11th Jun 2020, 4:42 PM – Senate Motions - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Restore funding

The same number of senators voted for and against the motion introduced by South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the ABC has asked staff to volunteer for redundancies as it prepares to axe more than 200 positions to meet the Federal Government's $84 million budget cut,

(ii) more than $300 million has been cut from the ABC by the Coalition Government since 2013,

(iii) ratings show the ABC almost doubled its audience in March as the COVID-19 crisis took hold in Australia,

(iv) 60% of people in bushfire-affected areas said information from the ABC helped ensure their safety,

(v) emergency broadcasting during the summer bushfires cost the ABC an additional $3m,

(vi) the public broadcaster is the only news source in many regional areas, and

(vii) accurate news and information, and the telling of Australian stories is more important than ever right now; and

(b) calls on the Government to restore every dollar cut from the ABC's budget since 2013.