MIRED in the politics of class warfare, the debate surrounding cuts to the ABC was always bound to be agenda-driven and emotionally-charged.
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Whichever way you hold it up to the light, a conservative government slashing funding to one of its most strident media critics is a bad look.
Throw in a broken election promise and an already unpopular prime minister and the decision reeks of political stupidity.
Emotion and politics aside, the issue of whether the cuts are justifiable should be about economics.
Does the ABC run fat? Probably.
A former manager this week likened some of Radio National’s rusted-on employees to free-range hens, laying one egg a day and spending the rest picking and preening.
And certainly the public broadcaster hasn’t been subject to the same savage cuts as sections of the commercial media.
Whether the cuts are an attack on free speech, as critics claim, or simply a bit of middle management housekeeping is unclear.
Until we have access to the granular financial detail, it is impossible to judge how much more efficient the ABC could run.
But as the government furiously tries to patch up a budget black hole, there’s no reason the ABC should not be subject to the same efficiency dividends as education, defence and indigenous programs.
The taxpayer spends more than $1 billion a year on the ABC and they are entitled to demand value for money.
What constitutes “value for money”, of course, depends on what value you place on the public broadcaster.
What’s been missed in much of the national debate is the critical part the ABC’s regional arm plays.
Presenters are not on inflated wages (Tamworth’s most senior host Kelly Fuller told Barnaby Joyce on-air recently she pocketed just $65,000 a year) and most do not have inflated egos.
Only 500 of the ABC’s 4500 employees are based regionally, but they perform an invaluable role as a public watchdog, emergency broadcaster and champion of communities.
Ultimately though, these cuts amount to poor politics, rather than poor policy.
The ABC is affectionately called “Aunty” for a good reason – viewers feel a familial connection with the station.
And the government should know better than to mess with family.
