By Calum Jaspan
The federal government has handed the ABC an early Christmas present, giving it an additional $83 million over two years from July 2026, as it continues its push to legislate a longer funding term for the public broadcaster.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said on Monday that the government will deliver the additional funding to the ABC over two years from 2026-27, with ongoing funding of $43 million extra thereafter. There was no additional funding allocated to SBS.
The decision to pump more into the public broadcaster comes after its chair, Kim Williams, launched a concerted campaign for increased funding. Williams, who replaced Ita Buttrose in March, has used a series of speeches since his appointment to extol the importance of the ABC in the local media landscape and why it needs to be better funded.
His latest call for increased funding came in November during a National Press Club event, where he argued that the ABC’s operating funding terms had fallen by $150 million a year over the past decade.
Kim Williams and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in January. The government announced increased funding on Monday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“When public investment in the ABC is discussed, it is often observed that its annual budget is over a billion dollars. This is true, and the board takes the responsibility of investing this money wisely very seriously. The fact remains, however, that the budget allocation has not kept pace with rising costs,” Williams said.
The ABC received $1.137 billion from the federal government across 2023–24.
Michelle Rowland announced the increased funding on Monday.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The latest announcement is part of an election pledge by Labor to provide more certainty to both the ABC and SBS in moving them onto five-year funding terms. The current term, which began on July 1, 2023, operates only on convention, with Labor now looking to legislate it.
The approach would allow both the ABC and SBS to have stable, five-year terms, with the amount of funding they receive to remain a decision for the government of the day.
Rowland said the steps announced reaffirmed the independence of the ABC and SBS and would protect them from future political interference. On Monday, the government also announced it will make available $153 million across four years to implement the News Media Assistance Program (MAP), to support smaller publishers.
The announcements follow a busy end to the year for the government and Rowland’s office. Last week, Rowland and Deputy Treasurer Stephen Jones announced a new media bargaining incentive policy in a bid to strong-arm digital giants Meta, Google and TikTok into compensating news publishers.
Rowland’s office also introduced, in late November, a policy to ban Australians under 16 years of age from using social media. However, some bills have failed or are yet to be seen, including the government’s misinformation bill, which was scrapped. A policy to curb gambling advertising, overseen by Rowland’s office, is also off the cards for now, 18 months after a cross-party select committee recommended a total ban.
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.