Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

On the night before the last election, Tony Abbott stared down the barrel of a camera and uttered this earnest vow:

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.

It was Mr Abbott's final offer to the Australian people, a solemn promise—a promise he made on SBS World News. He asked the Australian people to trust him, to take him at his word. They did. But he lied. And we all know what has happened since. Mr Abbott promised there would be no cuts to SBS, yet last year he cut the budget of SBS by $53.7 million. The Communications Legislation Amendment (SBS Advertising Flexibility and Other Measures) Bill 2015 is intended to allow SBS to put more ads on TV to try to make up for some of Prime Minister Abbott's cuts that he promised not to make to SBS's budget. It is designed to cover up and paper over another broken promise.

There may be good reasons to support some of the measures in this bill, but, if the parliament passes it, it will be complicit in Prime Minister Abbott's broken promise. That is why the opposition will not support this bill. SBS viewers should not have to watch more ads during their favourite shows to make up for the Prime Minister's and the Liberal Party's lies. Yet this legislation will allow a doubling of the advertising—