananswering the Minister’s baseless alle-gations.
The A B C ’s charter dictates that it isaccountable to Federal Parliament, notthe Government of the day, as SenatorAlston asserts, and nowhere in thatcharter is the ABC obliged to echo orsupport the opinions or policies of theUnited States administration.
Preceding the Minister’s attack onthe independence of the ABC, due tothe Government ignoring the A B C ’sTriennial Funding submission for addi-tional funds, it was forced to axe itsmultichannel television services, FLYTV and ABC Kids.
Senator Alston sought to blamethe ABC for the closure of its digitaltelevision channels by claiming thatfunding had been maintained in “real
terms”. This, of course, ignored the factthat, as minister, Senator Alston oncoming to office in 1996, carved 12%from the ABC budget. A recent studyby Macquarie Bank reveals that A B Cfunding, in real terms, has fallen by$200 million since 1986. The ABC con-tinues to provide more with lessresources – but there is a limit to thosee fforts.
Immediately after the budget, T h eAustralian newspaper issued a particu-larly vicious attack on ABC competenceand balance – a bit rich coming fromthe Murdoch camp after the coverageof the Gulf war on its Fox Newschannel.
At the beginning of May, the longawaited announcement of the replace-ment on the ABC Board for MichaelKroger was made by the Minister.P r e d i c t a b l y, in the person of Dr RonBrunton, another political appointmenthas been made. From 1995 – 2001, DrBrunton was at the Institute of PublicA ffairs, a Melbourne based neo-liberalthink tank, consistently and openlyantagonistic towards the ABC.
On 27 March, the FederalOpposition announced that they wouldadopt a transparent and non-partisanprocess for filling Board vacancieswhich would be similar to the Nolanrules in the UK.
During May, talks resumed inHawaii between representatives ofAustralia and the U.S. in negotiating aFree Trade Agreement (FTA). T h e r eare many issues which will have far-reaching effects on life in this countryto which we have become accustomed.Negotiations have been carried outbehind closed doors which immediate-ly heightens our suspicions, and onceagreement is reached, remember thatit only goes to Federal Cabinet to beratified – the Parliament is bypassed –just as it was with the recently ratifiedAustralia – Singapore FTA.
Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, in aspeech made in Canberra on 23 May,said that “we have made clear that wewill not compromise fundamentalobjectives in health care, education,consumer protection and cultural iden-tity”. Yet, Communications MinisterAlston, on the ABC Insiders programjust over a week later, when askedabout the US challenging A u s t r a l i a n
content rules in film, television andmusic as barriers to trade, stated thatevery effort would be made to preservelocal content but as the negotiationswere in the early stages, all issues hadto be discussed. Mark Vaile has con-sistently said “everything is on thetable”.
Next year is an election year in theUS and the powerful industry lobbieswill be exerting political pressure onand providing vast sums of money toboth political parties. With A u s t r a l i a ’seconomy only 4% of that of the US,our bargaining position is weak. Let ussee how grateful the United States isfor A u s t r a l i a ’s participation in the“Coalition of the Willing”. (Furtherrounds of these talks are in July andOctober).
Another looming challenge inAustralia is the likelihood that theGovernment will follow the lead of theUnited States in relaxing the crossmedia ownership laws which presentlyprevent a media company from owningboth newspapers and television sta-tions in the one city. Such a move herewould concentrate more newspapersand television in the hands of themedia moguls with only the A B Cremaining to display independenceand the ability to undertake true inves-tigative journalism.
Other activities during this period were: ● a regular meeting with ABC StateD i r e c t o r, John Graham on 20 March. ● a public meeting in Newcastle on2 April organised by the HunterBranch at which 2 Federal politiciansattended. The theme was A B CTriennial Funding and the HunterBranch deserves congratulations fortheir initiative. ● attendance at an address by histo-rian, Professor Ken Inglis entitled“Aunty at Seventy – a Health Reporton the ABC” – a forthcoming book. ● ABC Local Radio Awards atDarling Harbour.
As you can see, the ABC remainsunder threat. Its funding is inadequate,its independence is regularly beingattacked and your ongoing support isvalued in maintaining your member-ship, recruiting new members and let-ting the government know that unjusti-fied attacks on the ABC will not gounanswered.
Gary Cook, President
The President’s Report
Page 4
Hunter Valley BranchTracking Down a Dollar
Hunter Branch staged a Forum onFunding inspired by the risk of the Iraqiwar draining off money needed not onlyfor the ABC but for other decent things likesocial security, health and education. Butas Branch president Hank Willems re-marked in that list :“our ABC is precious.”
There was a good roll up, with morethan 40 people and several MPs and spe-c i a l guest NSW FABC President, GaryCook present.
The focal point of the evening was AllanThomas’s analysis of the way the ABChas been funded over the last 30 years orso - (see Page 10)
Dr Thomas concluded that from its peakfunding in 1985 of 12 cents a day perhead of population, ABC funding was nowdown to about 7 cents a day.
Of the Federal politicians invited for theevening, only the Member for Hunter, JoelFitzgibbon, and the Member forCharlestown, Kelly Hoare, attended.
Each spoke of their perception that theABC was significantly in need of properfunding, but weren’t prepared to put a fig-ure on it. What they were positive aboutwas the introduction of a more transparentmethod of selecting ABC board members,along the lines of Britain’s Nolan Rules.
Gary Cook, also spoke on the need forbetter funding for the ABC. He stressedthe threats posed by a possible free tradeagreement with the US. “We must keep aclose eye on negotiations that could spellan end to local content and local produc-tion.” he said.
The Forum welcomed Martin Babahkan,who handles weather forecasting forNewcastle local radio. Martin put his ideason educating the public, farmer communi-ties in particular, about coping withdroughts, curbing salinity and seeing animportant future role for the ABC in thepromotion of these goals.
The meeting carried a resolution of ‘firstprinciples’ regarding the legally bindingcharacter of the ABC charter and theBoard’s task of management in accordwith the Charter; the crux of it was that“once a Government charges a Board witha set task, it cannot ethically deny thefunding required for the execution of thattask.”
CAMPAIGNING We are updating our data base of members willing
to be involved in political campaigning on behalf of the Friends.
We need to be ready to take the initiative or respond to issues relating to the ABC, particularly
leading up to and during election campaigns.
Please contact our Membership Secretary,Carolyn Green, by e-mail at [email protected]
or by phone on9144 1351 or write to her at
PO Box 1391, North Sydney NSW 2059 to register your name and contact details.
If you have previously indicated that you are willing toassist, please re-register your intent.
– REMEMBER – We are not a party political organisation.
Great Lakes Friends Meet your Local Federal Member
Bob Baldwin MP And Seek Answers as to Why the Federal
Government continues to Erode the
Funding of the ABC
Forster-Tuncurry Golf Club Strand Street Forster
Saturday 26th July 2003 - 2.00pm Grahame Burns
President Great Lakes Friends branch.
Lamenting Digital TVContinued from Page 1
The SMH’s Cosima Marrinerdescribed it thus: “The latestaccusation of bias is the govern-ment’s thinly veiled attempt toseek retribution for the ABC’sdecision to axe its digital multi-channels.”
NSW FABC President, GaryCook, said “We Friends can onlysupport Mr Balding’s decision,particularly if it serves to protectmainstream programming andservices.”
“The government pushed forthe ABC to convert to digitalbroadcasting as a step forwardand as something of a pace set-t e r for commercial broadcasters,but without extra funding to do so.”
“The ABC’s request for extramoney included funding to coverdigital TV establishment andexpand the service; instead thegovernment ignored the request.
”Make no mistake it’s the gov-ernment that’s shut down ABC
digital TV, ” Mr Cook said.“Digital TV has gone and with itat least 38 jobs.”
“As a major medium of thefuture, digital TV in Australia hasbeen a creation of the ABC - on-line documentaries, children’sprogram, cartoons, music pro-grams interlinked with audienceparticipation, multi-dimensional,and interactive, including pro-grams made as co-productionswith the AFC and the Victorianand South Australian FilmCommissions; quite a number ofthem nominated at InternationalTV Festivals and several wereaward-winners.”
“Now I wonder where else theGovernment’s budget is going tocut into ABC programming?” MrCook said. “We are left in trepi-dation that more losses are inthe offing.
Stories about New Media,were being ‘set’ for this issueas Mr Balding’s announcementwas made. They’re nowmarked with a wreath.
Page 5
Sad Day as Fly FallsI was shocked
and appalled to
hear that the A B C
has axed the youth-
oriented digital
channel Fly TV.
I have had the
distinct privelege of working with peo-
ple at Fly over the past few months
through a program that allowed stu -
dents to interview politicians such as
Defence Minister Robert Hill,
Education Minister Brendan Nelson
and next week's guest Prime Minister
John Howard.
Now that Fly TV is gone, where will
young people go to be informed on
youth issues? None of the commercial
channels seem to care about young
people unless they are interested in
"extreme" programming. Only Fly TV
was interested enough, and now it is
gone.
This has been a sad day for the youth
of Australia.
Simon Atkinson, Holt, ACTLetter in The Daily Telegraph 28 May 2003
Here’s an offer you surelycan’t refuse - $15,000 to make amusic video.
ABC New Media and triple J inpartnership with the SouthAustralian Film Commission areseeking innovative individuals orteams who will each receive$15,000 to create a multi-plat-form music video clip for one oftriple j's 'unearthed' music final-ists.
The winning clips will beshown on ABC Online and onABC TV's Saturday Morning flyTV program.
The competition, first choosingthe best proposed treatments, isopen to all South Australian resi-dents, but particularly peopleworking, or aspiring to, in newmedia, design, animation, multi-media, film and associatedareas, to boost those skills inthat state.
Being run in rounds, the com-petition, in June, is open forRound 4 entries. In round 3, thesongs to create clips for were;'The Bomb' by The Fuzz, 'Youare Expendable' by Yunyu and'Evil Knieval' by Ikey Mo.
MP3 versions of the currentsongs are on 4 Minute WondersAustralia ath t t p : / / a b c . n e t . a u / 4 m i n u t e w o n d e r s .
The South Australian FilmCorporation (SAFC) and ABCNew Media say the first roundsof 4 Minute Wonders Australiahave been a wonderful success,with more than 150 entrantsoffering a great range of cre-ative, innovative and inspiredvideo clip treatments.
Entry forms to submit con-cepts are available onhttp://abc.net.au/4minutewondersbut ring ABC to see if it’s stillo n .
When Your Audiences Are All Inclusive,as are the ABC’s In Black and White
Cancelling the digital channelsexposed ABC managing director RussellBalding to the wrath of CommunicationsMinister Senator Richrd Alston. TheAustralian’s Luke McIlveen identified themove as”blatantly political”. “When thedigital channels were established twoyears ago, Alston hailed the ABC’s ini-tiative in promoting digital television.
“The failure to generate consumerinterest in high-definition TV since thenhas plagued the minister... The SunHerald’s Brian Toohey said: “Alston’scrude attack on the ABC should be dis-missed as a display of blatant politicalbias from a minister in trouble over digi-tal TV.”
And the Herald Sun editorialised:“Digital TV is an area on which SenatorAlston has conspiciously failed to deliv-er” and urged him not to delude himselfthat “thought police and financial black-mail are the answer”.
from The Weekend Australian 7-8 June 2003
Page 6
To what and to whom does the ABC owe its loyalty andits answers?
Let’s take a step back and the space to considerSenator Alstons’s extraordinary complaint in a wider con-text. For South Australian friend, Joan Laing, the implica-tions for the future of the ABC were “extremely serious”.WA’s Roger Raven concluded that “Alston seeks to drivethe issue to attack the ABC’s independence – “the cam-paign is not going to stop; the government is only inter-est in winning.” Gary Cook said Alston was “embarkingon a taxpayer-funded witch hunt.”
Those of us who took comfort from public outrage,firm ABC rebuttals and a satirist’s field day were appalledhowever to hear Alston counter-attack, demanding moreevidence ‘for the defence’ from the ABC, contradictingan Auditor General’s report and – ominously – declaring“I am not spelling out a definitive blueprint at this pointof time.”
There were two providential replies – one from theABC Chairman and the other from Robert Manne in theFairfax newspapers in an article of chilling perception,but one in which everything seemed to fall into place.
The right in Australia is growing greedy. It is notenough for them that we have the most conservativegovernment in Australia for over 40 years. Nor is itenough that views of which they approve are disseminat-ed daily in the popular press, on talkback radio and oncommercial television.
It appears that they will not be satisfied until one ofthe most important sources of independent opinion in thiscountry, the current affairs arm of the ABC, has finallybeen brought to heel.
For a long time the right’s campaign against the sup-posed left-wing bias of the ABC has been led by theMelbourne neo-liberal think tank, the Institute of PublicAffairs…(whose)…then IPA Fellow with special responsi-bility for the media (was) Michael Warby.
“If the current attempt to reform the ABC fails, “Warbyargued, “if the collective wins yet again, if yet anotherattempt at imposing accountability by management isdefeated by the ABC collective, then it must be smashedand replaced as the principal public broadcaster.”
For the right, the most important move to ‘reform’ theABC came with the appointment of the hapless andhopeless Jonathan Shier as managing director. Shiermust be regarded as one of the right’s more spectacularrecent own goals.
Following his removal there was an attempt to recoverlost ground by the imposition as managing director ofTrevor Kennedy of Packer media. The attempt misfired.The chairman of the ABC board, Donald McDonald, atrue conservative and thus a genuine believer in due pro-
cess and the independence of the ABC, turned downKennedy’s belated job application…Russell Balding wasappointed.
A few weeks ago the campaign against the ABCresumed...the Howard Government’s appointment of RonBrunton to the ABC board.
Shortly after (the) appointment an attack on the ABCwas mounted, for no apparent reason, by The Australian.An editorial of May 22 (re left-wing bias) suggested thatto save money the ABC get rid of Radio National…ofinterest only, it claimed, to the aging baby boomer left.
This struck me as a genuinely outrageous suggestion.In its range and depth, Radio National is one of the finestachievements of contemporary Australian culture.
Four days after this editorial a detailed attack on thepolitical independence of the ABC was launched at anestimate hearing by Senator Santo Santoro of theQueensland Liberal Party.
The main target of the attack was the head of ABCnews and current affairs, Max Uechtritz. Santoro askedBalding to explain why Uechtritz had described the mili-tary as “lying bastards” in a remark to an overseas con-ference many months ago.
(He – Santoro – asked Balding to investigateLateline, Four Corners and AM.)
Two days later Senator Alston used a dossier on AMto show how anti-Americanism had distorted the ABC’scoverage of (the Iraq) war. He demanded an urgentinvestigation.
In Alston’s dossier the claim that “the city’s hospitalsare over-stretched” or that the tasks before the coalitioncommanders were “becoming increasingly complicatedon a number of fronts” are provided as examples of anti-American bias!
The war against Iraq was mounted on the basis ofclaims Saddam Hussein was a new Adolf Hitler (threat-ening) not merely Iraqi people but the US and Britain(and) he was developing a nuclear capacity and alreadyhad at his disposal a vast arsenal of weapons of massdestruction of a chemical and biological kind. A month-and-a-half after the fall of Baghdad, no weapons of massdestruction have been found.
The most important role of the media is to ques-tion the truthfulness of government. Never has theneed for a fearless and independent Australian mediabeen more vital. Never has a more calculated assaulton the independence of the ABC been mounted thanin the past week. Never has the public defence of theABC mattered more. (Emphasis ours - Ed.)
Alston’s American Defence Lands in a Minefield
Page 7
“Dear Minister,
I am writing inresponse to your let -ter of 5 June 2003.You will recall that theAuditor-General in his
report found no evidence to indicatethat the ABC did not comply with itsCharter requirements.
The ANAO considered that theABC’s News and Current AffairsDivision has effective proceduresand practices in operation that assistit to deliver news and current affairsprograms that reflect the Charterrequirements of independence, accu-racy and impartiality…The distinctionbetween factual news and analyticalmaterial or comment…is acknowl-edged in the Division which has suit-able arrangements designed to ensuresatisfactory differentiation of the twoformats, for the achievement of thelegislated requirements of indepen-dence, accuracy and impartiality.
I wish also to recall your letter tome of 14 May 2002 about the ANAOReport, in which you said “I ampleased that the report is positiveabout ABC improvements in gover-nance, accountability and bench-marking…the ABC has significantlyimproved over the last two years inareas such as its annual report, itsOutcome/Outputs framework and itscorporate plan. The report confirmsthis.”
Your apparent change in senti-ment now is surprising….
In your letter of 14 May 2002you suggested that a central body beestablished, within the ABC, inde-pendent of program makers and pro-duction areas to deal with audiencefeedback...As you are aware, theABC introduced enhanced com-plaints handling procedures inAugust 2002.Press reports at thetime quoted your spokesman as say-ing that the government supportedthe changes and that you werepleased with them…
...In addition...the Board has madeother significant improvements sincethe release of the ANAO report:
● Completion of a major review ofEditorial Policies, overseen by aBoard sub-committee chaired byJohn Gallagher QC, and approvedby the Board. The revised policieswere introduced in August 2002.
● Public disclosure each quarter o fthe volume and nature of audiencecontacts, including complaints.
● Monthly governance reports tothe Board from each ExecutiveDirector of the Corporation (includ-i n g ) adherence to EditorialPolicies.
You are aware that the ABC lastyear re-commenced a contractualarrangement with Newspoll to under-take an annual survey of Australiancommunity perceptions of the workwhich the ABC, in accordance withRecommendation 9 of the ANAOReport. Eight out of ten respondentsin 2002 believed the ABC was bal-anced and even-handed whenreporting news and current affairs.
Your criticism of the Newpoll sur-vey commissioned by the ABC waspremised on the notion that “the bulkof the population do not watch or lis-ten to ABC News and Current Affairson a regular basis.” I feel it is neces-sary for me to challenge that asser-tion, which would appear to beinconsistent with any currently avail-able audience data…Over 13 millionpeople watch ABC television at leastonce a week, more than 6.5 millionpeople listen to ABC radio at leastonce a week, and in excess of 1 mil-lion people use ABC On-line monthly.By any standard, this surely consti-tutes “regular” use …
I seem to have far greater faiththan you in the capacity of ABC audi-ences to make reasonable assess-ments about news and current affairsbroadcasts…You do not seem torecognise or acknowledge the sub-stantial body of reform work whichthe ABC has undertaken.
In view of the level of interest inpublic accountability and the role ofthe ABC, I will also be releasing thisletter publicly.
(signed) Donald McDonald Chairman
The ABC’s Chairman writes – The Bias BarricadesContinued from Page 1
“When an attack alsatian bares itsteeth at the ABC,” Cook said, “youcan be sure a defensive Govern-ment is looking for a diversion.”
One core issue centred on‘qualifications’ AM placed on someassertions by the US military; butgiven the then competition betweenthe UN, the US and intelligenceagencies to be believed, Alston’scomplaint was a brave one. Hecould not have imagined thefirestorm he was to stir up. Theresponse was ferocious.
Mike Carlton ridiculed Alston’s“attack on your ABC shooting tonew heights of absurdity”, “deli-ciously loopy - a document of plod-ding fatuity and nitpicking para-noia.” Adele Horin was more for-mal:
“The ABC’s charter sets out themany functions of our nationalbroadcaster. But nowhere does itrequire the ABC to favourablyreflect the opinion of the current USadministration. Richard Alston hasoverstepped the mark. Improperlyand incorrectly he has claimed theABC is ‘accountable toGovernment’.”
“This is scary stuff coming fromthe minister in charge of communi-cations. The ABC is accountableunder law to parliament, not thegovernment, and ‘by law and con-vention neither government norparliament seeks to intervene ineditorial and program decisions.”
The Herald’s and TheAustralian’s letter columns werebrimming with bile. Here’s a taste:
✱ Will the government’s inquiryinto the ABC be conducted by theHouse Un-American ActivitiesCommittee?
✱ Born in the US, I detect theodour of bovine faeces…in Alston’sattack. His threat to cut fundingreminds me of Senator JoeMcCarthy’s vicious campaignagainst the ‘liberal’ Americanmedia.
Continued on Page 8
Page 8
The Unit was founded in 1986, on awave of pre-Bicentennial interest inthe real-life stories of Australia. Itwas particularly inspired by TaimBilong Masta, Tim Bowden’s wonder-ful sprawling series on the Australiancolonial experience in Papua NewGuinea, fueled by the memories ofpatrol officers, public servants,explorers, miners, wives and childrenwho had done their time up northover the previous fifty years
The emphasis in the early years wasto capture the day-to-day details oftimes past, everyday stories ofeveryday people. Early series lookedat memories of bush schools, avia-tors, miners, soldiers, migrants,women, Aboriginal people - tryingalways to cover as much of thecountry as feasible and to reachback into the past as far as possible.
As well as its major series (includingPOW: Australians Under Nippon,Being Aboriginal, The Snowy, ,Minefields and Miniskirts: Women inVietnam and Unfinished Business:Federation, Republicanism andReconciliation) the Unit has recordedthousands of interviews that haveserved as the basis of hundreds ofone-off documentaries on otheraspects of Australia’s history.
The Unit’s interests and emphaseshave broadened over the years.There is great diversity in the topicsand people covered on Hindsight(which has shifted its focus to morerecent history - often throwing newlight on current events), Verbatim(stories of ordinary people) andStreet Stories examining the contem-porary scene.
In recent years, the Unit has coveredhistories of bush-walking, shoppingcentres, nursing, crime, zoos, subur-bia, travelling, nuclear testing, theCatholic rural movement, shipbuild-ing, the theatre and the rag trade.
A founding members, Perth-basedBill Bunbury, worked on the produc-tion of the current six-part series,View from the North, for over a yearwith historian Geoffrey Bolton. The
series presents the story of northernAustralia in relation to the rest of thecontinent, from the north lookingsouth rather than the other way.
Bill says that as the Social HistoryUnit evolved in the ‘90s its focusbroadened to include not only thestories of so-called ordinary people,most of them extraordinary, but alsothe broader context of our history,looking at migration, the effects ofwar and, in more recent times, envi-ronmental and social histories of theregions.
For Jane Connors, for those of uslucky to have worked in the unit, thefabulous thing is the opportunity tomeet people from every kind ofbackground, visit their homes andhear their stories. The extent towhich they are prepared to sharetheir memories, often painful and pri-vate moments, and then trust us tobroadcast them with respect, is hum-bling.
The Unit, which has won nationaland international awards, is uniquein public broadcasting. There is plen-ty of history broadcast in other coun-tries, but the ABC’s Unit is the onlyspecialist unit dedicated to SocialHistory, where producers can learnand practice the art of oral history,and an audience can tune in fromweek to week with a guarantee oflearning something about the coun-try’s history directly from its partici-pants and witnesses.
(from “inside the ABC”)
On Radio National: Hindsight 2pmSun & 1pm Thurs, Verbatim at 5pmSat, Street Stories 5.30pm Sat &10.15pm Fri.
A National Treasure: Radio National’s Social History Unit
A Flash in theCan
The ABC does most things well,and how well it does when itexcels!
The ABC Online 'Game On' web-site has won 'Best Game' categoryfor one of its programs, 'Kelman tothe Rescue' at Canada’s interna-tional Flash in the Can awards. Itwas also chosen for screening at aSpanish Web Festival inBarcelona.
Kelman to the Rescue, one of five‘Game On’ site games, each onecommissioned and funded by FilmVictoria and ABC New Media andDigital Services, was created byMelbourne illustrator NathanJurevicius. It’s an adventure storywith an environmental theme in anumber of episodes.
The boy hero, Kelman, disabledafter a tragic skateboarding acci-dent, is visited by a bug guru, whotells him the local bug colony isbeing attached by a group of evilbugs. Kelman becomes a super-hero for a small world, riding on fly-ing bugs and borrowing grasshop-per legs to save the colony fromextinction. The supplementarymessage is how we can all dothings to help ‘save’ our environ-ment.
Exquisitely animated, Kelman tothe Rescue features Dylan Lewisas the voice of all the charactersand the music is by Spiderbait.Extra features on the ‘GameOn’site include the creation ofKelman, original sketches and sto-ryboards, and shots of Dylan Lewisand Spiderbait in the studio creat-ing the characters, voices andmusic. Drop in onhttp://abc.net.au/gameon
The 'Game On' site has beenexceedingly popular since it wentlive in March. It is receiving around140,000 hits a week and is attract-ing attention from the national andinternational game and animationindustry.
Page 9
The ABC does most things well,but how well it does when it excels!
The ABC Online 'Game On' web-site has won 'Best Game' categoryfor one of its programs, 'Kelman tothe Rescue' at Canada’s internation-al Flash in the Can awards. It wasalso chosen for screening at aSpanish Web Festival in Barcelona.
Kelman to the Rescue, one offive ‘Game On’ site games, each onecommissioned and funded by FilmVictoria and ABC New Media andDigital Services, was created byMelbourne illustrator NathanJurevicius. It’s an adventure storywith an environmental theme in anumber of episodes.
The boy hero, Kelman, disabledafter a tragic skateboarding accident,is visited by a bug guru, who tellshim the local bug colony is beingattached by a group of evil bugs.Kelman becomes a superhero for asmall world, riding on flying bugs andborrowing grasshopper legs to savethe colony from extinction. The sup-plementary message is how we canall do things to help ‘save’ our envi-ronment.
Exquisitely animated, Kelman tothe Rescue features Dylan Lewis asthe voice of all the characters andthe music is by Spiderbait. Extra fea-tures on the ‘Game On’site includethe creation of Kelman, originalsketches and storyboards, and shotsof Dylan Lewis and Spiderbait in the
studio creating the characters, voicesand music. Drop in on
http://abc.net.au/gameon
The 'Game On' site has beenexceedingly popular since it went livein March. It is receiving around140,000 hits a week and is attractingattention from the national and inter-national game and animation industry.
Sadly this is viewers’ last chanceto see it. ABC Online closes June 30.
A Flash in the Can
A group of former ABC colleagues and musicianswho enjoyed work and friendship with the late MikeHayes, the Prickle Farmer, are to stage a MemorialConcert at the Canberra Southern Cross ClubAuditorium, Woden, in0. August
The Concert will coincide with the launch of MikeHayes’ final book , ‘Angry Skies’, co-authored by aretired RAAF Wing Commander Ken Lewellen, a recol-lection of wartime experiences by RAAF fighter pilotsand aircrew who fought in World War Two.
Mike completed the manuscript just prior to hisdeath.
The Concert will pay tribute to and highlight hisachievements and the contributions he made as anABC journalist, author, songwriter and musician.
Mike was the creator of the popular “PrickleFarmer” series on ABC radio for many years andenjoyed considerable prominence in the Australiancountry music industry as a songwriter and musician int h e genre of progressive country music.
The Concert will feature a selection of televisionvignettes, interspersed with a selection of live musicperformances showcasing many of Mike’s music com-positions.
Performers will include Anne Kirk-patrick, leg-endary Australian country rock band ‘Cactus Jack’, fid-dle virtuoso Marcus Holden, guitarists Dave O’Neil andScotty Ingram, The Borderers and many more.
Mike Hayes “The Pickle Farmer”
Memorial Concert
Southern Cross Club Auditorium,Woden, ACT
Saturday, 9 August -7.30 pm Tickets, a very reasonable $15 each,
are available from the Southern Cross Club, Phone 02 6283 7200.
For further information Phone 02 6296 4880.
In Memory of the Pickle Farmer
FABC (NSW) Inc. Executive CommitteePresident - Gary Cook
The Govt Rebuffs ABC - Friends of ABC Stage Funding Forum Year 2001 dollars to run until 2006
It’s almost as certain as the Melbourne Cup, anAshes series, or an Archibald prize, it will occur and itwill attract intense public interest, often controversy.But in the case of the ABC’s budget it almostinevitably brings with it - grief.
Why would this year’s triennial funding decision beany different? The Howard government does notexactly enjoy a love affair with the corporation - dis-tant echoes of the Shier era and more, very recent,ones spring to mind.
In the leadup to dthis year’s event, “ABC program-ing and coverages must be in doubt” Russell Baldingwarned, repeatedly.
Future ABC programing and coverages must be indoubt; Balding has repeatedly warned that without anincrease some would have to go.
The ABC had sought an extra $250 million over thenext three years to increase local television content andupgrade its digital television capababilities.
The government’s phrase ‘maintaining funding’ is afairly dubious one, even in ‘real terms’, between now and2006; the allocation is also the bare minimum theGovernment could give the ABC without breaking thecampaign undertaking it made in 2001, one that seemsto just scrape into the category ‘core’.
Commmunications Minister, Senator Alston, spoke -smoothly reassuring - of the funding enabling the ABC “tocontinue to educate and entertain its audiences, through-out Australia and internationally.”
Friends of the ABC spokesperson Darce Cassidysaid: “The government seems to have a problem withunderstanding figures...figures produced by theMacquarie Bank show that since 1986, ABC funding, inreal terms, has fallen by 200 million dollars.”
“To be fair to the government, a significant part of thatreduction was made by Labor. Then the Coalition brokean election promise and cut another 12% from the ABC’sbudget, in one hit, on top of the Labor cuts.”
“The figures speak for themselves. Since 1986 $200million has been cut from the ABC budget. In that timethe ABC has introduced a new radio network,NewsRadio, and two digital TV channels, Fly TV andKids TV. ABC Online has been established as one ofAustralia’s most frequented web sites. The productivity ofABC staff has gone through the roof.”
“Unless the government faces facts, the ABC can’tcontinue this way. Something - or someone - will have togive.”
Facing Financial FactsABC Friend from the Hunter Branch, Dr Allan T h o m a s ,
h a s undertaken a breakdown of sometimes conflicting,often misleading figures to unravel some authentic statistics
For instance, the government claimed to haveincreased ABC funding from $522.2M in 1995/96 to$715.3M in 2001/02. But the $522M did not include thetransmission costs; whereas in the 2001/02 figure of$715.3M it does.
Next, a Capital-Use Charge, introduced with theAccrual Budgeting in 1999/2000 and levied onCommonwealth authorities and agencies to reflect theCommonwealth’s investment in those entities meant thatin 2001/02 the government provided an additional$64.1M to the ABC to provide for this levy. But it was notactually available to the ABC for broadcasting purposes –only for paying the levy!
Other amounts in 2001/02 which should not be includeda r e :
● A $46.5M one-off grant for digital conversion which was a mandatory requirement by the government.
● A $20M repayable loan. ● $18M for the new overseas Australia Television
service
Deducting all these and similar items from the$715.3M, the nett funding in 2001/02 actually reduces to$493.3M, so instead of an apparent increase from$522.2M in 1995/96 to $715.3M in 2001/02 there was infact a nett decrease to $493.3M, a reduction of 6%.
In fact, ABC core funding has remained approximatelystatic since 1990, while the figure below shows that inreal (1998/99) dollar terms the ABC’s core funding hassteadily decreased since its peak in 1985/86. (The crossindicates the modest increase currently requested by theABC for 2003/04.) FIGURE 3
The population of Australia has increased from 12.8 millionin 1970 to around 20 million today, an increase of over55%. Other things being equal the government must becollecting a similar increase in taxes. (Given the GSTalmost certainly considerably more!) So the ABC isrequired to service the larger population. So, under thesecircumstances, it is not unreasonable to consider ABCfunding on a cents per day per capita basis as shown inthe next graph in 1998/99 dollar terms.
It shows that ABC government funding reached a peak11.3 cents per day per capita in 1985. Currently it is justover half this amount at 6.4 cents per day per capita(1998/99 dollar terms). The cross indicates the modestincrease currently requested by the ABC for 2003/04.
Dr Thomas’ final graph (below) shows total ABC funding(core funding plus non-government funding – ie, ABCmerchandising income) on a cents per day per capitabasis. Total ABC funding has decreased by 1.6 cents perday per capita or 15% since the present governmentcame into office.
SUMMARY● Government funding to the ABC has been fallingsteadily since 1985.
● The present government claims to have increasedfunding since it came to office. But this apparentincrease is illusory since it includes such items asTransmission Charges, Capital-Use Charge, grants foradditional new services such as digital televison andthe overseas Australia TV service, and repayableloans. When these are removed core governmentfunding has remained roughly constant over the 8years of the present government.
● But after allowing for inflation core funding hasdecreased by about 15% over this period. The ABC isasking for a modest $47M increase next year whichwould lower the reduction from 15% to 12%.
● On a per capita real dollar basis government fundinghas decreased by 45% since 1985 and by 20% sincethe present government came to office.
FIGURE 4 ABC CORE GOVERNMENT FUNDING 1998/99 DOLLAR BASIS
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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12
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
CE
NT
S P
ER
DA
Y P
ER
HE
AD
OF
PO
PU
LA
TIO
N
LABOR
COALITION LABOR COALITION
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ABC REQUEST2003/04
FIGURE 6 CENTS PER DAY PER CAPITA INCLUDING NON GOVT FUNDING
0
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1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
CE
NT
S P
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PIT
A (
1998
/99
DO
LL
AR
BA
SIS
)
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ABC REQUEST2003/04
FIGURE 5 ABC FUNDING INCLUDING NON GOVT FUNDING
0
100
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1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
MIL
LIO
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- 1
998/
99 D
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CORE GOVT FUNDING
TOTAL CORE PLUSNON GOVT
ABC REQUEST2003/04
NON GOVT FUNDS
Page 12
A ‘Wake Up Call’ From America’The Americans are
heading down anAustralian path a n dnot all are particularlyhappy about it.
Far from it. While the BushAdministration this month arguedthat it was okay for the U.S. FederalCommunications Commission torelax media ownership laws, so thatowners could own more, a communi-t y storm broke
In prospect: American’s local TVstations, newspapers, radio stationand cable proviers could all beowned by one company. “Deeplydestructive of democracy” com-plained one critic.
A leading opponent is the ‘online’ MoveOn organisation whosereport this is:
After the FCC and Congress(previously) relaxed radio ownershiprules, corporate giant Clear ChannelCommunications swept in andbought hundreds of stations. ClearChannel has used its might to sup-port pro-war political rallies and con-servative talk shows, keep anti-warsongs off its stations, coerce musi -cians into playing free promotionalconcerts, and bully them into per-forming at its music venues. In manytowns that used to have a diversearray of radio options, Clear Channelis now the only one on the dial.
Why worry about who owns the Media?
Mergers are decreasing cover-age of local political races, localsmall businesses, and local events.There are only a third as many own-ers of newspapers and TV stationsas there were in the 1970s (about 600now; over 1,500 then). It's harder andharder for Americans to find out what'sgoing on in their own back yards.
Democracy is built on the ideathat the views and beliefs of aninformed citizenry are the best basisfor political decision-making. Withoutaccess to fair and balanced news,the system doesn't work.
Rich Media, Poor DemocracyAnd media corporations can't be
trusted: they're willing to sacrificejournalism to improve the bottomline. That's why we need many
media entities -- to provide the infor-mation and ideas that make democ-racy happen.
At 1:30 on a cold January night, atrain containing hundreds of thou-s a n d s of gallons of toxic ammoniaderails in Minot, North Dakota. Townofficials try to sound the emergencyalert system, but it isn't working.Desperate to warn townspeople aboutthe poisonous white cloud bearingdown on them, officials call their localradio stations. But no one answersany of the phones for an hour and ahalf. According to the New YorkTimes, three hundred people arehospitalized, some are partially blind-ed, and pets and livestock are killed.
Where were Minot's DJs? Wherewas the late night station crew? As itturns out, six of the seven local radiostations had been purchased byClear Channel, a radio giant withover 1,200 stations nationwide.Economies of scale dictated thatmost of the local staff be cut: Minotstations ran more or less on autopilot. No one answered the phonebecause hardly anyone worked atthe stations any more. Minot's night-mare may become our national reality.
Our Right to Know
Why did the media do such a poorjob of reporting on the Iraq war? Theboosterism of news anchors, thesuppression of antiwar views, andthe sanitized images of war (in the)television coverage are not mattersof bias or ineptitude, says mediaanalyst Danny Schechter. He drawsattention to the connection betweenthe decisions made by journalistsand the lobbying efforts of ownerswho will profit immensely from theFCC decision.
Death of Local News
“This is a dark day for Americandemocracy,” said Chellie Pingree,president of Common Cause.“The FCC has ignored mountingpublic pressure and given thegreen light to a handful of mediamoguls to control what theAmerican public sees, hears, andreads. If only a handful of largeconglomerates control the presscitizens will lose viewpoints vital toa healthy democracy.
Pressing on Down Under
Whatever eventuates in the UnitedStates, the Australian Government ismoving to lift the ban on A u s t r a l i a nmedia proprietors owning more thanone newspaper, radio or TV station inthe same metropolitan market…even ifit takes a double dissolution to do it.
Speaking at an AustralianBroadcasting Authority conferencein Canberra, Senator Alstonwarned that a double dissolutionmight be the only way to push theproposed new media ownershiplaws through the Senate.
If the Senate blocks it twiceafter an interval of three months,the bill becomes a trigger for adouble dissolution. “If that hap-pens, so be it. There’s not muchwe can do except in the context ofthe next election,” Senator Alstonsaid.
The Senate independents areconcerned about further concentra-tion of media ownership in f e w e rhands and a lessening of diversity.
The Senate debate was due toresume this month with theGovernment needing four extravotes in the chamber to pass thenew law.
The Sydney Morning Herald’sCosima Marriner Marriner claimedthe Government was close to doinga deal with independent SenatorsMeg Lees and Len Harris. “SenatorShayne Murphy is holding out foran overhaul of the Trade PracticesAct and the recognition of Pay TVas a fourth media market.
“Senator Harradine is waiting tosee what agreement SenatorAlston reaches with the other inde-pendents before indicating hisvote.” Andrew M u r r a y, the Democratmost suspected of splitting from theparty room, said there was no needfor him to do so.
Democrats communicationsspokesman, John Cherry, said-”Wearen’t negotiating anything.”
Dr Ron Brunton’sappointment to theABC Board perpetu-ates the continualpoliticalisation of theBoard. To the ABC’sFriends it is also anunedifying reminder
of the integrity of the BBC’s NolanRules.
This profile of Dr Brunton by TheAge writer Ewin Hanna includes theuniversity years Brunton shared withthe Friends’ spokesman, DarceCassidy.
Ron Brunton, now a pin-up boyfor the political right, spent his for-mative years as a long-haired social-ist. At Monash University in 1967, heset up the New Left Group, a forumdesigned to promote left-wingthought.
But Brunton was no campusrevo l u t i o n a r y. “He was big on the the-o r y, but never big on action,” recalledDarce Cassidy, who was at Monashwith Brunton.
“I didn't enjoy it,” Bruntonrecalled this week. “I hated the falsesense of solidarity. I did go to theanti-Johnson demonstration (againstthe Vietnam War), but I left early.”
These days, the SunshineCoast-based anthropologist isdespised by a left that depicts himas a cultural warrior, a leading con-servative commentator intent onundermining indigenous rights.
Indigenous Issues
Brunton, 58, certainly has theright stuff. Prominent during theindigenous rights debate, he wasnotable for a scathing critique of the1997 Bringing Them Home report.
He was a research officer withthe Liberal Party's Victorian divisionbefore and after the 1982 state elec-tion. At the time, the party's statepresident was Richard Alston.
From 1995 until 2001, Bruntonwas at the conservative Institute ofPublic Affairs, locking horns regularlywith left figures, including academic
and Age columnist Robert Manne,over indigenous issues.
Brunton is unfazed by attacks onhis politics. He says it is wrong tolabel him right-wing, a term he asso-ciates with fascism. “My politics areeclectic,” he said. “It's unfair, it's mis-leading to pigeonhole me. Obviously,on a number of issues, I take a posi-tion that would be more conserva-tive. On other matters, I take a posi-tion that is left of centre.”
Bias
Brunton, a regular columnist inthe Murdoch press, politely dodgeda number of questions about theABC, including whether he believedthe broadcaster has been guilty ofbiased coverage. However, a 1998Courier-Mail column, prompted byAlston's then assertion that the ABChad been ``biased in dealing with thewaterfront dispute and other mat-ters", is revealing. Brunton wrote:
“The ABC and its friends say it isbalanced and responsible. Who isright? Personally, I am with Alston onthis issue, although when he alsosaid that ‘most of the time the ABCis an institution of which allAustralians can feel justifiably proud'I thought he was being faint-hearted.
“Certainly, I believe there was atime when such sentiments wereappropriate. But that was long ago. Icould cite much anecdotal evidenceto support my case, including con-versations with ABC staff who pri-vately admit that the culture in sec-tions of the organisation is hostile toanything that might be identified withthe Liberal or National parties.”
ABC Accused of Falsifying
His column suggested the ABChad doctored a survey saying 95 percent of people thought it did a goodjob of providing accurate news andcurrent affairs coverage. “I can’t helpwondering whether those inter-viewed were chosen on a truly ran-dom basis, and whether they actual-ly listen to the ABC,” he wrote. Hesuggested the ABC’s content analy-sis could be monitored by an outsideboard.
Labor’s communicationsspokesman, Lindsay Tanner, said(Dr Brunton’s) appointment showedthe Howard Government's assault onthe ABC had “reached a new,extreme level”. Brunton, he said, hadno significant background or exper-tise in public broadcasting.
Balance
Cassidy, said it was fair todescribe Brunton as an “ideologicalzealot". “This in itself does not dis-qualify him from the ABC board,” hesaid. “Our problem is with the politi-cal balance on the ABC board, andwith the appointment process.”
The nine member board includesthe PM’s friend, Donald McDonald,conservative economist JudithSloan, former Liberal MP RossMcLean and the Australian StockExchange chairman, MauriceNewman.
“We are concerned that the ABCboard fails the balance test,"Cassidy said.
Manne said Brunton was “nofool”, with a “reasonably good ana-lytical mind”. But he predictedBrunton would seek to make theABC a “more conservative organisa-tion”. “It shows how ideological thegovernment has become,” he said.But Brunton's friends and colleaguessay it is unfair to describe him as ablatant Liberal barracker, pointing toBrunton’s regular criticisms ofHoward’s performance in office.
Brunton said his lack of broad-casting experience should not dis-qualify him from the ABC board: themajority of government-appointedboard members in 70 years had nobroadcasting experience.
“I regard it as an extremelyimportant cultural institution...and Ihave a very strong commitment topublic broadcasting,” he said.
Ewin Hannan is an Age senior writer.The Age - 10/05/2003
(abridged)
I’m Sorry -The Doctor Is In
Page 13
Page 14
A Bit FishyIf the claim is that the Government has never heard
of the Nolan rules, then the following must only be acoincidence!
On 29th March, in The Australian, the governmentadvertised vacancies on the board of a statutory author-ity, including an outline of the criteria, the qualificationsrequired and the presence of a selection committeewhich would make a recommendation to the Minister.
No – not the ABC, but the Fisheries Research andDevelopment Corporation.
The advertisement called for nominations to fill sixvacancies on its board. Friends’ issued a mediarelease congratulating the Government on its wisdomand looking for the same to apply in replacing MichaelKroger
“Failure to do so would smell very fishy indeed, ” saidthe release
update Print Post Approved PP 2 4 5 0 5 9 / 0 0 0 0 2Update is published four times a year by Friends of the ABC NSW, P.O. Box 1391, North Sydney 2059. Phone 9810 3358 Fax 9144 1351 web site: w w w. f a b c . o r g . a u / n s w
Opinions in the newsletter, which includes articles from Background Briefing published by Friends of the ABC, do not necessarily reflect those
of the executive committee of the Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. Current and past Background Briefing issues can be accessed at
www.fabc.org.au. U p d a t e goes to all members of FABC (NSW) Inc., as part of the membership fee. U p d a t e is also supplied to journalists, politicians
and libraries across Australia. It is produced and edited in Sydney but contributions are welcome from NSW country and interstate branches.
Material may be freely quoted or reproduced from the newsletter provided the source is acknowledged and reproduction is sent to FA B C ’s President
Gary Cook, Editor Brian Davies, Layout, format and assembly Irwin Kurtz. Unattributed text is by the editor.FABC UpdatePost The Editor
C/–FABC UpdatePO Box 1391North Sydney NSW 2059
Cartoon courtesyAllan Mackay
Schubert's SymphonyA company chairman was given
a ticket for a performance ofSchubert's unfinished symphony. Hepassed the invitation to the qualityassurance manager.
The next morning, the chairmanasked him how he enjoyed it, and,he was handed the following memo-randum:-
For a considerable period, theoboe players had nothing to do.Their number should be reduced,
and their work spread over thewhole orchestra, thus avoiding peaks of inactivity.
All 12 violins were playing identi-cal notes. This seems unnecessaryduplication, and the staff of this sec-tion should be drastically cut. Alarge volume of sound could beobtained through the use of anamplifier.
Much effort was involved in play-ing the demi-semiquavers. Thisseems an excessive refinement,and it is recommended that all notes
should be rounded up to the nearestsemiquaver. If this were done, it would be possible to use traineesinstead of craftsmen.
No useful purpose is served byrepeating with horns the passagethat has already handled by thestrings. If redundant passages wereeliminated, the concert could bereduced from 2 hours to 20 minutes.
One can only conclude that hadSchubert given attention to thesematters, he probably would havehad the time to finish his symphony.
We are finalising a Free TradeAgreement with Singapore SAFTA.
The Agreement (SAFTA) removesall tariffs and other trade barriersbetween the two countries. It is notsubject to parliamentary vote andgoes only to Cabinet for ratification.The Joint Standing Committee onTreaties (JSCOT) concludes itsinquiry by 24th June. The treatyhas a "negative list" approach whichmeans everything is included -unless specifically excluded.
Consultation involved contact withindustry, but very little with civil soci-ety groups. The JSCOT review is thepublic’s and parliament’s only oppor-tunity for input and scrutiny, but theGovernment is proceeding with thelegislation before the review is fin-ished
‘Negative List’ Dangers
‘Negative list’ means foreigninvestors/service providers must betreated as ‘locals’ with marketaccess in all areas.
The services chapter claims itdoes not apply to “services applied(by) governmental authority .” Butmany public services are now sup-plied on a commercial basis or incompetition with other serviceproviders.
A future government would not beable to implement policy contrary tothe agreement without facing dis-putes procedure and payment ofpenalties or compensation.
Restriction of Services
Listed as exceptions are AustraliaPost's delivery of standard letters,
Comcare, (Workers' CompensationInsurance for Commonwealthemployees and Air ServicesAustralia, the air safety authority.
Listed exceptions open to changein future include restrictions onmedia ownership, agricultural mar-keting authorities, audio visual ser-vices, creative arts and cultural her-itage; as well as "social servicesestablished for a public purpose:welfare, public education, training,health, child care, public utilities andpublic transport".
Right to Sue
Two enforcement processesenable a corporation to take legalaction to force changes to Australianlaw if they can argue the law is notconsistent with the agreement. Theycan sue the Australian governmentfor damages.
By Way of Comparison -
Rarely has a national issuecrept forth so quietly, attracting aslittle attention to itself as possible,with the government only occasion-ally exclaiming “Oh that issue!” -that issue being the InternationalAgreement on Trade in Services(GATS), and likewise a free tradeagreement with the United States(FTA). The spin the government putson an FTA portrays it as an econom-ic grail, but will it be and what’s thetrade off ?
NSW FABC issued this mediarelease after the first round of nego-tiations:
FABC calls for ‘sanity’ in US-Australia Free Trade Talk
NSW President, Gary Cook,said it was unbelievable that TradeMinister Vaile declared no areas inthe negotiations off-limits andrefused to exclude Australian pro-gramming and local content, claimingit was “tactical”.
“Whatever that means,” MrCook said, “it exposes Australia toAmerican pressure to eliminate localcontent and take an unfettered flowof film, television, music and otherprograms made in the US for the US.”
“It’s incredible that Mr Vaile failsto safeguard them, with yet anotherround of talks to begin where theAmericans will resume the horse-trading, including one report thatthey would agree to extra funding forthe ABC, provided local contentrules were dumped.”
“This is crazy,” Mr Cook said.“Australia’s cultural heritage is trade-able: tradeable for what - inferiorAmerican films and television;putting our own writers, actors andproducers out of work.”
“The ABC’s charter, by act ofparliament, requires the corporationto broadcast programs that con-tribute to our national identity; thatinform, entertain and reflect theAustralian community; that encour-age international understanding ofAustralian attitudes and promotemusical, dramatic and other perform-ing arts in Australia.”
Mr Cook said that if the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) was any example it wasnot just the cultural and entertain-ment sectors at grave risk.
“Before we sign anything weshould consider these examples -
US corporations have sued theCanadian and Mexican governmentsfor billions of dollars: challengingCanada Post’s ‘monopoly on letterdelivery’; and British Columbia forhampering a US corporation’s plansto export water from the province.They overturned a Canadian publichealth ruling banning a fuel additive;and won damages from a Mexicanmunicipality that refused them per-mission to build a hazardous wastedump in the area.”
Among other requirements here’swhat else the Americans want:
● Abolition of the ForeignInvestment Review Board
● Foreign corporations able tosue the government for decisionsthat might cut into corporate profits
● Opening up services like t e l e -communications, health, educationand water to foreign corporate control.
● Abolition of the PharmaceuticalBenefits Scheme
● Abolishing food labelling forgenetically modified foods and reduc-i n g quarantine practices
● Abolishing the right of all lev-els of government to purchase fromlocal suppliers
“The way the Government ishandling these and other trade n e g o-tiations seems almost Orwellian.”
Page 15
Odd Man Out at the Card Table – Who’s dealing?
New South Wa l e sGary CookPO Box 1391North Sydney 2059Ph: 9810 3358Fax: 9144 [email protected]
A l b u r yABC Support GroupJim Saleebac/- 621 Lindsay Av eAlbury NSW 2640Ph: 6021 5690Fax: 6021 0616s a l e e b a @ a l b u r y. n e t . a u
A r m i d a l ePriscilla Connor41 Judith StreetArmidale NSW 2350Ph: 6772 3454 or 6772 2217c p s u m m e r s @ n o r t h n e t . c o m . a u
B a t h u r s tNorah Ta y l o r254 Keppel StBathurst 2795Ph: 6331 [email protected]
B e g aEleanor Beasley2 Main StreetMerimbula 2548Ph: 6495 1392 Fax: 6495 3202
Blue MountainsJohn DerumP. O . Box 469Springwood 2777Ph: 4758 6979j o h n d e r u m @ b i g p o n d . c o m
Central CoastJohn Hale21 Stephenson Rd.Bateau Bay 2261Ph: 4333 8107j h a l e @ t a c . c o m . a u
E u r o b o d a l l aMichael Ta y l o r1 2 Hawkins RdTuross Head, NSW Ph: 4473 8261 (W)Ph: 4473 8561 (H)t a y l o r a @ a c r. n e t . a u
Great LakesAudrey Semon (Secretary)P.O. Box 871Forster 2428Ph: 6554 8507a s e m o n @ t s n . c c
I l l a w a r r aJan Kent (Secretary)Friends of the ABC IllawarraPO Box 336,Unanderra 2526Phone/Fax: 4271 3531j a n k e n t @ b i g p o n d . c o m
N e w c a s t l eHank Wi l l e m sc/ PO Box 265 Merewether 2291g s t r u c k @ o p t u s n e t . c o m . a u
Northern RiversNeville Jennings PO Box 167 Alstonville 2477Ph/Fax: 6674 3830 (H)n j e n n i n g @ s c u . e d u . a u
O r a n g eAlan Sisley6 The Overflow, Clifton Grove, Orange NSW 2800Phone 6365 11 5 8a l a n s @ i x . n e t . a u
P a r r a m a t t aMal Hewitt31 Queen St, Granville 2142Ph: 9637 2900m a c i a n @ i p e n t i r e . c o m
Port Macquarie/Mid North CoastDrusi MeggetPO Box 1752Port Macquarie NSW 2444Ph: 02 6583 8798d r u s i @ f e l g l o w. c o m . a u
Vi c t o r i aFriends of the ABC (Vi c )GPO Box 4065MMMelbourne VIC 3001Ph: 03 9682 0073Fax: 03 9682 0074f a b c v i c @ v i c n e t . n e t . a u
Q u e e n s l a n dElisabeth McClementP.O. Box 1658Toowong QLD 4066Ph/Fax: (07) 3378 7930 d e m c @ p i c k n o w l . c o m . a u
A C TMargaret O’ConnorGPO Box 2625Canberra A C T 2 6 0 1Ph: 6251 1880Fax: 6244 6690 (Wm a r g o f o r t e @ h o t m a i l . c o m
South A u s t r a l i aJoan LaingP.O. Box 1758 Hutt St, Adelaide SA 5 0 0 0Ph/Fax 08 8271 0751j l i a n g @ s e n e t . c o m . a u
Western A u s t r a l i aRoger RavenPO Box 179Darlington WA6 0 7 0Ph/Fax: (08) 9370 [email protected]
Ta s m a n i aAustra Maddox5 Albuera StreetBattery Point, Tasmania 7004Ph: (03) 6223 2981 (H)(03) 6211 9314 (W)a u s t r a m a d d o x @ o z e m a i l . c o m . a u
Northern Te r r i t o r yBrian HolmPO Box 210 Howard Springs NT 0 8 3 5Ph: (08) 8983 1251Fax: (08) 8941 3350Mob: 0409 831 251a b c f r i e n d s _ n t @ w e - w o n t -b y t e . c o m
State and regional branches of Friends of the A B C
Page 16
Membership form Please fill out the form below and return it with your payment to: The Tr e a s u r e r, Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc.PO Box 1391, North Sydney NSW 2059.
N a m e E m a i l :
A d d re s s S u b u r b P / C o d e
Phone (Home) ( Wo r k ) M o b
Federal Electorate Give my details to my local FABC Branch
Age Group 30 or under 31-50 5 1 + Membership No.____________________
I would like to join I would like to renew I am interested in helping I would like to join the phone/fax/email network (and help pass on information to members)
I / We apply for membership of FABC (NSW) Inc. and accept it’s objectives and rules. S i g n a t u r e . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Individual $ 2 0
F a m i l y / H o u s e h o l d $ 2 5
S t u d e n t $ 1 5
P e n s i o n e r $ 1 5
Corporate (covers 3 members) $ 6 0
I would like to make a donation $ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Cardholders signature Amount $
I am paying by cheque in favour of FABC (NSW) Inc.
money order b a n k c a rd m a s t e rc a rd v i s a
