The way the Australian public broadcaster, ABC, is run will be under review according to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) which came into power recently.
According to a report in the online e-newsletter, Rapid TV News, the government is, however, remaining silent on whether the broadcaster will still receive A$82 million for a new digital children’s channel promised by the previous government. The Australian broadcast industry will have to wait until the May 2008 budget to find out if there will be extra funding available.
The new government may also give the competition regulator the power to demand media companies divest assets if it deems them anti-competitive. The government is seeking advice on how to go about implementing that change.
In the light of the controversy surrounding the recently appointment of the SABC board, Screen Africa noted with interest that the Australian government of the day has a direct involvement with the appointment of ABC board members.
Rapid TV News reports that the new communications minister Stephen Conroy announced that the government would establish a new ABC board selection panel process to handle board appointments. The selection panel will be “at arms length’ from the minister. But while the panel will be able to draw up the shortlist, the final say remains with the government. If the minister chooses a non-shortlisted candidate “the Minister would be required to give their reasons for doing so to Parliament,’ said Conroy.
For South Africans, the Australian public broadcast situation has a strangely familiar ring to it.
