Kim Williams calls ABC budget inadequate: ‘As our nation has become richer, our nation’s broadcaster has become much poorer’
ABC chair Kim Williams has argued the national broadcaster needs more funding, arguing “the budget allocation has not kept pace with rising costs”.
Williams used his first National Press Club address in more than a decade to argue the ABC needs “attention and care” in the current media climate, saying without the broadcaster, “the Australian media would be in a severe situation”.
After pointing out the ABC’s operating revenue from government has fallen by 13.7% – an annual reduction of $150 million – over the past decade, Williams derided those who think the ABC’s annual budget of over a billion dollars is sufficient, saying the budget allocation “has not kept pace with rising costs”.
In 2000, the ABC received 0.31% of the federal budget, now it gets just 0.13% – “a dramatic decline by any measure”, Williams notes.
“As our nation has become richer, our nation’s broadcaster has become much poorer.”
Kim Williams
“Moreover, in the 1990s, the ABC operated considerably fewer services,” he continued. “One television channel, rather than the four it has today. Its four national radio networks were mostly there, as were local stations, but six digital radio channels were not even a dream. Web services were nascent and there was no ABC iView or ABC Listen. No ABC Apps. No social media accounts. We have also expanded our physical footprint while other media services have contracted. So not only does the ABC have less, but it is more efficient and provides more.”
Williarms said “real funding reductions at the ABC have taken a very real toll”, noting reduction in children and educational programming, documentaries, drama, women’s sports, regional media, and the “squeezing” of Radio National, Classic FM, the metro capital-city network, and specialist audio services.
He said investment will give the ABC “extra trusted, high-quality news services, with an expanded fact-checking capability across all platforms; more and better children’s programs; additional educational content that complements school curricula; stronger diverse audio offerings; more and better documentaries, arts, drama and comedy programming; and, crucially, a viable strategy to engage in better ways with younger audiences to give them a brighter future”.
“To put my case most simply: the ABC needs a plan for renewal and re-investment, and it needs it now,” Williams said.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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Yes, the ABC has indeed become much poorer. Dropping Sarah MacDonald and Simon Marnie has lost it thousands of loyal listeners. You deserve all the approbrium that is being heaped upon you. A very sad time in your history.
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