Richard Alston the enigma

"The first minister to behave as if the ABC is a government department: he has his fist under the ABC's nose. "  Ken Inglis

This is a personal reflection by your editor, after years of trying to make sense of the fulminations of the Minister of Communications. It is not necessarily shared by anyone else in this organization.?

I thought of the late minister for communications as I listened to a short story on Radio National called the Museum of Vain Endeavours. The museum recorded futile endeavours great and small; the narrator marvelled that so many had persisted repeatedly in endeavours doomed to failure.

This could be said of most of Richard Alston?s endeavours. His frequent attempts to change the media ownership rules. His attempts to make a successful policy for digital television which would also satisfy the media moguls. His appointment of sympathisers to the ABC board in the hope of making it compliant. His continual attempts to intimidate the ABC into self-censorship.

In a satirical piece in The Australian in May, Matt Price postulated a ?sure-fire method for the national broadcaster to restore its battered reputation? which would need all its investigative resources. It was ?to unearth one thing that Richard Alston hasn?t comprehensively botched during almost eight years as Communications Minister.? Some task.

Senator Alston would play the buffoon on occasion, contradicting himself on his ?advice? to the ABC month by month and even day by day; putting out ?information? which did not survive scrutiny; acting indignant, outraged, and even sorrowful at ABC errors that only he and his cohort could detect.

Yet he is far from being a fool. The same Matt Price also said of him ?he?s an interesting, intelligent and amiable politician; even a bit of a charmer. He has five tertiary degrees ? and loves theatre, opera, ballet. He also possesses a wry sense of humour and a tremendously thick dermis.?

What were his achievements? In 1998, in reply to a letter asking him for an account of what he had achieved for the ABC up to that point, he referred to the sale of the national Transmission authority, captioning for the hearing impaired on the 7pm news and lending the ABC digital spectrum free of charge. At his final press conference on the 29^th of September, when asked a similar question, he spoke of the ?substantial achievement? of allowing parallel imports for CDs and the campaign to fix blackspots for television reception. Not a lot for almost eight years in the job.

Nor is his reputation squeaky clean. There was the matter of the undeclared indefinite loan of a $20,000 plasma television set from Telstra, and the overlooked family trust possession of Telstra shares. There was also the blow-out of the cost of setting up his department?s website from $600,000 to $4.26 million. (And he called the ABC wasteful and inefficient!)

Did he succeed in his intentions towards the ABC?

Leaked cabinet documents and letters from his early days as minister suggest that he and the government would have preferred a 20% cut in ABC funding and the reduction of the ABC to one television network, one radio network and a classical music station. The Mansfield Report, Friends of the ABC and public opinion put paid to that ambition.

But years of pressuring the ABC led to what must be close to the 90% outsourcing of television production that he demanded. And failure to fund the growth of the ABC in developments such as ABC Online, NewsRadio, digital TV production and much more has crippled the ABC and left it unable to fulfil all its charter obligations adequately.

His viciousness towards the ABC has always been met with courtesy and calm rebuttal from both board and management. They have countered abuse with reasoned argument, putting expert and expensive resources into answering his complaints.

Senator Alston possibly sees as his greatest achievement the effect he has had on morale and funding at the ABC. One word for this is devastating, and unless adequate funding is given in the future, Richard Alston may see his dreams come true in retirement.

But we must not be ungrateful. We thank him for the way he has multiplied our membership and rallied public support for everyone?s ABC.

Alston has been a gift to the cartoonists and they are loathe to let him go.?? I have to admit to one editorial regret: no more Alston cartoons.

Joan laing