SPAA weighs in on ABC commissioning debate
The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) this afternoon weighed in on the debate of ABC’s role in commissioning independent productions that rose in the wake of network redundancies and cuts to programming.
In a statement, Geoff Brown, SPAA Executive Director said, “SPAA believes that a commissioning model is the most efficient approach for the future with the digital revolution escalating costs, as it best leverages the taxpayer’s dollar to attract funding from other sources, thereby maximising the amount of independent Australian programming that can be made and shown on the public broadcaster.”
SPAA also believes that employment levels will not be affected as independent programs will employ hundreds of freelance technicians and artists and that “commissioning programming from the independent sector does not threaten the ABC’s independence as the ABC maintains editorial control over those commissions.”
ABC staff nationally have voted to begin a campaign that will inform the public and politicians about the cutting of in-house productions, preferring independent productions after production staff were offered redundancies in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.
