ABC backers cry foul on budget funds
Community advocates for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had hoped the Morrison government would restore some funding in its latest budget.
www.sbs.com.auHere’s the latest overview I can provide based on public reporting up to now.
- ABC funding in the latest Australian budget cycle: In late 2024, reporting noted an anticipated budget uplift for the ABC of around AUD 83 million over two years as part of the government’s midyear economic update. This was framed as additional funding for programs, pensions, childcare subsidies, and related measures, with broader savings and “inevitable” expenditures also highlighted in the update.[1]
- Follow-up budget coverage in 2025 indicated that the 2025 Budget did not include new funding specifically for the ABC, though it reiterated commitments from the previous year of extra funding amounting to about AUD 85 million over two years starting in 2026–27, with the ABC’s forward estimates showing a modest growth path alongside indexation to offset inflation.[2]
- Historical context: Several sources over the years have discussed the ABC’s funding tightness and attempts to restore or bolster funding to pre-2010 levels, but the details often involve complex portfolio statements and yearly allocations rather than a single line-item “budget restore”.[3][4]
If you want, I can:
- Narrow to a specific timeframe (e.g., “latest 2025–26 Budget documents” or “early 2026 updates”).
- Pull direct quotes or exact figures from the relevant budget papers and summarize with precise numbers.
- Compare ABC funding trends with other public broadcasters in Australia for context.
Would you like me to focus on a particular aspect (amounts, timelines, or policy implications) or provide a concise table of the key recent funding milestones with sources? I can also search for the very latest official budget announcements if you specify a date range.