Mark Scott confirms the departure of 70 staff following Australia Network cuts
The managing director of the ABC has today confirmed that more than 70 positions will go following the recent loss of the Australia Network contract.
In a email to staff this morning, Mark Scott described it as a “sad time” for the ABC, and added the losses would include on-air and off-air staff.
“It is a sad time across the Corporation, as we say farewell to many colleagues who have already gone or who will be leaving us in coming days and weeks as a result of the loss of Australia Network funding,” wrote Scott.
“Those departing include people very well known for their work on air. Others are not as well known to the public, but are equally admired and respected for their important work in delivering and supporting the International service we have put to air and online across the region,” he said, referring to well known names such as Australia Network Canberra correspondent Karen Barlow, who yesterday tweeted that she was departing the public broadcaster.
I’m really waiting for an explanation as to why Australia Network needed its own “Canberra bureau” (from reading Tweets today AN’s Canberra bureau was cut) unless of course it was another example of Mark Scott using the Australia Network funding to subsidise things that weren’t remotely related to the Australia Network proper.
As anyone who has ever watched the Australia Network itself, I can tell you that all their day time bulletins (from 3am TST) are from ABC 24 News with the exception of the 2:30 (Thai time) Australia Network News Bulletin which comes out of a Melbourne studio.
I’m gutted that Australia Network has been cut, but there needs to be a serious parliamentary, or bigger enquiry as to how the $20m odd a year from DFAT was used to subsidise correspondents and bureaus which actually weren’t all that related to the service at al, except for maybe the odd rare report.
Mark Scott scammed the funding to cross subsidise ABC’s general foreign coverage, and now the cost has been paid.
You can well argue that in the end Australia Network was an ideological cut, but using what 30-50% maybe even more of that money to subsidise services not related where it could have…lets see, not spent that money that way and shown Government that our voice in Australia could be far more affordable should be on the gravestone of Mark Scott.
Which reminds me as a parting comment on something Malcolm Turnbull once said on Mark Scott: he claimed that Scott says that ABC New 24 can’t go into Asia due to “rights issues” which is dubious at best. Given how many ABC News 24 programs appear on the network now. At a rough guess 8-10 hours worth a day, maybe more when you include the showing of the chat programs, and there then repeats (Lateline, The Business, The World etc etc…) And then maybe every 2 in 3 programs in between times is ABC content anyway.
“Rights issues” was always a bs argument.