Australians are justifiably proud of the ABC. It is one of Australia's primary cultural institutions with a very significant and valued role to play in Australian life. The Coalition is fully committed to ensuring that the ABC remains an independent national broadcaster delivering quality programming to audiences as efficiently as possible, regardless of where they live.

Funding

In last year's Budget, the Coalition Government fulfilled its commitment made at the last election to maintain the ABC's triennial funding in real terms, and we will continue that commitment.

In the 2004-05 Budget, the Coalition Government has gone beyond the terms of its 2001 election commitment and provided a permanent addition to the ABC's funding of $4.2 million per year, indexed. This funding will assist the ABC to meet the increasing costs of television program purchasing, driven by increased competition for programming and changes in program production.

In addition, in the 2004-05 Budget the Coalition Government has continued the ABC's Regional and Local Programming (RLP) funding from 2005-06. This funding was first agreed in 2001-02, providing $71.2 million over four years for the ABC's National Interest Initiatives program. The Coalition Government has taken the step of agreeing to continue this funding well in advance of its end date in order to provide the ABC with certainty in its planning for the range of radio, television and online services that have been funded under the initiative. The Coalition will provide funding of $54.4 million for this initiative over three years from 2005-06.

In both cases, this funding goes directly to the ABC's capacity to produce and purchase quality programming.

In 2001-02, the Coalition Government agreed to provide the ABC with $90 million over five years to provide a television broadcasting service to the Asia-Pacific region, ABC Asia-Pacific. In the 2003-04 Budget we continued this funding commitment from 2000-01 of $3 million per annum (indexed) to assist the ABC to provide increased Radio Australia services to the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2004-05, the ABC will receive total Commonwealth funding of $774 million.

The Coalition Government has also made a significant and ongoing commitment to supporting the ABC in its move to digital broadcasting. We have provided nearly $93 million to the ABC since 1998-99 for its digitisation process, and it is separately funding the entire cost of the ABC's digital transmission services which commenced in 2001 and which will rollout across Australia. Over the next decade, the cost of enabling the ABC's digital television coverage to match its current analog services is expected to be in the order of $600 million.

This is a major investment by the Coalition Government in public broadcasting, and one that has been consistently ignored by critics of ABC funding. Without this digital funding, many Australians in regional and rural areas would be without access to the digital national broadcasting services that audiences in our cities and major regional centres now take for granted, and our national broadcasters would be unable to fully participate in one of the most important broadcasting developments in the history of television.

The Coalition Government has provided the ABC with a range of additional funding measures, to the extent that at the last Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Estimates hearings in May 2004, the ABC acknowledged that its funding had increased to a level equivalent to or above its 1995-96 funding.

During the 2003-04 to 2005-06 triennium the ABC will receive total Commonwealth funding in excess of $2.3 billion, a clear demonstration of the Coalition's commitment to the national broadcaster and to ensuring that all Australians have access to the ABC's comprehensive services spanning television, radio and online - regardless of where they live.

Appointments to the ABC Board

Appointments to the ABC Board are currently made by the Governor-General. This method of appointment reflects standard practice for Commonwealth statutory authorities.

Under section 12 of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, a person shall not be appointed as a non-executive Director of the ABC Board unless the Governor-General considers the person is suitable for appointment through:
§ having had experience in connection with the provision of broadcasting services, or in communications or management;
§ having expertise in financial or technical matters; or
§ having cultural or other interests relevant to the oversight of a public organisation engaged in the provision of broadcasting services.

The Coalition's primary commitment has always been to meet these legislative criteria and to ensure that the members of the ABC Board have a mix of skills appropriate to the running of a modern corporation with an annual budget of over $700 million. The Coalition will continue to recommend to the Governor-General the appointment of people it believes will carry out their responsibilities in line with the requirements of the Act.

A Senate inquiry in 2001 into methods of appointment to the ABC Board was unable to demonstrate any problems with the current appointments process.

Independence

The Coalition remains committed to an independent, truly national broadcaster devoted to excellence and objectivity and offering a clear alternative to the commercial broadcasting sector. The Commonwealth Government has no power of direction over the ABC in relation to programming matters. Parliament has guaranteed this independence to ensure that what is broadcast is free of political interference.

The Coalition also remains committed to the current ABC Act prohibitions on advertising and sponsorship.

Complaints Handling Processes

The ABC is a statutory body that is independent in programming and editorial policy from the government of the day. Although the Commonwealth Government has no power to direct the ABC in relation to these matters, as a taxpayer-funded national broadcaster the ABC has a responsibility to ensure that its operations are consistent with its legislative and Charter obligations and that it is meeting audience expectations and community standards.

As with all broadcasters, the ABC is not immune from criticism. For this reason, the Coalition is committed to ensuring there is a robust and independent process for handling complaints about the ABC. The Coalition is committed to strengthening the independent complaints handling mechanism to provide a more effective and streamlined process for handling complaints against the ABC.

Access to emerging technologies

As stated above, the Coalition Government has made a significant and ongoing commitment to supporting the ABC in its move to digital broadcasting. We have provided nearly $93 million to the ABC since 1998-99 for its digitisation process, and we are separately funding the entire cost of the ABC's digital transmission services which commenced in 2001 and which will rollout across Australia. Over the decade from 2001, the cost of enabling the ABC's digital television coverage to match its current analog services is expected to be in the order of $600 million.

This is a major investment by the Coalition Government in public broadcasting. Without this digital funding, many Australians in regional and rural areas would be without access to the digital national broadcasting services that audiences in our cities and major regional centres now take for granted, and our national broadcasters would be unable to fully participate in one of the most important broadcasting developments in the history of television.

More generally, the Coalition is committed to ensuring that the rollout of digital free-to-air television continues to progress well and that there is a smooth transition to digital television broadcasting.

In relation to digital radio, the Coalition is considering the issues associated with its introduction in Australia and expects to be in a position shortly to make an announcement on the next steps for taking this matter forward.

The Coalition welcomes the ABC's participation in the trials of digital radio technology that have commenced in recent times. The results of these trials will make an important contribution to policy discussion.

In relation to the internet, the Coalition recognises that it is an integral part of the communications environment. The ABC has a significant online presence.

Commitments by the Coalition Government such as that made in the 2004-05 Budget to continue the ABC's Regional and Local Programming (RLP) funding from 2005-06 are significant in this regard. This funding was first agreed in 2001-02, providing $71.2 million over four years for the ABC's National Interest Initiatives program. The Coalition Government has taken the step of agreeing to continue this funding well in advance of its end date in order to provide the ABC with certainty in its planning for the range of radio, television and online services that have been funded under the initiative. The Coalition will provide funding of $54.4 million for this initiative over three years from 2005-06.