On the same day, 17 December 2024, the government has given the ABC some more money and promised to look at a new law to safeguard its independence. And the ABC Board has announced its choice for a new managing director: former CEO of Nine Entertainment Hugh Marks.
A plethora of Christmas presents, all of which ABC Alumni broadly welcomes – though in the case of the government’s decisions, with reservations.
HIGH MARKS FOR HUGH (for now)
First, the appointment of Hugh Marks as the ABC’s Managing Director. His qualifications are impressive. A business leader who recently managed the biggest media merger in Australian history – that between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media – which produced a media goliath encompassing television, radio, newspapers, text-based online news, and the streaming service Stan.
Before and after that, a leading independent producer of quality screen drama and comedy (and, less relevantly, of a lot of ‘reality TV’) at Endemol/Southern Star and currently Dreamchaser.
Though not a journalist by training, Marks supported investigative journalism at 60 Minutes and at The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, notably by spending many millions of dollars to support the allegations of war crimes, first published by Fairfax prior to the merger, against the defamation suit brought by Ben Roberts-Smith VC.
Marks has grappled for years with digital transformation at Nine and will face similar issues at the ABC.
Marks has said today that the ABC should focus on areas of excellence and not spread itself too thinly. Senior ABC executives have said the same thing to ABC Alumni in recent years.
The fact that the Board has appointed a senior and experienced media executive indicates to us recognition that the day-to-day operations of the ABC are a matter for the MD, while the Board focusses on the strategic direction of the ABC. We wish Hugh Marks well in what is a complex and difficult job.
NOT AN INCREASE, THE AVOIDANCE OF A DECREASE
As for the additional funding announced by the Albanese government today, it is of course welcome news. However, it’s important to understand that the addition to the ABC’s operating budget of a bit over $40 million per year from the 2026-27 financial year onwards is only a belated recognition of the real cost of the 3-year Turnbull-Morrison indexation freeze.
It restores the ABC’s operating budget to roughly where it would have been without that freeze, and removes the cliff over which it would have plunged on 30 June 2026, when a raft of ‘temporary’ Albanese funding increases would have come to an end. It does not represent any real permanent increase to the ABC’s funding, which is still well below what it would have been if there had been no cuts or indexation freezes since 2013.
It’s a tribute to Chair Kim Williams’s advocacy that the government has gone this far. But as Williams knows better than anyone, to achieve his ambitions for the ABC, much more is needed. We will be making this point in detail in the run-up to the election.
A REGRETTABLE DELAY
In the media release that announced the funding increases, Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland also stated that “the Government will legislate to firmly embed the five-year funding terms for the national broadcasters that were introduced from 1July 2023, and currently operate only by convention. The Government will consult on the proposed legislative changes in due course.”
That too is a welcome announcement, but ABC Alumni is disappointed that it is so vague, and so late. It was back in June 2023 that the Department of Communications announced a “review of options to support the independence of SBS and the ABC.” Like many other submissions, ABC Alumni’s called for the new 5-year funding terms to be embedded in legislation, so that funding cuts by a newly-elected government during the course of a 5-year funding period would need the approval of the Senate. 18 months later, in the government’s official response to that review, all we have is the vague statement that “the Government will consider options for appropriate protections of announced funding within legislative frameworks.”
So it has taken 18 months to decide to “consider options”. There is no chance of legislation being passed before the next election – so that if the Coalition wins power and decides to cut the ABC’s funding, it can do so by ministerial decree.
In ABC Alumni’s view, a missed opportunity.
Jonathan Holmes, Chair