Budget shortchanges arts and the ABC

Treasurer Scott Morrison delivering the Budget on Tuesday night. Photo source: Facebook

The federal Budget has again left the arts community and public broadcasting shortchanged with no extra funding for the arts and the prospect of further cuts to jobs and services at the ABC.

While base funding of the ABC has been maintained, funding for specialist news services will be cut by cut by $18.6 million over the next three years, putting further pressure on already undermanned staff and raising the prospect of cuts to its regional news operations.

MEAA chief executive officer Paul Murphy said the new triennial funding agreement also announced tonight in the budget was a disappointment.

“The ABC’s base funding may be untouched, but of course the true damage to the corporation was done in 2014 and 2015, where about $250 million was cut,” he said.

“None of that money has been restored, while the special funding allocated to expand news gathering services - like the national reporting team, regional bureaus and the Fact Check unit - has been cut and news services will be placed under extreme pressure.”

MEAA is also disturbed that the new Prime Minister and Minister for the Arts have maintained the doomed course charted by their predecessors in the 2015-16 federal budget, which slashed $105 million from the Australia Council (since partly restored) and $40 million from Screen Australia.

Read more from the MEAA media release from Budget night.