Paul Scarr voted strongly for decreasing ABC and SBS funding

At the end of the motion, add: ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that on 8 December 2020, Minister for Communications, the Honourable Paul Fletcher MP, stated that the 'commitment from the ABC is about funding they receive under the Code, should they receive remuneration under the Code, that that would go to regional journalism…there's no intention on our part to in some way offset that'; and

(b) calls on the Government to guarantee that revenue collected by the ABC through deals done under the Code will not be offset by any reduction in government funding".

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the interim report of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements stated that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is a trusted broadcaster of emergency messages and warnings during bushfires and that ABC managers should be embedded in all state and territory emergency management centres to ensure delivery of critical information to the public,

(ii) emergency reporting during the bushfires cost the ABC an additional $3 million,

(iii) the ABC has been an essential source of news during the COVID-19 pandemic with digital, television and radio broadcasts all seeing a dramatic increase in ratings, and

(iv) the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has cut more than $783 million in funding from the ABC, and the ABC is currently operating with its smallest budget since 1996;

(b) expresses gratitude for the essential role that the ABC has played in keeping Australians informed and safe throughout the bushfire season and the COVID-19 pandemic; and

(c) calls on the Morrison Government to reverse the indexation pause on ABC funding and guarantee stable and adequate funding for the ABC.

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the ABC has asked staff to volunteer for redundancies as it prepares to axe more than 200 positions to meet the Federal Government's $84 million budget cut,

(ii) more than $300 million has been cut from the ABC by the Coalition Government since 2013,

(iii) ratings show the ABC almost doubled its audience in March as the COVID-19 crisis took hold in Australia,

(iv) 60% of people in bushfire-affected areas said information from the ABC helped ensure their safety,

(v) emergency broadcasting during the summer bushfires cost the ABC an additional $3m,

(vi) the public broadcaster is the only news source in many regional areas, and

(vii) accurate news and information, and the telling of Australian stories is more important than ever right now; and

(b) calls on the Government to restore every dollar cut from the ABC's budget since 2013.

That the Senate—

(a) thanks the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for its service in delivering vital emergency broadcasts and comprehensive coverage during national catastrophes, especially this year's devastating bushfires fires and the COVID-19 pandemic;

(b) recognises Australians turn to the ABC as the most trusted source of news and information during times of crisis;

(c) notes that the ABC has released independent research, submitted to the bushfire royal commission, which found that:

(i) 60% of people in bushfire-affected areas said information from the ABC helped ensure their safety,

(ii) 81% of people were aware of the ABC as an information source, and one in two used it as their main source of information during the summer crisis,

(iii) respondents said they trusted the ABC's channels and websites more than the commercial ones, and ABC local radio was essential when internet and telecommunications failed in bushfire zones, and

(iv) the ABC's Emergency website was the ABC's most trusted platform (74% trusting it "greatly") along with ABC Local Radio (72%) and ABC News TV (71%);

(d) acknowledges that:

(i) the ABC's emergency coverage saved lives during the bushfires,

(ii) the ABC has lost $783m in funding since the Coalition Government came to power in 2014, and

(iii) 250 ABC workers will now lose their jobs across news, entertainment and regional divisions as a consequence of years of underfunding by the Coalition Government and the paused indexation funding; and

(e) calls on the Government to properly fund the ABC and reverse the $83.7 million paused indexation funding, as a matter of urgency.

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released the final report in its Digital Platforms Inquiry, and

(ii) it has emphasised the importance of the public broadcasters and recommended stable and adequate funding "in recognition of their role in addressing the risk of under-provision of public interest journalism that generates broad benefits to society"; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) move from triennial to quinennial funding cycles for the public broadcasters,

(ii) fully restore the cuts to funding since 2014, and

(iii) guarantee a minimum level of funding across the quinennial cycles.