Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion, which addresses the very important issue of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the ABC, particularly as it relates to my electorate and to rural and regional areas right across Australia. In many ways the ABC is a lifeline for the bush. Whether it is Country Houror the country breakfast session in the morning, so many people rely on the information provided by the ABC. You can turn it on from six o'clock in the morning and get accurate market reports for markets that could be 1,000 kilometres away. That is vital information for people in rural Australia, who in most cases are denied reasonable access to the internet and to mobile phone services and who live vast distances from markets.

The ABC really does have a longstanding reputation for providing some of the most independent, credible and up-to-date news services in the industry, whether on television, online or on radio, through Radio National. The number of constituents who come to me and say that they would love to be able to access ABC Classic FM is remarkable. Who else provides that? It is a specialised channel. Occasionally I listen to Classic FM, when I turn off Slim Dusty, on the road to the outback. I enjoy it, and so do many of my constituents. I appeal to the board not to make cuts to these vital services to people in rural and regional Australia.

The ABC has a broad cross-section of programs on ABC1, ABC2, ABC3 and ABC News 24. There are wonderful free-to-air programs on these channels for people in rural and regional Australia. I occasionally watch ABC2, as my grandchildren watch it and I like to understand what they are watching. They are wonderful programs that are broadcast to constituents right across my electorate.

ABC programs from Longreach, Toowoomba and Mount Isa are broadcast across my constituency. If I switch on the ABC in the morning, I will know where the Royal Flying Doctor clinic will be on that day and for the rest of the week. Not only will I know; the constituents will know. If there is a problem with the Royal Flying Doctor clinic scheduling at, say, Windorah or Birdsville, people will know about it. Where does this information come from? It comes from the ABC rural network out west, from Longreach.

The ABC plays a role in emergencies, with information on such things as road closures. In my part of the world, there are no divided highways. There are no tunnels across the city to ease traffic congestion, which the member for Ryan would understand is important for Brisbane. In my part of the world, it is all dirt tracks, in some cases little better than when the first bullock wagon pulled into town. In times of floods, the ABC is able to provide information on road closures and on roads which will only permit high-clearance vehicles. The ABC relies on local people ringing in with very important information on how much rain has fallen in the vast areas of my electorate. The ABC connects communities. The journalists in these areas are part of the community. It is vital that they have good, reliable four-wheel drive vehicles with satellite phones when they travel vast distances to attend events and to report the news and the stories of smaller communities, which deserve to have their voice heard from time to time across our networks.

The ABC Western Queensland broadcasts to nearly 75 per cent of the land area of Queensland. Their primary coverage extends from the Northern Territory border in the west to the eastern highlands and from Hughenden right down to the New South Wales border. The population of the shires in ABC Western Queensland's coverage area is estimated at 57,000. To me, those people are just as important as the five million people who live in our capital cities, and these people deserve that we make sure that there are no cuts to rural and regional ABC, including to Fran Kelly's program on Radio National, or to the SBS. They should have access to all of these services.

I am very pleased that, from the Prime Minister down, the government has said that we will commit $1.4 billion in funding each year to the ABC and the SBS and that we have no plans to reduce this funding. The ABC is an important part of the daily life of constituents in rural and regional Australia. They have a wonderful reputation. They will be broadcasting the Anzac Day service from Gallipoli and the Western Front and services all over Australia. These services are provided to all Australians. (Time expired)

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