ABC budget cuts: Aunty’s staff in rush to the regions

About 200 ABC journalists at the public broadcaster’s Sydney headquarters will be moved to other parts of the country.

ABC offices in Ultimo, Sydney. Picture: AAP

About 200 ABC journalists at the public broadcaster’s Sydney headquarters in Ultimo will be moved to other parts of the country by 2025 in a bid to bolster its news coverage around the country.

As part of the ABC’s five-year plan, it wants 75 per cent of its ­content makers — who include journalists, producers and editors — based outside Ultimo by 2025.

At present, about 64 per cent of them are based outside of Ultimo.

Managing director David Anderson said it was “an achievable target”, adding that if people left Ultimo, they would be replaced at any of the ABC’s 50-plus locations.

The broadcaster could also ­increase staffing numbers in Parramatta in Sydney’s west, he told ABC TV on Wednesday afternoon.

The ABC’s employee headcount stands at 3454, of which 2829 are full-time employees, according to an ABC submission to Senate estimates in March. It had 1321 staff at Ultimo, compared with four in Parramatta, which is only 23km from the Sydney CBD.

The ABC has 625 staff at its Melbourne office in Southbank, 286 in Brisbane and 165 in Collinswood in Adelaide.

Within regional areas, the ABC’s Wollongong office has the biggest headcount with 25, of which 21 are full-time staff, followed by 21 staff in Maroochydore.

Townsville has about 17 staff.

The broadcaster has only one person in Grafton, Katherine and Muswellbrook.

Mr Anderson said the ABC would sell off some properties, ­noting it had one on the market in Melbourne. It had properties at 56 locations around the country, most of which were owned, he said.