Loading A lot of the news output, especially the 7pm TV news bulletin, AM, RN Breakfast, PM, 730 and news on radio, is professionally produced. Shows – from Geraldine Doogue’s Saturday Extra to Stan Grant’s Matter of Fact to many local radio segments across the nation -- are outstanding. Richard Fidler is a national treasure. One of the great strengths of many senior journalists is the sheer passion and commitment that they bring to their jobs. However, one can be an admirer of the ABC and still understand why Darren and many taxpayers like him think a left-liberal cultural groupthink routinely clouds its editorial output. For instance, when an investigative documentary or current affairs segment – or a drama, comedy or opinion program – expresses an attitude or a tone of voice, it is more than likely a narrow, politically correct one. Take The Drum or Q&A itself. On topics, such as refugees, terror, gender, euthanasia, climate change and Indigenous issues, their coverage is loaded. Anything that challenges the prevailing consensus instantly arouses suspicion, shock or hostility. When America withdrew from the Paris accords and announced it would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the coverage was overwhelmingly scathing. Hardly any dissenting voices were aired. (Even with Donald Trump in the White House, there are still two sides to every story.)

When the great anti-communists Ronald Reagan and Lee Kuan Yew died, Lateline ignored the most consequential American and Asian leaders of the post-war era. (Not so, when Latin American dictators Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez died.) In this climate, is it any wonder agendas are pushed? Walk around the ABC lobby in Ultimo during the past fortnight and you’d notice rainbow-draped pot-plants to celebrate Sydney’s Mardi Gras. Most Australians would have no qualms with gay rights, but they might ask whether the ABC lobby also promoted Christmas decorations with as much enthusiasm last December. Until recently, both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were displayed prominently at the Ultimo entrance. Which is fine, except there is no Australian flag. March 8 marks International Women’s Day, which means that men are once again not allowed to present any ABC shows on Thursday. British foreign secretary Boris Johnson once said of BBC journalists: “All their instinct and culture is to support state funding over the private sector – which is not surprising, since they are state-funded themselves.” He further asserted: “In any argument they will instinctively gravitate to what they think is the most civilised and liberal option, irrespective of the merits of the case.” Could the same be said of the Beeb’s brethren in the Antipodes? If so, is that why the ABC’s economics correspondent Emma Alberici presented ideologically skewed, not to mention highly contentious, analysis of company tax cuts that was withdrawn and revised substantially?

Former Lateline host now the ABC's economics correspondent Emma Alberici. Honest supporters of the ABC say Aunty is needed to balance the right-wing pundits on commercial outlets and Murdoch press. However, the charter is clear: the legislative quid pro quo for public funding is a commitment to fairness and balance. Those who loathe Andrew Bolt, Miranda Devine or Janet Albrechtsen can take solace in the fact that they don’t subsidise their shows or columns. Darren, whose taxes help keep the ABC in existence, does not enjoy that peace of mind. These are polarising times. There is so much ideological claptrap in journalism, both here and abroad. Sky News night-time shows are almost as right wing as Fox News Channel in the US. Fairfax, The Guardian and Black Inc Books skew left. Cyberspace is littered with outlets peddling fake news. That’s why the ABC should always strive to rise above the rancour and bitterness that increasingly defines the public debate. Tom Switzer is executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies and presenter of Between the Lines on ABC’s Radio National.