THE ATTACK IS ON AGAIN, writes GetUp!
Yesterday, members of the Government – including Cory Bernardi, Bronwyn Bishop and Ian Macdonald – agitated to defund Australia's favourite public broadcaster.
Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi called our ABC a "taxpayer-funded behemoth", and suggested that
"... we could perhaps cut the ABC budget and allow the commercial media operators to compete."
Let's sign and share this petition, and create a huge, instant response to stand up for our ABC: http://www.getup.org.au/ourABC
Here's why we need to oppose this now: they've pulled this move before. This is the Coalition throwing out a test balloon, so they can see how the public responds to their long-held desire to slash the ABC.
Pulled straight from the Christmas wishlist of Rupert Murdoch and right-wing think-tank the IPA, defunding or commercialising the ABC would ruin a rare, educational and uniquely Australian public resource.
We like our ABC free of ads, free for all, free to remain fair and balanced.
Will you make sure Tony Abbott knows to keep it that way?
http://www.getup.org.au/ourABC
This is far from the first time politicians have tried to sell off our independent public resources. In 2006, when Howard tried to further slash funding to the ABC, GetUp members came out in force, holding grassroots demonstrations around the country, and forced a back down.
Earlier this year, members chipped in to run a national ad ensuring that the Victorian state Liberals backed down from threats to privatise the ABC.
Join the fight again?
http://www.getup.org.au/ourABC
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
Support independent journalism Subscribe to IA.
