Matters of Interest

Australia Network

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:21): I rise to draw to members' attention the termination of the Australia Network, Australia's international television service. Australia Network, along with ABC International Development and Radio Australia, is a division of ABC International, which was created to encourage communication across cultures, establish and foster partnerships within the region, and build awareness of Australia as a friendly neighbour.

The network has successfully broadcast our content, our ideas, our language and our world view 24 hours a day, seven days a week into more than 46 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and India. With the cooperation of nearly 700 re-broadcast partners, Australia Network has reached up to 130 million people. These are important links, representing invaluable soft diplomacy. We should be proud of Australia Network, but it will cease broadcasting this month.

Why? Because, as part of its 2014 budget, the federal government, filled with ideological zeal, rescinded the network's 10 year, $22 million per annum contract with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with eight years left to go. The contract's termination, with just 90 days' notice, represents a major loss in jobs, skills, contacts, and of course revenue for our highly respected and much loved national broadcaster.

Though that is bad enough, there are other ramifications. Through the Australia Network we have engaged in a conversation with our neighbours through which we can help to encourage peace and harmony in an increasingly fractious and difficult world. During my travels to Vietnam and South-East Asia, a number of people have told me about different shows they have watched about Australia. As ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott, pointed out recently:

Countries around the world are expanding their international broadcasting services as key instruments of public diplomacy…It sends a strange message to the region that the government does not want to use the most powerful communication tools available to it to talk to our regional neighbours about Australia.

I find it a particularly strange decision considering that the Prime Minister recently came back from India, where he was promoting uranium trade with our Asian partners. We are constantly being told that Australia's future is in Asia. One example that has a particular resonance for Adelaide is the OzAsia Festival, which I had the privilege of attending. It was co-launched by our new Governor, His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le. OzAsia is not being broadcast into Asian households this month because of the federal government's cut to this program.

I ask honourable members to imagine the excitement and the powerful message it would send to millions of our neighbouring friends by broadcasting that we have an Asian-born governor. It would show that South Australia and Australia is a friendly place to live, visit and do business. This represents a missed opportunity and it disappoints me greatly. That is why I want to place on the record the fact that I applaud this visionary initiative by the ABC and DFAT and deplore its termination.

Before I finish, I would like to support and acknowledge a rally held at lunchtime today, which was organised by ABC staff, listeners and viewers to save 150 broadcasters' jobs. These planned job cuts by ABC Sydney management is due to the federal government cuts to the ABC's funding. I ask that the management consider the views of ABC staff and whether there is a better way of handling the cuts to lessen the impact on workers.