Federal Budget 2014: Tony Abbott breaks election promise with cuts to ABC and SBS funding

AFTER months of calls within the Abbott government to target the national broadcaster, the Budget reveals funding cuts will hit the ABC and SBS next year.

THE ABC is facing more funding cuts on top of those in the Budget after almost $40 million was slashed and its $223 million Australia Network global television deal was scrapped.

After months of calls within the Abbott government to target the national broadcaster for funding cuts amid claims of biased reporting, the Budget reveals the ABC and SBS will be hit with a 1 per cent cut to base funding next financial year.

But Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the $35.5 million in savings from the ABC and $8 million from SBS were only a “down-payment” on back office savings identified and being considered by the government and the outlets “over the coming months” following an efficiency review.

The cuts will trigger uproar from the Opposition after Prime Minister Tony Abbott promised before the election there would be “no cuts to the ABC and SBS” and the ABC board last week claimed there was no fat to cut.

But the government believes the scenario is better than the implementation of an ongoing efficiency dividend which, at 2.5 per cent, would have cut about $200 million over four years from the ABC’S $900 million annual base funding.

ABC managing director Mark Scott last night suggested the government had broken an election promise after saying it would not cut funding.

The cuts, he said, would lead to a reduction in services and redundancies.

“The funding cuts will be very disappointing for audiences,” he said.

Budget papers also reveal the Australian Communications and Media Authority will be asked to find $3.3 million in efficiency savings.

Mr Turnbull said the public broadcasters were an important part of national life but all public bodies had to play their part and the government was confident they could improve their work practices.

“By sharing the load, we lighten the load,” he said.

The government plans to save $196.8 million by agreeing to the National Commission of Audit recommendation to axe the Australia Network contract, including $76.8 million of savings over the next four years.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the deal with the ABC was part of a “fundamentally flawed” tender process under the previous government.

“The Australia Network has failed to deliver a cost-effective vehicle for advancing Australia’s broad and enduring interests in the Indo-Pacific region,” she said.

Outside Parliament House before the Budget release, a petition signed by 260,000 people asked the government to safeguard the ABC from cuts.

“On election eve, Tony Abbott promised ‘no cuts to the ABC or SBS” … just last month he said, ‘you can’t say one thing before an election and do the opposite afterwards’,” GetUp national director Sam Mclean said.

Originally published as Federal Budget 2014: Tony Abbott breaks election promise with cuts to ABC and SBS funding