The ABC has hit back at claims it is not providing adequate services to regional Australia, describing a bill to amend its charter as demonstrating "a paucity of understanding of the ABC's operations".

Key points: Senator McKenzie delivers bill attacking ABC treatment of regional Australia

Senator McKenzie delivers bill attacking ABC treatment of regional Australia Says regional Australia is losing its ABC voice

Says regional Australia is losing its ABC voice ABC issues submission attacking the bill's principles

ABC issues submission attacking the bill's principles Says the bill lacks an understanding of the ABC's operations

The broadcaster has also made a pointed reference to Victorian senator Bridget McKenzie's demand for country-based board members, when the Senator herself lives in the city.

In her private members bill, Senator McKenzie called for two members of the public broadcaster's board to come from regional Australia, a prescribed amount of regional news broadcasts, and the introduction of a rural and regional advisory council to the board.

In a submission to the committee examining the bill, the ABC launched an attack on the legislation's principles.

"While the bill reflects the Senator's deep commitment to regional Australia and acknowledges the pivotal role played by the corporation, overall it demonstrates a paucity of understanding of the ABC's operations, its governance structure, and the budget constraints confronting the corporation," the submission said.

"It relies on a narrow conception of localism, mandates inflexible programming outcomes and ignores the important role played by parts of the ABC outside the regional division."

The ABC last year created a regional division after the organisation's budget was cut by more than $250 million, prompting a restructure.

The submission said the public broadcaster's regional services stretched beyond the division's $52 million operating budget, and included content, transmission and infrastructure costs in excess of $385 million.

The document suggested this is more than one third of the ABC's annual budget, and was in line with the fact one third of the nation's population lived outside of metropolitan areas.

Earlier this year, Fairfax media revealed Senator McKenzie — whose electorate office is in the regional city of Bendigo — lived in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Elwood.

The public broadcaster highlighted this fact in its submission.

"The ABC also disputes the notion that city-residing board members lack the ability to represent regional citizens in their respective states," the submission stated.

"This is as illogical as arguing that senators must reside outside capital cities if they are to properly represent regional constituents."

Art of journalism is suffering: Senator

In introducing her private members bill to the Senate, Senator McKenzie said it was not only regional communities feeling short-changed by resources being consolidated in the east-coast capital cities.

"Regional journalists, producers and other media staff cannot comprehend why the ABC has chosen to centralise in this way," Senator McKenzie told the Senate in December.

Senator McKenzie said regional Australia was losing its ABC voice, and that the public broadcaster was not protecting regional ideas and culture.

"Over the course of many years, we have witnessed a systemic de-resourcing of our regional services and our regional communities and the art of journalism itself is suffering as a result," Senator McKenzie said.

"These include communities where the ABC is the only comprehensive provider of news, weather forecasts and entertainment."

The Victorian senator argued management were focusing on ventures such as ABC iView and ABC News 24, centralising staff at the broadcaster's Ultimo headquarters in Sydney.

The public broadcaster has taken exception to the senator's speech in the Senate, arguing against the claim the ABC should pay more attention to serve areas and people where commercial companies "fear to tread".

"This ignores the history of the ABC and its charter, which requires it to serve both specialised and mass audiences," the submission said.

"Put simply, the ABC has never been just a market failure broadcaster."