Excerpt from Speech on Appropriations Bills 2005

by Mr Bob McMullan, MHR, Member for Fraser (ACT)

… The crisis I want to refer to now relates to the cash crisis for the ABC, which is leading to a collapse in the production of local drama. I refer in particular to an article by Amanda Meade in The Australian of 19 May. I will be quoting extensively from that article but I will also be referring to some other discussions I have had with senior ABC people. They were private discussions, so I certainly will not be disclosing the names of the individuals. But very senior people in the ABC have confirmed the accuracy of this report. The article says:

The ABC will stop producing Australian drama altogether if the federal Government does not increase its triennial funding this year …

That is a warning from the Managing Director of the ABC, Russell Balding. There is a quote from him:

The ABC is nearing the day when it will not be able to commission any Australian drama at all because of the cost and the funding restraints …

The ABC had local drama output in 2001 of 102 hours; in 2004, it was 21 hours. That is an 80 per cent fall. I repeat the alarming situation whereby the ABC might ‘stop producing Australian drama altogether’. It has now fallen behind the production performance of the commercial television channels. It is lagging a long way behind. In fact, if it were bound by the requirements that the commercial channels face to produce a certain proportion of local drama, it would be in breach of those. The article refers to ‘high-end drama’, high-end drama being about quality, and ‘long-form drama’. Long-form drama includes long-running series like GP, PoliceRescue and the other innovative programs that have transformed Australians’ recognition of themselves and their society and have made a big contribution to our understanding of who we are and what we do. Long-form drama, which is in crisis, is significant culturally and significant in terms of opportunity for not just actors—although we all see television shows as jobs for actors—but the musicians, writers, technicians and a whole range of people who produce these dramas and create the basis for the successful film industry of which Australians are so proud. That will be in jeopardy if we do not get that core building block of ABC drama production right. I know there is a triennial review of the ABC funding this financial year and I urge the government to do something to ensure that we re-establish the necessary basis for drama production by the ABC.

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