This is an edited excerpt from Joel Fitzgibbon’s blog, Out of the shadow, which originally appeared on the Fairfax website farmonline.com.au
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The Coalition’s track record on rural and regional communications has been one of failure and deceit. When it comes to our public broadcaster, the conservative side of politics is letting down the bush.
The ABC is the lifeblood of regional communities across the country. It is our voice, we rely on it.
In 2007, the worst flood in our history devastated the Hunter region. Thousands of residents watched years of emotional and financial investment in their homes and property snatched by the ferocity of a storm the likes of which I had never seen.
During this traumatic natural disaster it was the local Newcastle ABC radio station 1233 which provided the around-the-clock coverage, ensuring residents and emergency services could share critical information.
Most people in rural and regional Australia rely on the ABC as their main source of news and weather information. Many of our local community events would not enjoy coverage in the absence of a well-resourced ABC.
All these things give us reason to be angry with the Abbott government for lying about funding cuts.
“There will be no cuts to the ABC,” Tony Abbott promised the night before the 2013 election.
* Joel Fitzgibbon is the opposition spokesman for agriculture and rural affairs and the federal Member for Hunter.
In the space of a year the government has gone from no cuts to the ABC to substantial cuts.
It’s time for rural and regional Coalition MPs to come clean on where they stand on cuts to the ABC and the impact on their communities, and, more importantly, what they’re going to do about it.
