Union vows to fight ABC job cuts and brands government “liars” over office closures
The Community and Public Sector Union has vowed to fight job cuts at the ABC “tooth and nail” after insisting the quality of programs will suffer despite government reassurances to the contrary.
Secretary Michael Tull branded the government “liars” as the union surveyed the fall out from the broadcaster’s restructure that will see more than 400 jobs axed and local offices shut down.
“After promising not to cut, the Government has cut millions from the ABC’s budget and forced it to slash one in 10 jobs from its workforce. It is now abundantly clear that the Government’s cuts will seriously impact the quality of programming, despite assurances by (Communications Minister) Malcolm Turnbull to the contrary,” Tull said.
No cuts to the SBS or ABC eh Tone?
Media the globe over is going through massive change (not all for the better). To think the ABC should be somehow immune is a nonsense.
There are evidently 5,500 people working at the ABC….what on earth do they all do? That is way too many people. These cuts are well overdue.
Perhaps the ALP’s slogans for the next federal general election will include “Cut the vandals”.
Certainly something along those lines might well be adopted pronto by the Community and Public Sector Union (I would inwardly smile too much if I wrote “CPSU”) and/or by ABC Friends.
Tony the Wrecker and his atavistic tribe are here, and the nation is in danger of having them here for at least three years after the next general election.
Says AH at Nº3: “These cuts are well overdue.”
In that catch-all advice do you include your blessing of, for instance, the killing of the Friday-evening state-based editions of “7.30” and the killing of the ABC’s Adelaide television studios after their 55 years of existence?
I’m all for what the ABC stands for but 5,500 employees in 2014 to deliver what they do is laughable. Some of the content has extremely questionable value (yaaas I’m looking at you Josh Thomas) interspersed with some worthwhile bits says it all. If the current management can’t work out how to run more efficiently then get rid of them, that would save a fair bit
For anyone to try and justify cuts at the ABC as part of changes in the newspaper industry world wide has no understanding what is going on.
As for the suggestion the cuts at the ABC are well overdue, that is just total rubbish. The ABC produces a large number of programs broadcast over 4 TV channels, many radio stations and web sites. It is the biggest communication organisation in Australia supplying news and entertainment not just the the cities, but the many non commercially viable rural areas as well. Its services are world class and something all Australians should be proud of.
+ $250 mil for school chaplains
– $250 mil for ABC/SBS
Talk about priorities.
@Stevo – this whole debate is ideological. There are plenty of other areas of the budget that could be cut and that deliver less that the ABC/SBS. That’s not to say the ABC/SBS shouldn’t be cut at all, but you are right this whole debate is beating around the edges in terms of money saved. It’s purely ideological.
Regardless of whether these cuts are a good thing or a bad thing. Abbott outright lied – fact! He is a liar.
“Give us a $60 billion super-fast broadband,” they cry. “But don’t cut old, out of date radio programs and TV shows hardly anybody watches any more,” they cry too! I’d say that’s getting your cake and your icing too.
@steve.
Thanks for this perspective.
Cutting the ABC does seem to have a religious crusade about it!
KJ. Yes to think the ABC should be immune is a nonsense.
So why the hell did Abbott promise no cuts?
I’ll give you multiple choice:
(a) Abbott lied
(b) Abbott was ignorant of the facts
(c) Abbott had an unvoiced ideological and pathological loathing of the ABC
(d) All of the above