Dr Michael Ward of the University of Sydney, a former senior ABC executive, has been poring over the figures.

In this disturbing article for ABC Alumni, he confirms what we’ve all suspected.  First release, non-news and current affairs screen content on the ABC’s main TV channel has dropped by 40% in ten years, and on all ABC platforms by around 20%.

If you’re looking for evidence that the ABC desperately needs its funding restored, THIS IS IT!

One of the ABC's primary responsibilities has long been telling Australian stories to Australian audiences.  

But rising costs and increasing competition from the giant streaming companies are making it harder and harder for the ABC to air home-grown, high-quality drama.

ABC Alumni Board Member, former ABC Director of Television and award-winning independent drama producer SANDRA LEVY outlines the size of the challenge:

The Federal Budget is in, and the news for the ABC is promising. No more cuts, no more freezes, and some modest improvements. But as Alan Sunderland writes, the biggest problem – the long-term significant underfunding of the ABC – remains.

ABC Alumni and ABC Friends launch our first 2023 joint campaign leading up to the May budget and the coming ABC 5-year funding agreement. If you’ve been thinking recent funding increases are enough, they’re not. As you’ll see in our campaign report, the ABC is still at risk of going backwards.

In a wide-ranging speech in Sydney today, respected former ABC broadcaster Kerry O’Brien has spoken of his despair at the lack of political leadership in Australia. “I have never seen Australian politics so rudderless,” he told a capacity crowd at a major election campaign rally organised by ABC Friends in conjunction with ABC Alumni. “Our parliament is failing us. Political leadership is in drought. Our public broadcaster is under sustained attack. And our democracy is in trouble.” Kerry’s message is simple: in these complex and challenging times, the ABC has never been more important – and so is this election. Our vote is the most powerful way we can speak up for our values. Please make your vote count by backing candidates who support an independent, properly funded ABC.

Communication Minister Paul Fletcher’s claim that the Morrison government “has provided strong and consistent support to the ABC” has been labelled “a breathtakingly misleading statement” by four academics who have studied the ABC’s funding in detail. In an article first published in The Conversation (28 April 2022), they say the government’s own figures show that ABC’s real funding has declined and will continue to do so over the next three years, if the Coalition is returned to power.

Michael Ward  PhD candidate, University of Sydney 

Alexandra Wake  Program Manager, Journalism, RMIT University 

Matthew Ricketson  Professor of Communication, Deakin University 

Patrick Mullins  Adjunct assistant professor, Centre for Creative and Cultural Research, University of Canberra 

Dave Sharma, the Liberal federal member for Wentworth in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, is fighting for his political survival against independent candidate Allegra Spender, who supports a well-funded ABC. In a recent election leaflet, Sharma claims that he has ‘helped secure a record increase in funding for the ABC’. With the help of former ABC executive Michael Ward (now at the University of Sydney), ABC Alumni chair Jonathan Holmes has been looking at the figures in the federal budget. Far from a record increase, writes Jonathan, it’s likely that the ABC will be worse off, in real terms, than it is now.

As the ABC celebrates its 90^th Anniversary, Managing Director David Anderson has penned a timely and heartfelt essay, giving a personal insight into the values of the public broadcaster to which he has devoted his entire working life. The MD covers everything from decision-making considerations to budget and other challenges of recent times, as well as his hopes and plans for the future. Former ABC Editorial Director Alan Sunderland offers this assessment.