ABC staff strike prove they’re a useless, entitled bunch

Let the ABC staff go on strike – it will only serve to prove that Australia can live without the money grabbing publicly funded broadcaster.

Not good enough! The ABC’s staff say they’re going on strike for a whole 40 minutes next week to get an outrageous pay rise.

I hope the ABC’s bosses have the guts to put up their feet, order in the popcorn and watch their staff prove to Australia that we really can do without them.

What arrogance to think their services are so critical that a strike – and this short – should make the Albanese Government and ABC board go to water.

Mind you, the unions could be right. Without the staff, who will polish Albanese’s halo?

But for the rest of Australia, it’s all good. For one, the ABC audience would have a refreshing opportunity to break out of the ABC bubble and get their news from somewhere else – the plethora of private-sector newspapers, radio stations, TV outlets, podcasts and video channels that don’t all share the ABC worldview.

Maybe then more Australians will wonder why we pay $1.1bn a year for a state broadcaster that’s been hijacked by the Left and is watched or listened to by only a fraction of Australians.

What to think the ABC services are so critical that a strike should make the Albanese government and ABC board go to water. Picture: AAP

And what a bureaucracy! The ABC now has no fewer than 3825 full-time and 738 contracted employees.

In contrast, Sky News has fewer than 300 staff for its three TV channels and regional service, as well as its hugely popular YouTube site. And taxpayers don’t have to pay a cent.

The ABC unions’ demands only underline just how extraordinarily entitled many of the staff must feel.

A 6 per cent a year pay rise? Plus 15.4 per cent super?

Who gets rises like that in the private sector?

This from staff who didn’t lose a dollar or a day during the lockdowns, and can’t be bothered striking for longer than a lunchbreak.

And guess who has to fund this grab? Sinddy Ealy, the ABC section secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, said the ABC could just ask the Albanese government to pay for it – just after it handed the ABC an extra $25m a year to keep it on-side.

The ABC unions even want workers to automatically get promoted to the next pay grade over time. What, regardless if they’re been loafing? Just ticking boxes?

Oh, please. Strike longer. Prove the ABC can shut and … guess what? We’ll cope. ABC viewers might even find a new bright world.