In response to Senator Canavan’s proposal to split the national broadcaster into rural and metro operations, ABC Friends Spokesperson Margaret Reynolds says the proposal has arisen because of the Sydney-centric nature of the organisation, but that splitting the ABC would be ineffective.

Reynolds says it is not surprising this proposal has come forward “because the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has become so Sydney centric that it concentrates too many of its scarce resources in its headquarters at the expense of other state capitals and regional /rural areas.”

She has told radioinfo:

Of course ABC services beyond  Sydney have declined as a result of this policy combined with the severe financial cutbacks of the Abbott Government
 

But the solution is to require the ABC to meet its charter obligations to cater for all Australians regardless of where they live and to ensure that funding is at a level which enables Australia-wide services to be maintained.

Dividing the ABC would be ineffective and expensive.

But certainly the ABC under its new Managing Director Michelle Guthrie needs to re assess how it allocates its resources to guarantee the best possible services throughout the country.

The ABC needs to be much more transparent about just where it spends its current Budget so it is better placed to advocate for restoration of realistic funding.

Rather than relying totally on Sydney based decision making the ABC needs to restore policies of decentralization so that State Managers can better work with their local communities.

National priorities and programming need to reflect the Australian communities, not just those who happen to live in Sydney.