Before reading any further, watch the video (27 sec) above.
It was the night before the 2013 Federal Election and Tony Abbott, on TV, confidently outlined areas of Government that would not receive cuts under his first term of Government.
Though today it has been announced that another $50 million may be cut from the ABC and SBS, after the budget already slashed funding to the public broadcasters by $43.5 million. At the time when this was announced, some commentators were relieved to find that sum smaller than what was originally expected (despite the coalitions promises leading into the election). Yet it seems the fallout from the 2014 Budget is continuing, with the ABC and SBS taking another hit.
Regardless of your opinion on the ABC and SBS, there is something inherently wrong when a leader of a party so clearly articulates a policy position, and less than 12 months later has to do a major backflip. Defence and the School Chaplaincy Program were not budget promises, though they got boosts in funding! Neither does it make economic sense. The ABC and SBS are two of the most efficient broadcasters (that's comparing all broadcasters, public and private) in terms of quality output per dollar input. So making them jump through more hoops is unlikely to make significant savings, which would be needed in a "budget crisis".
This round of cuts though has been defended as cutting 'back end' operations. That's a lovely vague title that doesn't appear attached to any form of employment! It also ignores the reality that the majority of work in TV is 'back end' work; legal teams, writing teams, consumes, catering, set production etc. Take away some of those roles, and it affects programming quality. The ABC was scrutinised for its handling of the students protesting on QandA, but security guards and risk management planning also fits into the 'back end' category of work as well.
The more and more this government releases details about its budget, the bigger hole it seems to dig itself into. It set the bar for accountability and honesty when coming into the election. Though it's about time they listen to what they said themselves, and follow the values that they were voted in for!