Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister Representing the Minister for Communications, Senator Fifield. One day before last year's federal election then opposition leader Tony Abbott said that, 'There would be no cuts to the ABC or SBS.' Since then we have seen the $220 million cancellation of the Australia Network contract, the efficiency review on the ABC and SBS, leading to the so-called 'down-payment budget cuts' and now it looks as though 80 jobs will be going from the ABC. Minister, will you now acknowledge that Mr Abbott's pre-election commitment was a flat-out lie or would the minister instead prefer to read some irrelevant and monotonous talking points to take up the two minutes he has been allocated.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ludlam for his question. As the Prime Minister made clear, both in his capacity as opposition leader and since we formed government, there is no Commonwealth government agency or department that should not look to be as efficient as it possibly can be. We on this side of the chamber are very aware of the value of every taxpayer dollar and we do not apologise for wanting to ensure that every Commonwealth government department and agency is as efficient in their expenditure of taxpayer dollars as they can possibly be. The ABC is no exception, and I would hope that the board and the management of the ABC, including the managing director, are also of the view that where efficiencies can be made that should be the case.

As colleagues would know, Minister Turnbull announced an efficiency review. We saw in the budget that there was a down payment on ABC efficiency. What is clear is that the ABC, taking efficiencies into account, should be able to continue to provide the programming and the content that they do in the wake of the decision in the budget. The decision in the budget, as is clear to colleagues on this side of the chamber, relates to back office matters. It does not relate to on-air content. I would hope that colleagues opposite could see their way to accepting what we take as a self-evidence principle of government—that it is important to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I guess it was option 2. I understand that the Minister for Communications has today described the ABC's 80 job cuts as 'regrettable'. I also understand, although the minister can confirm this, that Minister Turnbull was cut out of the decision to appoint right-wing hardliners Janet Albrechtsen and Neil Brown to the ABC board appointments committee. Minister, who does have portfolio responsibility for the ABC—Malcolm Turnbull or Rupert Murdoch?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ludlam for his question but, I must say, even by his own standards that question is really below his usually rhetorical flourishes.

Let me perhaps address the actual question. I am not going to, for one second, take remotely seriously Senator Ludlam's proposition that Mr Murdoch actually controls policy in relation to the ABC. I am giving Senator Ludlam the benefit of the doubt that no-one in this chamber was intended to take that as a serious proposition. I will instead move to the other matter, which is that the Secretary to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has responsibility for the issue in relation to positions on the nomination panel for the ABC board positions.

Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I agree with Minister Turnbull's comments that these job cuts are regrettable. It is remarkable that he did not do anything about it, but will the government now commit to reversing the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts to the ABC which directly resulted in these regrettable job cuts?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not sure where Senator Ludlam gets his figures from when he says that there are hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to the ABC budget. That is just completely wrong, Senator Ludlam. You may care to advise colleagues in this place where you draw that figure from, because it has absolutely no basis in fact. I will come back to where I started, which is where I hope Senator Ludlam ends up, which is: we think taxpayers work very hard for the dollars that they earn, and we should be very mindful of those dollars that the parliament requires them to render to government in taxes. Those dollars are precious; they should be deployed to their best advantage. Government agencies and departments should be as efficient as they possibly can be. It is clear that we have a different view from you on that side of the chamber. I do not think there is any government department or agency that has reached administrative nirvana. They could all do better. (Time expired)