Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise today to condemn this Liberal-National government's harsh cuts to the ABC and SBS. As we all know, this is another broken promise. Speaking on SBS news the night before the election, the Prime Minister—then opposition leader—promised:

… no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS.

That is exactly what we are seeing now. Since he said that, this government—the Liberal-National government—has cut more than $500 million from the ABC and SBS. So you can call it a broken promise, a deception or an untruth, but one thing is clear and that is that Tony Abbott and the National Party cannot be trusted.

They are cutting key programs, like of course 7.30 state based reports. Regional programming is also being axed, including the Bush Telegraph program on ABC Radio National. This much-loved program is being closed on the watch of the National Party—can you believe that! That is a betrayal that will haunt them for a very, very long time.

The ABC is so vitally important. In my area, we have ABC North Coast, based at Lismore, and also ABC Gold Coast, both providing outstanding news, current affairs and relevant information for our community. But of course the ABC is vitally important as well during times of natural disaster. People look and listen to the national broadcaster for information. I have grave concerns about regional outlets such as my ABCs, and I will not stand by while this government continues its cuts, particularly the National Party, who are cutting ABC.