Tony Abbott has broken his promise that there would be no cuts to the ABC.
On the night before the 2013 Federal Election Tony Abbott promised on SBS News:
“No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS.”
Now we know that was a lie.
Tony Abbott cut $232.3 Million from the ABC last night.
He has abolished the Australia Network despite the fact that the network reaches up to 167 million households, giving our vital Asian neighbours and the world an insight into Australian life and values.
He has cut $43.5 million from the budgets of the ABC and SBS with a promise of more to come when he gets the ‘efficiency review’ in coming weeks.
ABC Managing Director Mark Scott confirmed that the ABC cuts were a broken promise. In a press release issued last night he said:
“The funding cuts will be disappointing for audiences. The government gave repeated commitments before and after the election that funding for the Corporation would be maintained…”
He went on to say that:
“…the funding cuts would regrettably and inevitably result in redundancies and a reduction in services.”
In his first press conference as Prime Minister on 16 September 2013 Tony Abbott said:
“I don’t intend on making promises that I won’t keep.”
Now we know the truth – Tony Abbott lied to the Australian people and it is now clear that you can’t trust him.
MEDIA CONTACT: RYAN HAMILTON 02 9790 2466
