The chair of Australia’s public broadcaster says he has “no doubt” a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, but that the organisation has nothing to apologise for in its quest for “excellence” and “efficiency”.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt within the event of Mr [Peter] Dutton acceding to office that there would be a very early call for an efficiency and, apparently, an excellency review for what the ABC does. Game on,” Kim Williams said during a speech at the Melbourne Press Club on Thursday.
“The ABC is an accountable institution and I have no doubt it will perform well.”
Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter
The comments came after the opposition leader on Wednesday refused to rule out cuts to the ABC, saying it would need to demonstrate “excellence”.
Asked about Dutton’s comments, Williams said they were not “fresh observations”, pointing to numerous inquiries including the 1996 Mansfield review under the Howard government which scrutinised the ABC’s efficiency.
“A well-resourced and empowered ABC has never been more important in being a bastion for truthful journalism,” he said.
“I don’t think the ABC has anything to apologise for in its quest, its continuing quest for excellence, and its continuing obligation to operate efficiently.”
Williams acknowledged that “one person’s efficiency is another person’s extravagance”.
Asked if he believed a Coalition government would initiate a review of the ABC, Williams replied: “No doubt about it.”
“This is a room full of journalists. You’re all well tuned to reading coded language,” he said.
Guardian Australia reported on Wednesday that repeated attempts by Williams to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Dutton had been rebuffed.
after newsletter promotion
Williams would not confirm the reporting on Thursday and said anything he would say to the opposition leader would not be aired publicly.
Williams has met with the leader of the National party, David Littleproud, and other National party members, whose regional constituents rely heavily on the public broadcaster.
Williams made the case for supporting the broadcaster – which receives more than $1bn in government funding annually – in the interests of democracy, saying it could provide trustworthy and independent journalism in the face of a global assault on truth.
“One direct way of supporting Australian democracy is before our very nose – to properly invest in the ABC,” he said during the speech to mark his first 12 months as chair.
“We perform as well as we can with the allocations provided, and we are grateful to the Australian government for providing it to enable the ABC to serve audiences.”
During the speech, Williams became emotional and broke down in tears as he read messages the ABC had received from viewers expressing gratitude for the the public broadcaster’s coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred last month.
He said he could read the messages “for hours”, prompting applause from the audience.