by Dee McLachlan
Just as the promised inquiry into the ABC is about to start, the Australian Liberal Party’s peak council has voted (almost 2:1) to privatise the organisation. The inquiry is about whether the ABC and SBS are operating on a “level playing field” with their commercial competitors, and its presence in the digital space.
It seems obvious that the commercial players, such as Rupert Murdoch, want to diminish the ABC’s dominion and its considerable market share.
The Infatuation with Privatisation
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote: “The overwhelming vote at the party’s annual council in Sydney gained vocal support from conservative think-tank Institute of Public Affairs, which said the company could be sold or given to Australians who already own it.”
(Note: The council also voted, by 43 to 31 votes, to relocate the Australian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.)
The debate’s motion said: “Privatising it would save the federal budget $1 billion a year, could pay off debt and would enhance, not diminish, the Australian media landscape.”
In 2015, we were paying a billion dollars of interest each month. So, the sale of the ABC would pay off the interest of the debt for a few weeks — and then what? (Debt clock here.)
And would it “enhance” the media landscape? I doubt that, considering that the commercial channels are almost clones of each other already.
And what a cute little trick, saying “the company could be given to the public.” Ahem, we already own it, never mind the fact that we get cut off the air if we call in with an “unpopular” idea.
Public Sentiment Backlash
The call for privatisation enraged many SMH readers:
“Just where will this privatisation cease? It only ever serves the enrichment of a few at the expense of the rest of us. Keep up the good work, Aunty! – Tim Herborn, Blackheath
“We want award-winning journalism and independence – the ABC as it is now – but with more funds, not cuts. Privatisation will turn it into a Liberal Party propaganda machine – which is what they want. – Mary Lou Spratt, Birchgrove
“If the ABC is dismantled and got rid of, I’m leaving! – Dorothy Gliksman, Cedar Brush Creek.”
In a Get Up campaign, they urged the public to make submissions to the Inquiry, suggesting that, “…they’ve [right wing faction] all been working for months cooking up sham ‘evidence’ to submit to the inquiry.”
Ned’s Comments
Gumshoe writes constantly about the UNTRUTHFUL reporting of the ABC — and how they usually mimic the MSM narrative (e.g. JFK). And James O’Neill’s article “Just Who Is The Fruitloop Here, Mr Faine?” (Jon Faine is a radio host on ABC radio) sums up some of the ABC debate on Gumshoe.
One regular commenter on Gumshoe (Ned), has for a long time, suggested selling the ABC — but NOT for the reasons the right wing faction of the Liberal party want to sell it. Ned, who is in the legal profession, considers the ABC as no more than a subsidized “lie-factory”.
One of Ned’s comments:
“The lying ABC owe Australia: our freedoms and democracy returned, integrity, honesty, re-incarnation of the millions they helped to kill… compensation for the people of the countries they have helped to destroy, Justice for the millions injured by the ABC’s silence… by government sanctioned killing and destruction by false flag killings and destruction, such as the mass murders on 911 — the culprits being protected by the ABC.
“The ABC is anti-freedom, anti-truth, anti-democratic and a serial diabolical liar and manipulator. Sell the ABC and SBS, both are just defacto controllers for the liars and psycho control freaks and merely mirror the MSM mob run by the same psycho control freaks.”
The Privatisation Gig
How would Australians actually benefit from the potential privitisation of the ABC?
A few weeks ago I received some correspondence from a regular contributor, G5 (he writes under that pseudonym). This is what G5 wrote on “privitisation”:
“Australia underwent a continuing fire sale of key assets (coded as Privatisation); The Commonwealth Bank, Qantas, Telstra, Medibank, Sea Ports, Airports, Major National Infrastructures, Public Transport, Energy Grids, Preferential Mining Rights, hidden Preferential Trade, Immigration, and Investment Agreements, and Australia Post to come. Even aspects of the Industry of Law, such as: the jail system, corporate registries, court reporting and transcript copyright (an old one), and the welfare system, are to come.
“Australians being given the opportunity to buy (through offer documents that would jail mere mortals) what they already OWN, as government abrogates its legitimate responsibilities and raison d’être. But what happens when parties are able to do so? They walk away. The rail systems of UK and New Zealand are small examples…
“So the faithful line up to buy the blue chip security of what they already own, through the mythology of Privatisation and the PPP [Public Private Partnerships]. We are being defrauded in a bid of desperation by a government sleight of hand, necessitated by economic devastation by installments — about which, you were not advised.”
Conclusion
The people own the ABC, and I believe it should not be privatised. But let it then be ‘owned’ by the people. Everyone reading Gumshoe understands that we have pointed to the countless times where the ABC refuses to report the truth. With regard to the news and geopolitics, they mirror the MSM narrative. This is just not good enough. The organisation needs a complete overhaul.
I suggest that the news department, Foreign Correspondent, QandA, and all the current affairs programs in the ABC be completely rehabilitated with new system of representation — and that voices, like Gumshoe, have a seat at the table.
What I could produce for even $20 million of their $1 billion would be a game changer in Australia.
McLachlan for Mayor!!! McLachlan for editor of the New York Times! McLachlan for anything, everything. Let’s get some sanity going here. McLachlan as head of ABC’s Q and A, at the very least.
I love this article.
I came to Oz in 1980 as an adult from the US. On Sunday nights my spouse and I would be glued to the TV watching ABC dramas. We even branched out to buy COLOR TV for that purpose. And on weekends we had all manner of intelligent ABC radio shows, from Earl Hackett’s The Body Program to Jane Figgis’ Value Added, to Robin Williams’, The Science Show.
I remember thinking “ABC is the best thing Australia has” — and that was even with such contenders as beautiful birdsong and fine weather (and egalitarianism, as Tony Ryan pointed out in yesterday’s article).
Media Watch was good, too.
Getting one’s voice heard was no problem either. If I wanted to review a book on radio, I would just ringie-dingie Science Bookshop, or whatever. The (old) ABC even reviewed books written by me. I faint now just recalling it – it seems so totally unthinkable that they would touch my stuff today.
So what happened? Well, the baddies took over. The current head of ABC is a Murdoch former director. WHAT??????? But she’s only a recent change, the trouble set in before that – and of course it set in oh-so-gradually.
My theory of social change is: if we had something good before, we can have it again. Why? Because why not? We are the same creatures.
We can have a fabulous ABC. I am going to call it the ABDee, as it is Her Bossness who has been showing the way for the last four years.
Go GumshoeNews. Go, Aussies! Go, Aunty. Make it happen! Yay!
The last 2 “interviews” of Hillary Clinton and James Comey by Sarah Ferguson underline the absolute lack of honesty and investigative journalism that now exists at the ABC.
Joins a long list on dishonest interviews. Thanks Sandra.
One of my favourites is they are still pushing the impossible… Harvey Oswald.
https://gumshoenews.com/2017/11/01/jfk-dummies-explaining-kennedy-assassination-abc/
And the recent Russiagate “expose”.Like swiss cheese.
A good idea. Someone with Dee’s ability, background and sensible ways at looking at life, to be CEO of the “NEW” Australian Broadcasting Forum. If such a person could be found to take on the very important role and responsibility of running the ABF Radio and TV Network, I say hand that position over to them. Funding still to be allocated from general revenue, but with no Government interference or blackmail. The programming to be accountable to a public forum.
Remember real announcers such as David Hawks and Eon Cameron on ABC? A pleasure to listen to. Then there was Macka on Sunday morning. Don’t know if that program still runs.
It would take much to allow the good ABC people a voice
Apologies. I meant ‘wouldn’t take much’
Under current arrangements for anyone to have a voice.. Id say is almost impossible.. To get to just sit in the audience of Q&A, for example.. you have to first be screened.. and then if they approve, they will select you accordingly.. just to sit in the audience?
http://www2b.abc.net.au/AudienceBooking/Client/AudienceRegistration.aspx
Im a little surprised there isnt any requirement to upload DNA, maybe that comes at a later stage.. perhaps if you tick the option suggesting you may dare to ask a question?
As it belongs to all of us, we should be allocated a ticket by default, that we could sell or pass on to whoever we wished perhaps?
They say you can interact live, via twitter, with a scrolling tickertape at the bottom during broadcasts.. but of course, all published tweets go through screening censorship as well.
I wonder what sort of magnitude of mendacity someone has to display before they’re actually asked to sit on the panel, to discuss the important issues of the day..
Dee, what you produce already, at no cost to the tax payer, is priceless. albeit largely thankless.
I know it wont put food on your table.. but *Thank you.
*Applies to all contributors & most commenters @ Gumshoe.
Tuesday 19th June marked the 6 year anniversary of Julian Assanges arbitrary detainment in the Ecuadorian embassy.There were worldwide vigils in 7 countries including most capital cities in Australia but there was no coverage (that I saw) on the ABC.I am afraid “our” ABC has fallen in line with the rest of the MSM as a propaganda mouthpiece of the global elite.
As a conservative taxpayer it irks me that i pay for the ABC every day yet it is of absolutely no benefit to me. I have in fact deliberately boycotted it for the last decade as i cannot stand to witness its bias, both overt and covert.
I have posted on Gumshoe before what i think of the ABC and the grand psy-op that it is. But aside from being a marxist propaganda organ and all round disgrace, what really upsets me is how far left the Overton Window has shifted in the last 30 years with the ABC being the fundamental catalyst in that shift. For instance, my mother worships the ABC and i have witnessed her transformation in the last 30 years from apolitical normie to liberal shitlib.
My siblings are similarly brain-washed, considering anything the ABC says as ultimate truth. They have all become virtue-signalling, Trump-hating, socialist greenies, basically holding the ideology that was considered the lunatic fringe of the left 20 years ago.
I would like to see the ABC downsized 30% and then held to its charter to be objective. That would mean sacking at least 75% of its staff and employing conservatives.
I suggest Dee and Mary as rookie ABC journos!
Public private partnerships (PPPs) were initially called, build own operate and transfer (BOOT) schemes. Apart from the analogous accuracy of the term, giving tax payers the boot, it is also a more accurate description when we define operate in capitalist terms: suck the life out of. What’s then transferred back to the public when the owners have operated the asset to death is the corpse for burial at the public’s cost. For the ABC such an operation on it would be welcome. But the mainstream would remain. And the mainstream is the cause of the ABC problem. So the government will never give the ABC the boot because public broadcasting is the required controlled socialist opposition to the capitalist mainstream. And those useful Liberal Party idiots’ misdirection via their supposed vote adds the necessary drama to the ridiculous farce.
The abc and radio australia were set up as propaganda machines. Privatising means sold to a private consortium or group to me, floating would be the stock market. We look at the abc as its product. I want to know its assets, land, antennas, in prime spots etc. Make a good HAARP properly. A billion dollars will only buy a F35 wing set so big deal. Aussie post will never be sold, they lose so much money cause they are spies, always have been, Private communications send a shiver down big government aspirations. Think the pony express, found this out the hard way. Aussie telstra had to go, needed a huge spy upgrade that could have been uncovered by public record. Thanks amigos thanks cisco (hardware with backdoors). Think gils gillard (educations the key) pushed the super expensive cisco over others for national security reasons-Shareholders want value for money, so big gov had to step in.
I completely concur with the intended result of this article. Everything about this country should be for the people by the people and not be beholden to how our fickle and fair weather folk we elect to represent us, choose through their own self-interests, to steer us into.
And to Ned: A good summary of what the ABC has become. I’ll raise a glass or two tonight, just for you!
Yes! I agree! Silly purveyors of fashionable nonsense. They (we) must pay those garrulous turkeys lots of money because, historically, integrity is bought with social and pecuniary advantages.
Years ago the pompous arsoles were trying to convince us ordinary folk that the “pinnacle of civilization” was the concentration of arts and industry in the hands of the foreign and dominant elite. I challenge anyone to demonstrate that civilization (the blardy yanky spell-checker refuses the usual meaning and spelling of civilization) could be applied to the dreadful, slave-like conditions of men, women and children of the “Victorian” era … even poor brutes like their donkeys and mules that made those fat basads fat are not a reasonable excuse to treat the men like the animals.
Dee, the link you gave above to James O’Neil’s article is incorrect. It’s an amazing article:
https://gumshoenews.com/2016/11/24/just-who-is-the-fruitloop-here-mr-faine/
Thanks Mary, I’ve fixed it. It is amazing how James shows that no lawyer O’Neill would accept the various statements expressed some of the news (and views) produced by the ABC. O’Neill relies on the ‘rule of evidence’.
All pretty predictable; when the debt gets too dirty just sell it to the highest bidder
My favourite ABC hates… Sarah Ferguson, Jane Hutcheon, and Suzanne Rowe (calls herself Zan to be cool) and whose main claim to fame is destroying Triple J.
Hutcheon notoriously played video footage of “Palestinians dancing in the streets” as the WTC towers tumbled down… the next day identified by angry viewers as 7 year old ABC archival footage of Arabs who were not even Palestinians. That Zionist criminal libel was rewarded with a lucrative Middle East Post, thanks to a grateful Rupert Murdoch and Frank Lowy. A later reward was the cushy 1 on 1 brown nose orgy.
It’s quite hard to allocate the ABC Pukeability Award to any one person, they are all so disgusting.
After returning to https://gumshoenews.com/2016/11/24/just-who-is-the-fruitloop-here-mr-faine/ and reading comments therein, I feel that I need to add this comment on this page.
Many of those comments were in regard to “False News”. What about “False Democracy”? This was perpetrated in Canberra in February (I think 14th) when a legislative Bill (APRA) was passed in the Senate with only 7 of the 67 senators, present. It was known by the Government that “One Nation” was going to present an amendment to the Bill, so that bank account depositors money would be exempt from any “bail-in” conditions set in the Bill. So our enlightened Pollies presented the Bill before Pauline Hanson’s senators arrived in the Senate.
We live in a World of “Falsification” if there be such a word.
I should add, that because of this undemocratic action, when the financial crash happens the Banks now have the option of raiding your deposit accounts to save themselves from bankruptcy. But to be fair they will issue you with their then worthless shares in replacement value.
Glass-Steagall banking separation is needed but don’t hold your breath!
Yair! Don’t hold your breath waiting for a result compliant with any reasonable notions of truth and virtue. The snakes and lackeys of the fox “manage” the whole farm.
Sandra, Glass/Steagall could be on it’s way. I am hopeful. The new Italian Government is working on it. The illegal activity of the banks showing up in the Royal Commission has put plenty of pressure on the Pollies.
I have notified the Commissioner of the activity of the Commonwealth Bank or its “employees” being involved in the Port Arthur Massacre. Whether he is able to take this into consideration, time will tell.
Mal, any excuse will do to get the information out there to various people or groups. The more people with the information, the more likely they will begin to openly talk about it. Eventually, it will become as widely known as the the truth of the JFK assassination.
A link to Dee’s video is a great item to forward. The dumbed-down masses can’t interrupt the video with idiot questions or comments. They just passively sit there and soak it up…
And the patsy Martin Bryant continues to languish in gaol.
The Glass/Steagall Act only excluded savings accounts and mortgages from the investment bank and financial investment industries’ market gambling activities.
What we really need is an impermeable barrier to foreign manipulation of national finance systems and capital; and the banning of credit default swaps, futures marketing, and any other selling without the consent of capital owners.
This would then expel the Rothschilds from our Reserve Bank (RBA) and cut City of London’s Hills Simon out of Macquarie Bank.
Finally, we need to formally identify Australia’s mineral resources, infrastructure, and human resources as investment equity for the purposes of ongoing development (as we did with the Snowy River Scheme), which would end foreign loans and accrual of national debt.
Finally, we need to demolish our taxation system (except for tariffs) and replace this with an electronically operated flat tax, operated mandatorially through banks. This would mean that corporations and the wealth would finally be forced to pay their fair share of tax. Currently, about 98% of net tax is paid by wage and salary earners.
(And by net, I mean tax from which exploration and development grants have been deducted).
Well said, Tony.
I made a submission yesterday but it was blocked by a censor somewhere. I must be more careful in future.
Joining this sidestream, I don’t think many Aussies realised how they did in fact bail out the banks post GFC…
Kevin Rudd’s stimulus payments were a giant con.
It was known in advance that the $900 everybody received would most be spent paying off credit card debt or topping up mortgages; in other words, taxpayers handed their own money to the banks, who were so insolvent after the GFC they could not even lend to each other.
The lying politicians continue to claim good ol’ Aussie banks were the only ones to get through the GFC unscathed because our economy was so sound. Lies, lies and more lies. We borrowed to float the ecomomy and the Bank for International Settlements (ie Rothschilds) was actually contemplating foreclosing on Australia and offering a Debt Forgiveness treaty, which is a euphemism for handing over our resources to the World Bank and IMF for WTO administration. Luckily for us, the TPFTA got in the way.
The death knell for the ABC’s independence was in 1998 when John Howard stood over Brian Harridine claiming a mandate to sell the National Transmission Network (Broadcasting Monopoly) and Spectrum Management Authority Divisions of Telecom to the National Transmission Network UK trading as #FreeTV which was in fact funded by the UK’s Fascist TV License System that in Australia Gough Whitlam Abolished.
FreeTV soon defaulted to Her Majesty’s (19% stakeholder) Macquarie Bank and now ABC has just Become Prince Charles’ #OCEANIA division of the #BBC Takfiri War Propaganda Machine and the British Government Ads on Train Station walls warn people that Government Computers keep track of who hasn’t paid their TV License and people’s homes get raided on the accusation that they might have a TV card in their computer.
In the UK you need a Conditional Access Card to watch Broadcast TV and they identify your postcode preventing you from accessing distant transmitters Ie Urban Liverpool from Rural Northern Wales.
#Mi6 and #Mossad now control the Script on the ABC with Murdoch and the IPA given free rein in what was rightly described above as “Controlled opposition” – ABC’s “Editorial Balance” has to fit between the Stolen Generation Supporters on Seven Sunrise and the equally Right Wing Nine and Ten.
Turnbull would like to leave a Legacy of being the Anti-Whitlam by re-introducing TV licences and have #Mi5Eyes Pol Pot Dutton go around smashing people’s computers or worse make the ABC a $15/Month Subscription Narrowcast “Streaming” service on OptusMobile that is so popular with SBS’s Football Viewers.
Mr Backhouse, what do you mean by this, s’il vous plait:
“now ABC has just Become Prince Charles’ #OCEANIA division of the #BBC Takfiri War Propaganda Machine”
Tony Backhouse… Phew. So that is how Murdoch/the Knesset controls the ABC. I have long seen the footprints but never the actual jackboots.
the ABC is and has for a very long time been the Socialists Media Machine driving the Disunity in Australian politics and population – totally dividing the australian people. Utter scum . . . . .