Cuts to ABC funding would brand Abbott a liar, say Friends of the ABC

Friends of the ABC have said Prime Minister Tony Abbott risks being branded a liar if he does not promptly deny reports the Government plans to cut funding to the public broadcaster, after pledging its budget would not be touched prior to last year’s election.

Yesterday’s reports in Fairfax’s Sun Herald and The Age stated the Coalition government was poised to cut funding to the ABC and strip it of its international broadcasting service.

They claim Abbott and his colleagues in the cabinet expenditure review committee are looking at proposals to reduce the size of the budget for the broadcaster and are discussing how much they can cut and what would be politically feasible.

Glenys Stradijot, campaign manager of the Friends of the ABC in Victoria, said cutting funding would be a clear breach of Abbott’s pre-election promise.