ABC Showcase

Wednesday, 11 March 2008

It is a pleasure to be here this evening.

The ABC is one of Australia's most loved public institutions - it's a national treasure.

Since its inception more than 75 years ago, the ABC has played a central role in the life of every Australian, entertaining, informing and educating generations of citizens.

As Mark Scott [ABC Managing Director] says, the ABC is the virtual "town square" of Australian society.

Indeed, the national broadcaster has long been vested with the development and nurture of our national cultural identity.

It provides the medium by which we tell our stories to each other, and the place in which we come together to share our experiences.

The ABC has done this by staying true to its core purpose and close to its audience, while continually reinventing itself to meet the evolving challenges of an ever-changing media world.

It has demonstrated a strong capacity to respond to the demands of its audience with creativity and with passion.

With the advent of digital media, and the many and varied challenges the online and multichannel environment pose, it is more important than ever that the ABC is able to continue its role as a comprehensive national broadcaster.

The Rudd Government has made clear its intention to ensure the strength and independence of the ABC, and to position it to take on future challenges and embrace emerging opportunities.

An important step in this process was the public review of both our national broadcasters undertaken late last year.

The discussion paper published by my department called for comment on how the ABC, and SBS, should operate in the evolving digital, online and global media environment.

We received more than 2400 submissions to that paper.

This was resounding proof of the passion for public broadcasting held by the Australian people.

Views were put on a diversity of issues ranging from:

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• programming and content including children's programming;
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• Australian drama and multicultural content;
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• the location of ABC radio studios;
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• the availability of online services and, of course;
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• funding.

The submissions put to the review will help shape our national broadcasters over the next decade.

They will help us frame policies for the long-term future of public broadcasting in Australia.

And, of course, the views of the Australian public are being taken into account as the Government considers the next funding round for the ABC and SBS, which is currently underway.

The Government is also well-advanced in establishing the new independent appointments process to the ABC and SBS Boards.

For too long the process of appointing directors to both boards has been open to political interference.

It is high-time to restore independence, and the new process has proved to be an effective means of doing this.

This will be demonstrated by the upcoming appointments that were determined under the new system.

I will be announcing two appointments to each of the ABC and SBS Boards in the very near future.

We're here tonight to see some of the ABC's plans for the coming year, and to hear about its plans for future developments, particularly in new and emerging digital multichannel and online media spaces.

But before I comment on that, let me make a more basic, but equally important, point and one about old media technologies, such as radio.

Sometimes, we only realise the true value of our ABC when it is brought home to us in the most essential ways.

The ABC plays a vital role ensuring Australians are well connected in times of crisis.

ABC Radio in particular, is a virtual lifeline to communities faced with an emergency situation and its aftermath.

This was never more clearly demonstrated than during last month's devastating Victorian bushfires, when the ABC took on the role of official emergency services broadcaster for affected areas across the state.

As these fires took hold and continued to burn following that horrific Saturday on the 7th of February, thousands of people turned to the ABC for vital up-to-date information.

And indeed, with the emergency over, the ABC continues to support affected communities.

I understand that in the Kinglake area a temporary radio service has been established to provide "ultra-local" information as recovery and rebuilding take place.

I would like to congratulate the ABC for these efforts and its continued expert support for emergency response.

Congratulations also to the ABC for putting together this evening's showcase.

It's a great opportunity to catch sight of some of the exciting things that the ABC is already doing to position itself for the future.

New services launched in the last year, such as iView - the ABC's online, on demand digital video player - are an indication of the creativity and vision at the heart of the ABC, and how it is investing in new media platforms.

The ideas and proposals contained in the ABC's triennial funding submission indicate that we can expect more such visionary developments in the future.

As many of you know, the Government is currently considering that submission, which will determine the ABC's funding for the next three years, and I am obviously unable to comment on those deliberations.

However, what we can see here this evening certainly gives some indication of the exciting plans the ABC has, and just what it hopes to bring to the Australian public in the digital media age.

The Rudd Government knows and greatly values the contribution that the ABC makes to our great country, and is committed to ensuring it can continue, and enhance, that contribution into the future.

Thank you and good evening.