In 2018 the government paused the indexation of operational funding, an effective cut of $83.7 million over 3 years.
This followed years of brutal cuts to the ABC’s operating grant.
The cuts had devastating consequences. The loss of deep experience and collective memory was immeasurable. Slowly but inexorably the quality of the ABC’s offerings was downgraded.
The Albanese government has restored the losses incurred by the indexation pause and reinstated indexation. The government also agreed to legislate five year funding terms to improve planning and stability.
But the indexation formula does not cover the full costs of inflation or the escalating costs of broadcast production.
Unless urgent steps are taken to stabilise the ABC’s funding, there is a real risk of more cuts to the ABC’s programs, staff and services.
We call on all parties and candidates for office to support a change to the indexation formula for the ABC to cover the impact of real-world inflation, including the cost of content production.