Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you aware the award-winning SBS program Dateline is to be cut to half an hour and that 17 of the 24 staff have been sacked? Is this a 70 per cent efficiency dividend or, more truthfully, part of the ABC and SBS budget cuts? If SBS management has effectively axed Dateline for some other reason, do you agree this is an incompetent decision and must be reversed?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Denison for his question. The honourable member obviously missed the comments made by SBS managing director Michael Ebeid at the SBS 2015 program launch on 14 November. Mr Ebeid said that he was very confident that any savings would not compromise the broadcaster's content. He said that a big focus for the SBS team and him over the past six to 12 months had been to talk to the government about how they did business and the fact that they have very efficient work practices in their organisation—probably the most efficient in the Australian media landscape. He said he was absolutely confident that as an organisation they had the ability to absorb further cuts without compromising content.

SBS, through its managing director, has assured me that all of the savings occasioned by the changes to Dateline will be redirected into other news and current affairs programs. There is no reduction, therefore, in the money being spent on news and current affairs at SBS. This is entirely a programming decision. The SBS spokeswoman around the same time also said the changes to Dateline were unrelated to the efficiency review.

I remind the honourable member of the great wisdom of Bruce Gyngell, who was the first chairman of SBS when it was established by Malcolm Fraser. Bruce was the first face on Australian television. He ran Channel 9. He ran Channel 7. He always said that the problem with the television industry is that everybody thinks they are a programmer. Everyone has a view as to what should be on 7.30, what the Sunday night movie should be and so forth. Everyone has got a view on whether Dateline should be an hour or half an hour—what it should be. Ultimately, it is for the management and the board of the SBS to make those decisions. This is purely a programming decision and it has got nothing to do with the efficiencies that have been called upon the SBS to undertake as a consequence to the reductions in funding in the budget.

Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order on relevance. The minister has addressed the first part of my question, but not the latter part of my question.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is not point of order. The member will resume his seat.