Federal budget 2018: ABC, Coalition at war over cuts to news, investigations

Relations between the ABC and the government deteriorated yesterday after a disagreement over a $43m funding package.

ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie. Picture: AAP

Strained relations between the ABC and the government deteriorated further yesterday after a sharp public disagreement over the fate of a $43 million package to fund ABC news investigations and regional newsrooms.

The government yesterday rejected ABC claims that the loss of the package would represent a $43m ­“direct cut” to ABC’s news department and could put at risk regional and investigative services.

ABC news director Gaven Morris told staff via a memo and the public via Twitter that the enhanced newsgathering funding package, which ends on July 1 next year, supported the investigations unit, specialist reporters and regional newsrooms in Geelong, Ipswich, Gosford and Parramatta.

“The government has chosen to discontinue the rest of it from June 30, 2019,” he said.

But Communications Minister Mitch Fifield took to Twitter and Facebook and said it was “completely false” that the government had decided to cease the enhanced news funding, which was part of a three-year grant announced in the 2016 budget. “No such decision has been taken,” he said.

A ministerial spokesman later clarified: “To date, the ABC have not submitted a proposal for renewing this funding.”

Morris then told his followers that he was “happy to provide an update”, saying that while the funding package expired next year, the ABC “was able to rebid for further funding”.

Tuesday’s budget did not mention the $43m, but announced that the ABC’s operational funding would be frozen at $3.16 billion from July 1 next year for three years, effectively slashing $83.7m from the corporation’s budget, which will be diverted to budget repair and other priorities in the Communications and Arts portfolio.

Executives and managers at the corporation met yesterday to discuss the impact, and ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie addressed all ABC staff at noon, after telling them in a memo the ABC would “oppose the decision and seek every opportunity to reverse the cuts”. The cuts have derailed the ABC’s triennial funding campaign, which will be announced in the 2019 budget and come into effect from July 1 next year.

The ABC, along with SBS, faces a new efficiency review to help implement the funding freeze.

While both broadcasters are subject to an inquiry into whether they use their public funding to unfair commercial advantage, the government is attempting to force them to disclose the salaries of senior staff.

ABC news is already losing about 20 newsroom staff, in an ongoing restructure process announced last month that has been criticised by the Commonwealth Public Sector Union as a “Hunger Games” process of job cuts. The ABC said it would replace those axed staff with new editorial managers.

The journalists’ union, the MEAA, said the cuts were “dangerous and irresponsible”.

“These funding cuts have placed enormous stress upon the ABC which, last night, was once again being asked to do more with less,” said MEAA media director Katelin McInerney.

The CPSU said it would meet the ABC to discuss the impact of the cuts, which it said totalled $254m since 2014.

CPSU ABC section secretary Sinddy Ealy said: “The ABC has been forced to sack nearly 800 people since this government began its cuts in 2014, and those who remain have faced ever growing workloads and stress as they’ve tried to minimise the impact on audiences.”

In contrast, SBS will receive a funding boost of $14.6m over two year from July 1 next year.

Ms Guthrie wrote to staff in reaction to the budget: “Let me be frank with you: I am very disappointed and concerned that after the measures we have introduced in recent years to deliver better and more efficient services, the government has now seen fit to deliver what amounts to a further substantial budget cut.”