MEDIA RELEASE - LIBS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO KEEP THE ABC IN PUBLIC HANDS - 17 APRIL 2019

17 April 2019

Scott Morrison and the Liberals can’t be trusted not to privatise the ABC, overnight reports confirm.

The Institute of Public Affairs wants the Liberals to sell off the national broadcaster as part of the think tank’s hard right agenda.
 
The IPA’s wish list is the Liberal Party’s to do list.
 
The IPA wields huge influence over the Liberal Party. It has been the training ground for a number of ministers and MPs, all of whom still take their instructions from the organisation.
 
The Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield, is a member of the IPA. Both have set out to destroy the ABC as we know it.
 
Only Labor will stand up for the ABC and fight against the Conservatives’ ideological war on our public broadcaster.
 
This latest push follows last year’s Federal Liberal Party council vote 39-10 vote in favour of selling off the ABC.
 
The Liberals and Nationals have been relentless in hitting the ABC, including cuts of $83.7 million confirmed in the Budget. The recent Senate Inquiry demonstrated the Liberals have used every avenue at their disposal to interfere with the ABC.
 
Bill Shorten has vowed to end the Liberals’ funding freeze on the broadcaster and restore the $83.7 million of Liberals’ cuts if elected.
 
About 17 million Australians consume some form of ABC content every week.
 
The ABC is among the most trusted institutions in Australia and it is the country’s emergency broadcaster in times of natural disasters.
 
People living in regional and remote Australia rely on the ABC for news, weather and entertainment, as it is often the only service they receive.
 
The ABC also plays an integral role in Australian cultural life and provides a range of children’s entertainment and educational programs.
 
Only a Shorten Labor Government will properly fund the ABC and guarantee its future as Australia’s national public broadcaster.
 
Now, more than ever, Australians need the ABC – our strong, trusted and independent public broadcaster.