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The Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee will inquire into the complaints handling arrangements of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Special Broadcasting Service.
In particular, the committee will examine the adequacy of the existing arrangements to provide a framework that is accessible, responsive, efficient, accountable and fit-for-purpose.
The committee will report by 28 February 2022 so there’s not a great deal of time for consultation, investigations or writing submissions.
According to the Australian Parliament House website, the Environment and Communications Committees cover the following portfolios: Communications and the Arts; and Environment and Energy.
Prior to September 2010, this committee was called the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts and prior to February 2008, it was called the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (Greens) is chair of the Reference Committee and other members include Senator Andrew Bragg (Liberal) who is deputy chair, Senator Anthony Chisolm (Labor), Senator Nita Green (Labor), Senator Sam McMahon (Country Liberal) and Senator Anne Urquhart (Labor).
There’s been no media release announcing the inquiry and grassroots community campaign group GetUp! says ABC Chair Ita Buttrose (who was installed following the report into the last Senate Inquiry into the ABC) has blasted the latest inquiry for what it is
‘An act of political interference designed to intimidate the ABC’ and ‘weaken the community’s trust in the public broadcaster’.
According to GetUp! “This inquiry is in direct retaliation to a number of hard-hitting ABC investigations examining the Morrison Government, the Murdoch Press, and even Scott Morrison himself. And it’s spear-headed by Senator Andrew Bragg – an Eric Abetz-style Liberal backbencher, known for his anti-ABC agenda.
GetUp! claims the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher, has the power to stop this inquiry this week (from November 23) when Parliament sits. It is attempting to “muster a massive wave of public outrage, demanding the Minister uphold his responsibility to preserve the independence of the ABC.”
“Its no coincidence that it comes after a series of Four Corners investigations enraged the Coalition and the Murdoch Press – from exposing rape allegations against Christian Porter, Scott Morrison’s links to QAnon, and the role of Murdoch-owned Fox News in helping Trump destablise America’s democracy. We know this is the job of a public broadcaster – to examine power, investigate wrongdoing, and inform people … especially when the sitting government is so averse to being held accountable.”
The GetUp! campaign to write a letter to Pail Fletcher asking him to stop the inquiry can be found here. However, another approach is to write a submission to the Inquiry and become part of the democratic process rather than hitch your donkey to the higher profile but shorter term political process.
If you live in regional, rural or remote Australia, chances are you rely on the ABC for emergency information and your news. If you have made a complaint about the ABC, this inquiry is supposed to be specifically about the ABC’s and SBS’s complaints handling processes.
If you’ve never found reason to make a complaint, then why not still write a submission to highlight what you consider to be the reliability and integrity of the ABC and/or SBS.
Perhaps, if this is something you feel particularly strongly about you could participate in the GetUp! campaign and, if that doesn’t work, write a submission.
The Federal Parliament has a couple more sitting weeks for the year. It’s the second year when the parliament has sat for a shortened number of days due to COVID. A Federal election is due by May but why wait until the poll to have your say?
Here’s how to find out more about the inquiry, track its progress and make a submission.
