Sensible advice.

The ABC should be privatised as is the American ABC. Then it can legitimately waffle on with its political bias, to an audience willing to pay for it.

I can understand the authors need for brevity, but the subject of political bias would need to be added for a more complete overview.

Dan

The comment " … may have been appropriate in the past" certainty applies to the ABC, which is no longer appropriate in 21st. Century Australia.

"The ABC, however, was formed by the government as a way to regulate broadcast services and to ensure that audiences had reasonable access to a range and high standard of radio services", is what the ABC says about itself.

'Regulate broadcast services'. How? And what's to regulate? One taxpayer-funded network regulates all the others? 'High standard of radio services'? Hardly. The main excuse, not mentioned, was to connect to rural and remote regions. That was the only reason for the existence of the ABC, I would have thought, given the cost to the private sector.

But, with satellites and the internet, the main (and only valid) reason for a billion dollar broadcaster would seem to have vanished.

In an era where governments are spending too much and taking too much from taxpayers, there is no excuse whatsoever for the white elephant that the ABC has become. Forget the political rants. It's about dollars and cents.

Every so often the extreme right-wing think-tank comes up with this nonsense, to limit our right to know, have the excesses and corruption by pollies exposed? Even send in their arm of the police to shut it down and whistleblowing ASAP. And try with all their trickery, to water down a Federal ICAC, so as to avoid scrutiny and exposure.

Our ABC is already massively underfunded and under attack by this (fifth column) element?

If the ABC is privatised? All we will have left is the Murdoch media and those voices on the extreme right who know to a genic man that climate change is BS, and that coal is good tucker, etc/etc!

We have no bill of rights and our freedom of speech is under attack by the hard right, as a prelude to totalitarianism? Elected dictatorships?

And the first casualty in this exercise, is freedom of the press and freedom of speech! As in China, Russia and Turkey to name the most glaring examples? And where whistleblowers and investigative Journalists disappear, to who knows where?

Protect the last bastion of freedom of thought/expression and investigative journalism we have left!

The AAP have folded the tent and moved on!
Alan B.

Only about two hours ago I listened to an ABC sheilah getting into young Josh our treasurer. Gawd, was this thing vicious, she was like a Jack Russell with a rat.
The Australian ABC is a Labor propaganda machine & should therefore be privatised. With that Billion Dollars we could have the best National Service in the World instead. This would guarantee a better future for Australian in a way this ABC could only ever dream about !

Dearest Alan.

What you seem not to recognise in your criticism of the ABC critics, is your defence of a personal political bias; which is exactly what you criticise in others of the opposite view to yours.

The ABC is hugely bias. Not only am I personally opposed to the whole gory glory of the organisation, but I'm hostile to it.

You'd need to be Blind Freddy, not to recognise the bias. But you simply sweep it away by declaring your own bias view of it, pronouncing your view as the acceptable status quo.

There it sits, pandering to your world view of small "l" liberal, which is exactly as posters above point out, the Labor/Green bias, when actually, there are other opinions.

That makes the ABC narrow minded and non- inclusive of the general population.

To be fair, it needs to be totally disbanded, and cost savings to Government redistributed to more inclusive and broarder community engaged investments for tax payer funds.

Dan

Sorry, Dan. Cannot agree with your take. And understand, no left-leaning political enthusiast, is ever going to advocate for a flat tax! Never!

Tax is by definition, other folk's money! To pay for services we all use and need, one of which is to be informed!

And liked by fair-minded folk on all sides of the political spectrum! No question! Especially those older folk some of who like me paid over 60 cents in the dollar as our share of a common responsibility and in keeping with a true Christian ethos!

A nation shall be judged by how they treat the less well off in their midst Or to quote, Insomuch as you do to the least among you, you also do unto me!

It was my generation and others before me who built this country and it has been extreme right-wing thinkers who sold it and us down the river, created the growing divide between the haves and have nots!

What has the never ever consulted, privatisation done for this nation, except economic harm and the loss of our modest manufacturing base!?

The ABC is not perfect, but miles better than that channel that hosts patent right-wing air-heads like Credilin etc.

Think, when we owned the telco, the bank, and a couple of airlines, rated the best in the world!

These same entities paid enough annual revenue into consolidated revenue to pay for aged pensions.

Instead of privatising the ABC and crying poor, the government should cap negative gearing in real estate at 5 houses, and eliminate capital gains subsidies for real estate investors. There's more than the total ABC budget there!

Talk paying your way and for what you use, runner?

Ok, but just make sure it's for all, just not the poor and downtrodden as the only ones paying for it and ( anti-Christian) welfare for the rich!
Alan B.