So far the debate has been mostly about funding, Don Aitkin says. But it’s equally important for Australians to decide exactly what type of ABC we want.
Two themes have been prominent since Malcolm Turnbull first spoke about cut to funding for the ABC. The first is that there was a promise, which has been broken, not to impose cuts on the ABC.
The second is that there is something special about the ABC that makes it a kind of icon of Australian life, so it should be protected against anything and everything.
There is no doubt that Tony Abbott made a specific promise that there would be no cuts to the ABC. Equally, he did say that there would be a reduction in the size of the public service, and the ABC is certainly part of that: it is a statutory corporation owned by the Australian Government. Julia Gillard did say that there would be no carbon tax under a government that she led. Yes, circumstances changed, but that was a promise that she did not adhere to.
My own view is that politicians’ promises during election campaigns are hardly to be taken seriously. I wish it weren’t so.
As to the second, here’s Misha Ketchell, one of the editors at The Conversation …
Professor Don Aitkin was Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra from 1991 to 2002 and has a long-standing interest in policy studies and practice relevant to higher education and research. His intellectual interests centre on history, political science, music and literature.
AND …
• Articles from CLA’s December CLArion newsletter:
