Michael Rowland

Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to the ABC’s first Annual Public Meeting. It is fantastic to see you all here this morning.

I’m Michael Rowland. You might know me as the co-presenter of News Breakfast, and I’m absolutely delighted to be your host this morning, although, I have since discovered I was the third choice for the role!

(LAUGHTER)

Slightly angry.

Yes, both B1 and B2 were approached before me – those Bananas! – but were thankfully unavailable, so you’re stuck with me. So, that’s OK. I’m not bitter, I’m not jealous.

It’s gonna be a fantastic morning. It’s been terrific to see you all in the foyer outside as well.

Now, I’d firstly like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we gather, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present.

It’s great to see so many of you here in Studio 22 today. Thank you all for giving up your time this morning.

And I’d also like to extend a particularly warm welcome to all of you out there, watching us on the livestream.

And a very special hello to the ABC offices in beautiful Rockhampton and fabulous Launceston. We’ll be heading your way very, very shortly.

This morning, you’ll hear from the ABC’s Chairman, the Managing Director, the Board and the Leadership Team on how we plan to build a much stronger ABC, both now and into the future, in a time, of course, of massive change, of tremendous disruption sweeping across the media industry, not just here in Australia, of course, but right around the world.

We’ve got lots coming up this morning but before we start, I’d like to welcome Uncle Ray Davison to open our event with a Welcome to Country.

(APPLAUSE)

Uncle Ray Davison

Thank you so much, Michael.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Uncle Ray Davison.

I’m here today on behalf of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.

The Land Council and its members, being the custodians to the clan groups of the Eora nation, give me permission once again to come along and welcome people to country.

Look, in doing so, I love explaining to people what Welcome to Country is and, in doing that, I think I can explain it in a sense of that we all have one mother, and that’s Mother Earth.

Mother Earth knows each and every one of us and she loves us equally, so it doesn’t matter who we are, where we come from – we’re all part of the same, we’re all loved the same.

So Welcome to Country has its origins right here on the east coast of Australia and Welcome to Country goes back many, many thousands of years.

We’ve always had Welcome to Country when we have big celebrations and big corroborees, and today we are continuing on that celebration. We’re a corroboree, we’re a gathering, so we’re continuing on that tradition that’s been happening here for thousands of years.

So it’s really wonderful that each and every time I have opportunity to give Welcome to Country – and I say regardless whether I do Welcome to Country once a year or 100 times a year – each and every time I have opportunity to give Welcome to Country, it’s special and unique to me.

And I say that in the sense of there has to be somebody hearing Welcome to Country for the first time, or hearing me say Welcome to Country for the first time. So to be here this morning at this special time and give Welcome to Country, it’s really wonderful.

So once again, to each and every one of you, welcome to my country, welcome to your country, welcome to our country.

And, look, I’ll take this moment to pay respects to elders both past and present of the people of the Eora and thank them for the caring of the waterways and the land for the thousands of years, of which we all benefit today, and extend that gratitude and welcome to each and every person here today and pay respect to your elders, both past and present as well because without those, none of us would be here today.

So once again, it’s really wonderful that I get this opportunity to, uh… any time I have opportunity to welcome people onto my traditional land is really special and unique.

So once again, to each and every one of you, welcome.

And just in closing, I’d like to say to each… And I say this…

Each and every time, I say it with great respect and great regard because Welcome to Country, as I said, goes back many, many, many thousands of years and we’ve always had big corroborees here and big celebrations around this area here and it’s very special and unique, this actual area.

If I had more time, I could talk about it but I can’t, so I won’t.

So once again, to each and every one of you, welcome, and may I say to you, and with special regards, may the spirits of my ancestors walk beside you and protect you whilst you’re on Gadigal country, Eora country, as I know they walk beside and protect me.

My people, the Gadigal people – we’re nine clans that make up the Eora nation – my clan land boundaries run from Circular Quay to Redfern. So, once again, to be on country and welcome people to it, it’s really special and unique, so I love this opportunity.

So, thank you all very much and have a wonderful day. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Michael Rowland

Thank you very much, Uncle Ray.

Now, as you can see, behind me I have my Chairman, my Managing Director, the Board. In front of me, I’ve got my Head of News, the Leadership Team is watching. So if anybody is feeling bad or feeling under any pressure this morning, just spare a thought for me!

(LAUGHTER)

You may or may not see me on Monday morning.

Now, in just a moment, you will hear from the ABC Chairman, Justin Milne. Justin has been in the position since April last year, so he’s pretty much the new boy on the block. He brings to the job extensive media and digital experience, holding senior positions in companies including Telstra and Microsoft. And I’ve also learned that Justin gets up at 4:30 every morning to cram in his busy schedule so, as a fellow member of the pre-dawn club, Justin, welcome.

But before we hear from the Chairman, you may know that the ABC last year celebrated its 85th birthday. Yes, we’re as old as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and just as sturdy!

(LAUGHTER) Almost a slogan there!

Here is a reminder of the ABC’s amazing history and the important contribution it has made to Australian society.

Video

[Screen text reads “The ABC was born between the wars, a national radio service for all Australians.”]

REPORTER

[Archival black and white photos show people around radios]

“This service, the ABC, now belongs to you. A national service in which we hope every Australian will take pride.”

Reporters are covering all sorts of work in the field.

REPORTER

[Archival video footage of Australians during the war years]

There are the bombs. I can see them leaving the aircraft at this very moment. For the defence of this Commonwealth.

REPORTER

Men from Australia, Britain, India, Poland.

[Video footage shows Australians playing sport like cricket]

The ABC presents the sporting roundup. This ball well pitched. Bradman moves forward, drives. Compton at cover tries to cut him off.

(SMASH!) (WOMAN SCREAMS)

[Historic video footage of a radio program being recorded]

(CHEERING) This is the story of the great big giant. ROAR!

Radio Australia, if you’d like to join us.

REPORTER

[Historic video footage of women walking, smiling, waving ‘Peace’ placards

This is a very happy crowd. They’re mad with excitement!

REPORTER

[Screen text reads “Then in 1956”.]

Stand by for the opening night of the national television service.

[Scenes from early TV studios]

Hello there and good evening, ladies and gentlemen and children. There are bound to be a few little moments of panic and tension. We’re having one right now.

[Smiling girl spins hoop around waist] Hello.

[Presenter from early ABC science program in front of black board] Why is it so?

[Man dressed as a woman with hair tied in pigtails] ‘Ello, me little lovelies!

[Mr Squiggle] Everything is upside down these days.

REPORTER

[Various scenes of archival news footage]

The search parties are extending their hunt of the Prime Minister.

REPORTER

Then a Vietnamese helicopter arrives to remove us from the battlefield.

REPORTER

[Various scenes show the ABC’s move from black and white to colour footage]

On ABC national television.

Look at me, look at me! I’m in colour.

Bananas in Pajamas, B2

Are you thinking what I’m thinking, B1?

Bananas in Pajamas, B1

I think I am, B2.

Nature documentary reporter

[Looks at a green frog] Isn’t he beautiful?

Johnny Farnham

I’m Johnny Farnham and this is Countdown.

REPORTER

[Footage shows a train wreck, and one man being air-lifted]

At one stage, three medical teams were performing emergency amputations in the carriages themselves.

Mike Hayes

[Devasting scenes of cyclone damaged houses and roadways]

This is Mike Hayes for ABC News, in the wreckage of what was once a bloody good place to live.

MAN

[Screen text reads “For more than 85 years we’ve been an integral part of Australian life”]

[Video shows kangaroos jumping across a plain]

Hard to believe the effect that Four Corners had on people in the remotest parts of Australia.

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam

[Mr Whitlam passes a handful of dirt to an Aboriginal Australian man]

These lands belong to the Gurindji people.

MAN

I don’t know what makes you say… You ought to withdraw that.

Paul Barry

[Paul hands Alan Bond a business card. Mr Bond puts it on the ground and stamps on it before walking off]

Paul Barry, Four Corners. Remember me?

You do remember me.

Various news reporters

[A number of quick scenes from historical Australian news archives]

I screamed out, “Dingo’s got the baby.”

REPORTER: Live action here at Port Arthur.

REPORTER: Tens of thousands more Australians face death from asbestos exposure.

REPORTER: Stuart Diver was pulled from the debris 65 hours after he was entombed.

Prime Minister Paul Keating: This is the recession Australia had to have.

[Announcement over sea] Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Winston Churchill.]

[Screen text reads “From outback to backyard, country roads to world stage, tragedies to triumphs, we were there.”]

[Child happily describes her experience of the Sydney Olympic Games] It was excellent!

[Prime Minister John Howard shakes hands with John Latham] How are you, Mark? Good, good. How are you?

I’m very well.

REPORTER: [Scenes of bushfire devastation]This is what used to be the main street of Marysville.

REPORTER: [Scenes of flooded town with houses submerged]On the brink of being declared a state of disaster, the damage in Katherine is staggering.

[Various Anzac themes]

[Screen text reads “As times have changed we’ve changed too, and with digital innovation we reach more people than ever]

TONY JONES: Welcome to Q&A. I’m Tony Jones.

COSTA GEORGIADIS: We want to hear about what you’re up to in your garden.

HUMPTY DUMPTY: Come on over and give it a try.

KATERING GIRLS: Cheers. Cheers.

[Various other scenese from current TV in rapid succession]

Whoo!

Joy.

Wow!

[Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces] The 2018 Australian of the Year…

[Screen text reads “nd we’re still creating, still passionate. ABC Yours logo]

[VIDEO ENDS]

Justin Milne

Good morning. I’m Justin Milne.

(APPLAUSE)

And it’s my very great pleasure to be Chairman of the ABC.

I’d like to extend my welcome to everyone participating in the inaugural Annual Public Meeting, whether you’re here in the studio or at the various regional points around Australia, or whether you’re on the web, where we’re streaming live, and let me start, though, by allowing me to introduce my colleagues.

In fact, I’ll ask them to introduce themselves, starting with Peter Lewis, who’s the chair of our Audit and Risk Committee.

Peter Lewis

Hi, I’m Peter Lewis, and as Justin said, I’m the chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

My career has largely been in senior positions in the media and broadcasting industry and I currently live in northern New South Wales.

Kirstin Ferguson

Hi, I’m Kirstin Ferguson.

I’m a full-time company director on a range of corporate and private and government boards.

I actually began my career as an officer in the Air Force before going on to have a range of business leadership roles, and I’m chair of the ABC People and Remuneration Committee and I live in beautiful Brisbane.

Vanessa Guthrie

Hi. I’m Vanessa Guthrie.

I live in Perth in Western Australia, and I’ve worked in the mining sector for more than 30 years. I’m currently the Chair of the Minerals Council of Australia and a non-executive director on a number of boards across a broad range of industries.

I’m passionate about the role of science, engineering and technology in our community, including encouraging young women into science-based careers.

Georgie Somerset

Hi, I’m Georgie Somerset and I’m a non-executive director on various not-for-profit government and health boards and I live on a cattle property in regional Queensland.

I’m incredibly proud to sit on the ABC, looking after the interests of rural and regional Australia and making sure their voices are heard.

Matt Peacock

Hi, I’m Matt Peacock and I’m the Staff Elected Director for the ABC, although today is my last day here.

I’ve been a journalist for several decades as a senior reporter – currently at 7.30, ABC Radio’s chief political correspondent and reporter in New York, Washington and London.

Michael Rowland

Thank you very much. And, Matt, thanks for all of your excellent efforts in the ABC. I’ve been a fan of yours for years and years and years, and we’re very sorry to see you go. Thanks for your service on the board.

And could I also acknowledge Donny Walford, who can’t be with us today due to illness in the family. So, she’s an apology and she’s another one of our directors.

Now, what you just saw in the video is the ABC’s rich heritage. It’s a demonstration of our unique connection to Australia and to Australians – the programs, the events, the personalities that have touched our lives and made the ABC part of the fabric of our nation.

The ABC’s loved and trusted by the majority of Australians. Well over 80% of us trust the ABC – more than any other media organisation in the land.

That includes all of the other TV networks, the radio networks, the newspaper publishers, the huge overseas platform players and the social media businesses.

The ABC is indispensable, particularly in the far-flung parts of our country where few media companies dare to venture. It reaches out to Australians at home and at work in every stage of our lives.

It’s unique in its ability to unite the nation, to facilitate the really important conversations that we have to have and to nourish, importantly, the minds of our kids. It’s the keystone for independence, trust and quality in a splintering and increasingly shrill media sector.

But media is changing really fast. In just 1995, the year I usually think of as being the beginning of the commercial internet, there were around 20 million people using the net regularly.

Today there are four billion.

Back then, there was virtually no video sent on the net. Today, every day, people watch a billion hours of video just on YouTube.

Back then, no-one had ever conceived of a social network. Today, over eight billion video clips are exchanged every day on Facebook and Snapchat and 60 billion messages are sent each day via Messenger and WhatsApp.

In 1995, mobile phone penetration was around 12%. Today, Apple alone sells a new phone every six seconds and there are more mobile phones in the world than there are toilets!

(LAUGHTER)

McKinsey Consulting estimates that by 2025, there will be twice as many mobile phones in the world as humans. The processing power of computers doubles every two years and it has done for half a century.

Meanwhile, the internet has turned phones smart everywhere and this combination of powerful computers and ubiquitous internet has changed the media business forever.

Some businesses have been smashed by it but, of course, others have flourished.

Since the year 2000, newspaper advertising revenues in the US have declined by 40 billion but at the same time, Netflix, for example, has boomed – growing from three million subscribers in 2000 to over 100 million today.

Their stock price has soared and they’ve become a major production studio, investing billions of dollars each year into original content. Their model has turned the pay TV business upside down.

And this genie is out of the bottle. These trends are not going to reverse. We’ll never again know a world without the internet and it will continue to foster this kind of change in almost every aspect of our lives.

Of course, this is not new news for the ABC. We’ve been very active in the online space. With iView, we produced one of the first catch-up TV services in the country, and, of course, we’re pioneers in podcasting – and leaders. But now it’s time for us to fully evolve the ABC into an organisation which is fit for the digital challenges of the next 20 years.

Investing in Audiences is the series of projects which, together, will make the ABC better for audiences and better for our staff. When these initiatives all come together, they will create something that we are calling ABC 2.0.

ABC 2.0 will use technology to transform the way that we serve content to our audiences, and it will change how our people operate. It’ll help us to attract the brightest and most creative technical talent and to make the ABC an even better place to work than it is today. We’ll build new digital platforms that allow us to understand our audiences better and to serve content to them exactly when and where they like, on the device they happen to be using at the time, wherever they might be in the world.

ABC users will be able to start watching, say, Four Corners on their phone, pause it when their train arrives at the station and then continue to watch from the same frame on their TV when they get home.

We’ll modernise our production processes to ensure that the great trust that we enjoy from Australians today is carried into the digital world of the internet and the future. The material that news crews, for example, gather will be almost instantly available to editors all over Australia, and because we’ll digitise and catalogue all of our archives, virtually the whole ABC library of sounds and images will be available to editors’ fingertips to enhance every story right across all of our different platforms.

We’ll improve our content partnerships so that we can produce more and better Australian content. We plan to constantly increase our investment in Australian production to help ensure both a healthy Australian screen industry and to provide more and new stories for Australian audiences. We’ll also take a multi-platform approach to content, so that work done for one medium can be adjusted and be exploited on another.

We’ll improve our commercial operations as well, so that content can be seen by more people over the world and extra funds that we might generate can be ploughed back into more Australian content. And we’ll improve our relationships with all of the vast and different communities that make up this great nation of ours.

But ABC 2.0 is not a substitute, it’s additive. We’ve got absolutely no plans at all to reduce our presence on TV or radio. We see both radio and television extending for many, many years into the future, and we’ll continue to invest in them, to love them and to improve them.

ABC 2.0, however, is the major strategic initiative for the ABC as we move forward. It’s akin to us deciding to go into the television business in 1956. Just as then, it will require significant investment and possibly generate some controversy.

Back then, the media barons complained bitterly about the government funding a TV network. They saw that as outrageous because it competed with them. But we did go into TV, and the commercial sector has made billions upon billions of dollars in the meantime, and the Australian public has been the winner because they’ve had media choice and a trusted, independent, ad-free voice that belongs entirely to them.

In tomorrow’s media environment, we can expect ongoing intensity from a number of huge international players. Australia has always been at great risk of being culturally swamped by overseas media, and I believe that actually that risk has never been greater. So, ensuring that the trusted and much-loved voice of the ABC can continue to be heard has never been more important.

Michelle, the Board and the management of the ABC team are deeply committed to investing in ABC 2.0 and doing the work which will ensure that, in 20 years, the ABC is just as precious to Australians, just as fundamental to our democracy as it is today.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(STIRRING PIANO MUSIC)

Heather Ewart

What are you doing, still riding horses in your 80s?

It’s better than walking!

(LAUGHS)

Some great examples there of the important role the ABC plays in rural and regional Australia, the vital role we serve, of course, as an emergency broadcaster. And how good is Back Roads? How good is Back Roads? I’ll let you in on a bit of a secret. Everybody in news and current affairs is jealous of Heather Ewart.

(LAUGHTER)

We all want her job.

She gets to travel around to some fantastic places in Australia and meet some really beautiful people. The ABC has a massive broadcast footprint right across Australia, be it on TV, radio or online, so everyone had access to this public meeting we are streaming right around the country.

As well, we have two regional centres connecting into our first Annual Public Meeting. Our plan is, each and every year, to move those locations to different parts of Australia. Or move the broadcast to different parts of Australia.

Let’s now welcome Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis up in Rockhampton and Landline host Pip Courtney down in beautiful Launceston. Good morning to both of you.

[Costa Georgiadis and Pip Courtney appear on separate video screens]

Good morning, Michael. Hey, Costa.

Good morning, Michael. Oh, look at that.

We… (LAUGHTER)

The wonders of modern technology.

Hey, Costa, I’ll come to you shortly.

Pip, it’s a very special morning for everybody there in Launceston, but a very special morning for you because you are a Lonnie girl.

Pip Courtney

I am a Lonnie girl and anybody who says ‘LAWN-ceston’ owes me a bottle of Tasmanian bubbles. It’s LON – LON-ceston, everybody. Yes. (CHUCKLES) It’s very special to be here. Can I start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we gather and pay my respect to their elders past and present.

It’s great to be back home and great to spend last night with Mum. And I was actually here late last year, filming two stories about the north and one is on Derby, the little ghost town of Derby, which has been revitalised with the mountain biking trails, which are now regarded as the best in the world. That town is now vibrant and alive and we had 50,000 tourists come here to ride last year. And also the other story was on the sparkling wine industry in the north – well, the whole state – and how Tasmanian sparklings are now up there with the best champagnes from France.

So, to come back and be able to do two positive stories about how the north is kicking goals is just wonderful, and Tassie, the whole of the state, is now having a real moment and I couldn’t be prouder. It’s absolutely terrific.

Michael Rowland

Now, you have been the host of Landline for six years. You’ve actually been involved in the show for more than 20 years in various roles. In that time, Pip, what is the story or, I guess, the person, that has most inspired you?

Pip Courtney

There are so many but I keep coming back to one. The wonderful John Fenton from a property called Lanark in the western districts of Victoria.

This story starts with a love story, when he asked his future father-in-law for his daughter’s hand. He said, “Yes, but only if you plant trees.” He had six manky pine trees. His future father-in-law said if he wanted to marry his daughter, she had to be able to hear birds.

So, John started planting trees on this windswept, barren property, and he didn’t stop. This is 55 years ago, before Landcare was even heard of. Now that property looks like an English park. It has trees for forestry, trees for birds. He’s planted oaks for the great-great-grandchildren that he’ll never know. So, the property makes more money from its sheep, which now don’t die in the awful winters there.

And he’s making money from forestry. And he… He’s got… He built a wetland while his neighbours were being paid by the government to drain theirs and he named it after his wife. And it’s now full of birds. Birds that hadn’t been seen for 50 years came back to the district. And he is my hero.

Michael Rowland

Oh, that’s fabulous. Now, before we leave you, Pip, you travel right around Australia, shooting stories for Landline. When you do that… And can I say, Pip is an absolute rock star, take it from me. She is so popular out in the bush. ..what do people tell you, in different parts of Australia, about the importance of a show like Landline?

Pip Courtney

Well, I think a lot of people think Landline is a show for farmers. It’s actually a show for everybody in Australia and our audience is pretty much split 50/50 from city and country viewers. And I think we are helping bridge that divide.

There’s a lot of misunderstandings about farmers and about farming and about what life is like in rural, regional and remote Australia. So, I think we are bridging that divide. We’re telling people who eat and drink and wear cotton and sleep in cotton sheets and wear wool, this is…these are the people who produce what you consume and we’re going to take you to places you’ll never get to see under your own steam and show how beautiful they are.

And the farmers always love the fact that they get so much feedback from city people, who say, “Now I get what you do – “that you’re not whingers, that you’re really clever. “You run complex businesses. You take big financial risks.” And the city audience is absolutely fascinated with what farmers do.

Michael Rowland

‘Costa… Pip, thank you very much for that. We’ll come back to you shortly in Launceston. Let’s fly up to Rockhampton now, if it was only so quick in real life, and bring in Costa!

Good morning. How is it in fabulous Rocky this morning?

Costa Georgiadis

Michael, I used your TARDIS to get here and it is wonderful to be here! I’m surrounded by a good 80 of the local folk of the Capricornia Coast and I, on behalf of everyone here, would like to acknowledge the country on which we are gathered and acknowledge the elders past and present.

It’s great to be up in this part of the world and from the moment that I arrived, whether it was the shuttle-bus driver or Russell the cabbie, I’ve been welcomed and it’s great to see all these local faces with us! We’ll be hearing more from them later on.

Michael Rowland

Now, Costa, not too long ago, we all marked New Year’s Eve and, for some of us, we make resolutions either to, say, give up the booze, eat less, do more exercise but you, Costa, had a particularly unique resolution. Tell us about it.

Look, my…

Costa Georgiadis

I suppose it’s not unique, as far as a resolution goes, for me, because as an ongoing environmental educator, I’m constantly aware of the waste that is presented to me and the waste that I can avoid, refuse and/or redirect. So, in that sense, my New Year’s resolution was to up the ante and not just continue to spread my sphere of influence in this space but to connect with all of the other people that are doing it and the other groups and continue that wonderful thread of momentum that Craig Reucassel and The War on Waste has done through the broadcast of that series on the ABC.

Ongoing podcasts are happening and it’s a great opportunity just to share this message and really illustrate the change in… ..the everyday things that I do, the little things, because they really are the big things that can change people’s ongoing day-to-day behaviour.

Michael Rowland

Indeed. Now, before we go, Costa, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you. When you travel around Australia shooting stories for Landline… Congratulations on the new time slot, by the way. 7:30 Friday night. Just terrific.

The question – when you’re on set, shooting stuff, does your beard get its own trailer?

(LAUGHTER)

Costa Georgiadis

Look, I was promised a trailer very early on!

(LAUGHTER)

Now, I haven’t been on Gardening Australia as long as Pip has been on Landline, but Gardening Australia is in its 29th year, so in terms of two flagship ABC shows, it’s a pleasure to be involved with it.

I did… I did put forward a proposal in my first year back in 2012 that the beard does require a certain level of coiffure.

(LAUGHTER)

They said that a trailer would come and the only trailer that’s ever turned up on any site has been a box trailer, generally filled with manure and compost!

(LAUGHTER)

Michael Rowland

You need a better agent, mate! (LAUGHS) (LAUGHS) You know, we can work on those things. That can be next year’s resolution, perhaps!

Hey, Costa and Pip, thank you both, and we’ll come back to you during the Q&A session a bit later on. Please congratulate them. (APPLAUSE)

Feels quite liberating, the podium is gone – I should be giving a TED Talk, I think. It’s great to be moving around.

Now, coming up, you’ll hear next from the ABC’s Managing Director, Michelle Guthrie. Michelle has been in the job since May 2016. She is responsible for decisions about the day-to-day running of the ABC, its broader strategy and the content it produces, including a certain breakfast show…

Before joining the ABC, Michelle worked for a range of broadcasting and media organisations, including BSkyB, Star TV and Google.

Before we hear from the MD, let’s take a sneak peak at some of the terrific family content coming your way on the ABC in 2018.

Video

[On screen text reads “2018 wondrous” over scenes of stars and a large telescope. A song plays “We come together, so let’s touch the sky…”]

PROFESSOR BRIAN COX: Australia is the best place on the planet to look up to the heavens.

[Snippets from a range of programs appear briefly with the following dialogue]

It is so beautiful!

We’ve got a lot to talk about.

It just felt like we’d always been together.

Oh! (LAUGHS) Wow!

SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: Tasmania is full of surprises.

Australia, yes.

But with a twist.

WOMAN: Anything is achievable if you put your mind to it.

The 2018 Invictus Games are coming to Sydney.

(CHEERING)

I’m Tripitaka. I have released him.

You’ve done what?

This hasn’t been full in five weeks?

Yeah, we haven’t had any rubbish.

[VIDEO ENDS]

(APPLAUSE)

Michelle Guthrie

When I came into the role of ABC Managing Director almost two years ago, I did so with one clear objective – I wanted the ABC to be as meaningful and relevant to my children and their children as it has been to me during my lifetime. I have always valued those central pillars the ABC provides – programs that are informative, entertaining and educational.

The ABC is deeply committed to those principles, the same ones many of you, like me, have come to rely on through your own life. We’re committed to the core broadcast services the ABC has always provided.

While we are an innovative organisation and will continue to invest in new ways to tell stories that matter to all of us, we are absolutely committed to the core values you rely on us for.

That commitment means we will continue to produce and deliver programs across all platforms that are high quality, distinctive and Australian. In a hyper-competitive media landscape, where audiences are empowered as never before, it is critical that the ABC plays to its strengths – quality, distinctive, Australian.

When I joined the ABC and spent time talking with our people, I saw the tremendous opportunity to build a public broadcaster that will remain relevant for generations to come. The ABC matters now more than ever before. Australians are increasingly faced with programming that is generic and superficial. Audiences are having to make choices in a fragmented media landscape and there is a crying need for depth, independence and critical analysis.

The ABC is in a unique position to provide a unifying and relevant role for our communities. The ABC has a passionate and loyal audience and we currently reach over 70% of the Australian population each week on our television, radio and digital services. We’re committed to reaching even more of you. Our challenge is to meet the changes in audience behaviour to remain as relevant as we have always been now and into the future.

And we are committed to developing, sorry, delivering, more of the iconic Australian programs you know and love – programs like Gardening Australia, Landline, Catalyst and Four Corners. Gardening Australia, for example, as you heard, now in its 29th season, will tell more stories from across our communities and this year, broadcasts for a full hour instead of 30 minutes, and has moved to prime time on Fridays.

Another favourite, Back Roads, will return with a new series. Its success with viewers has really translated also to digital platforms and younger audiences. The ABC has a heavy responsibility, via its charter, to ensure it provides news and information that serves the interest of the public. And consistently, we do that on a local, state and national level.

We are the news source Australians trust more than any other. Our news teams break stories that start national conversations, frame debates, lead to Royal Commissions and hold accountable politicians on all sides. Our investment in public-interest journalism is an investment in both diversity and democracy.

Our investigative journalism capability is the cornerstone to the nation’s trust in us. The depth and breadth of our commitment to investigative journalism has been showcased in 2017. Sarah Ferguson’s two-part program on the Lindt cafe siege was extraordinarily compelling and moving. It was a program that only the ABC and, frankly, Sarah and her team, could do. Growing our investigative news capability is a central priority and we have invested in the creation of the largest dedicated investigative and specialist journalism team in the country – a substantial investment in public affairs journalism at a time other media organisations are reducing the size of their newsrooms.

We’re committed to an ABC that nurtures our creative communities. You’ll see more of the distinctive programs you love, like Gruen, Rake, Rosehaven and Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell. You’ll also see the results of our investment in discovering the next generation of innovative comedians, filmmakers and musicians through programs like Tonightly with Tom Ballard and through Triple J Unearthed.

Our 2018 slate strengthens our commitment to children by championing their voices and showcasing their stories through diverse and inclusive programming. Our children’s team has delivered a programming schedule in 2018 that will inspire, entertain, educate and develop the minds of our youngest audience members. The ABC will remain the place the nation comes to for distinctive stories on the arts, science, religion, ethics and education.

Students, parents and teachers can now rely on the ABC as an even greater resource, with ABC Education, which provides thousands of interactive tools and articles and access to the deep Behind the News archive.

RN continues to set the national conversation, while ABC Local Radio provides a platform for local news, debate and conversations.

In 2017, the ABC Listen app became the leading radio app in Australia, allowing audiences to listen to our radio programs free of the normal schedule. Our investment in rural and regional communities through the Connecting Communities initiative, represents the biggest single investment in regional news and information in the ABC’s history.

We connect Australians wherever they live and bring them together around the moments that matter – Anzac Day, New Year’s Eve, Australia Day and on election night. In sharing these moments with all Australians, we help bind the nation together and contribute to our sense of national identity. And in our role as exclusive broadcaster of the 2018 Invictus Games, to be held in Sydney in October, we will celebrate courage, determination and the unbeatable human spirit.

We know we have the support of the Australian public. With a monthly reach of more than 80% of Australians, we are more popular than the major political parties combined!

(LAUGHTER)

And with numerous State and federal elections coming in the next 18 months, the ABC’s commitment to democracy and providing the right information and analysis is critical for the electorate.

The ABC’s independence and its commitment to in-depth analysis and commentary has never been more valuable, and this is why a well-funded ABC is a strong ABC. No media organisation is better positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that lie ahead. We’re already digital leaders. We’re trusted by Australians. Our people are resourceful and open to change and we are known for our distinctive, quality programming and services. Our role as Australia’s public broadcaster is now more important than ever.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Video

(‘VERTIGO’ BY RAPHAEL LAKE PLAYS)

[Screen text reads “Coming in 2018”]

# Oh, no, the vertigo’s coming

# Can’t keep me on my feet

# God knows I’m trying to be someone

# My vision’s failing me… #

Riot

We’re gonna have a Mardi Gras.

Let’s get this party started!

(CHEERING)

Harrow

I am not reopening this case.

We are not in the ‘why?’ business, Harrow.

We’re in the ‘what happened?’ business.

Sometimes you can’t tell what happened unless you know why.

Mystery Road

It was a crime. Has to be answered.

You’re that bloke from down south, aren’t ya?

Jack Irish

It’s Jack Irish.

Rake

[Various scenes with music track continuing “God gave me one last chance, to take all the time that I’ve borrowed, and make a new man, I knew it would come for me.”]

[VIDEO ENDS]

Michael Rowland

Yes. (APPLAUSE)

Some terrific dramas coming your way. Jack Irish, Mystery Road. I’m such a great fan of Aaron Pedersen. And that’s even before we get to a possible election night broadcast, and as everybody knows, nobody – nobody – does drama like Antony Green.

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Has he called it? Now, as a publicly funded body, the ABC is acutely aware that it’s all of you, the Australian taxpayers, who, quite literally, keep us up and running, and we strive each and every day to ensure every dollar is well spent. I’d now like to introduce you to the woman who is responsible for the ABC’s performance.

Louise Higgins is the ABC’s Chief Financial Officer and an experienced media executive whose career has seen 20 years in the media industry both in Australia and overseas. Please make her very welcome.

(APPLAUSE)

Louise Higgins

Hi. As Justin said earlier, the ABC is loved and trusted by Australians. But we know, to maintain this trust, we must be completely transparent and accountable. And today you’re going to hear more on this from me.

Each year, the ABC receives 1 billion in public funding. Now, whilst on face value, that is a lot of money, the fact is, our funding has declined by 28% in real terms since the mid-1980s. In fact, in the last five years alone, it has declined by more than 200 million. Now, I point this out for historical context, as we understand there are many demands on the public purse.

But how do we compare to other public service broadcasters overseas? Our per capita funding is 34% lower than the average of other public service broadcasters, including the BBC. In fact, we serve a population that is one third the size of the UK with one eighth the funding of the BBC.

Back in 1987, your ABC famously cost each Australian eight cents a day. In 1987 dollar terms, we now cost each Australian just four cents a day. In other words, our per capita funding has halved in real terms. But we’ve learned to do a lot with our few cents a day. We’ve added multiple new television, radio and digital platforms. We have increased our investment in quality Australian programs. In fact, for the money spent by Netflix on just two series of House of Cards, the ABC funded no less than 50 quality Australian programs, including 24 drama series.

Now, we’ve been able to achieve all of this through transformational programs that have cut bureaucracy and unnecessary expense and we have continued to shift money from administration and back into content, and how we have done this is cutting back on managers and travel, reviewing support services, and lowering transmission and distribution costs. By the end of this year, our savings over the last five years will have increased to 324 million, of which 78% we have handed back to the Government and the rest we have invested back into content for you, our audiences.

Now, despite the ABC’s declining funding and efficiency initiatives, we have ensured we’ve invested wisely so that we remain true to our core and never compromising on our charter obligations. No other media organisation in Australia is as trusted, valued or as distinctive as the ABC.

We continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of broadcast in programs that promote the arts, education, contribute to Australia’s national identity and reflect the cultural diversity of the Australian community. Our reputation is strong not only in cities, but also regional Australia. And that’s because of our large investment outside the capitals. So we are very proud that 78% of people believe we’re doing a good job covering their stories.

Now, as you’ve heard Justin say, we must continue to embrace both the challenges and the opportunities of the new digital era, and I’m pleased to report that our key digital platforms enjoyed growth in 2017. ABC iview remained second only to Netflix as Australia’s most popular video-on-demand service, and nine out of the top ten programs viewed on iview were Australian. ABC Kids remains the number one digital destination for pre-schoolers, and on our digital TV, our ABC News Channel reaches more than 14% of Australians every week. That is four times the number reached by Sky News. And our websites continue to grow in popularity and are highly respected, with 89% of Australians believing they have quality content.

However, as important as our digital channels are, as you have heard from both Justin and Michelle, let us continue to reassure you that we have absolutely no plans to reduce our presence on television or radio. Now, this stands to reason, given the huge audiences that continue to engage with the ABC on these platforms.

12.3 million Australians continue to watch ABC TV each week. 4.8 million Australians continue to listen to radio. And we continue to attract the large audiences for special events, with 3.8 million Aussies joining the ABC to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

So, let me finish with some comments about the future.

Whilst we are pleased with our progress, I assure you that we are not complacent about our success, and certainly not slowing down our drive for efficiency. Today, my aim was to provide you with a greater level of transparency and reporting than ever before. This will continue.

[The web address about.apc.net.au/apm is shown]

Following today’s meeting, we will publish publicly, for the first time, our Investing in Audiences strategy. We will also importantly publish a document that outlines our approach to efficiency, public trust and value in the organisation. I really encourage you to visit the ABC website to read them for yourselves. The purpose of these new disclosures are aimed as a signal to really demonstrate our commitment to remain transparent and accountable and will be followed by regular updates, including our content plans and performance against charter obligations, so that you, our audience, can track our progress.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Video

Patricia Karvelas

[Standing in front of signage “National Wrap”] Hi. I’m Patricia Karvelas.

I think now, more than ever before, Australians need to know who they can trust.

People are turning to the ABC and rightly expecting us to cut through the spin and to deliver them facts with context, to tell the rich stories of our country.

Stan Grant

[Seated in front of signage that reads “Matter of FACT”] When I was growing up as a boy in the country, the ABC was our lifeline. We listened to the radio, we watched the television. It was how we connected to the outside world – often the only media that we could actually access.

Now, all those years later, working here at the ABC, it’s still just as important. This is the place where we get to talk about big ideas. It is important to our democracy and we shouldn’t forget that.

Patricia Karvelas

For many Australians, this is the place they come to to find out about their world. I feel a strong sense of pride that my bosses are Australian audiences. That’s such a powerful part of why I love working here at the ABC. It’s a place where I can bring my whole self to work, and for a journalist like me, being able to tell the stories of Australians from across the continent is the best job in the world.

Young man nams Arjun, 22 years old vet student, with bicycle

[Image of mobile phone is shown]

The ABC is there for its stories about Australian history and where you come from. I think that’s what makes it special. I think it represents me quite well because I grew up differently. I grew up in a country town, from a very diverse multicultural background, and I think that’s something that the ABC celebrates.

Kay, late 60’s empty nester with 2 kids and 2 grandkids

There’s an awful lot of bias in the newspapers and I…I’ve got great faith in the ABC. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is put on the radio. They have a wide range of interesting programs about things that I enjoy, like reading and the arts and politics.

Robert, 47, small business owner with 2 kids and 2 grandkids

I find their investigative journalism to be at the top of the pile.

GRANT

[Jane and Grant are pictured, late 50’s, dairy farmers with 3 teenage kids. Images of computers indicate they watch online]

I grew up with ABC, as probably a lot of people done years ago. Everyone, you know, seven o’clock news was on and it was watch the news, watch the weather forecast, probably a little bit of a current affairs afterwards. Yeah, probably more independent than commercial stations. I think it is very important, yeah.

Duncan, 34, music teacher with 2 kids

Less commercial, more believable. I have the news app on my phone and iPads and then record ABC news and watch that at 8:30 or something every night.

Olivia, 19 student in regional Australia

The ABC is my automatic fallback on the radio and television. It’s a constant presence. It’s always there. And it’s got the reputation and the trust.

Rochelle, 40, mum with 5 kids

With the kids, particularly, they… You know, that’s all that they pretty much watch. It’s easy. I can just put it on. I know that they’re catered for. And they all take turns in choosing their programs, which is fantastic.

I’ve just started listening to the e-Pods, so the education talks on ABC Radio.

The conversations are always relevant to today and I think that’s something the ABC needs to keep, is it needs to be to relevant to the conversations that are happening every day.

Patricia Karvelas

The ABC truly reflects the diversity of our community. As a child of migrants, it was the ABC where I learned about news through BTN. Still watch it. It’s where my own kids are finding out about the world on the ABC iview and Listen apps.

I really can’t think of Australia without the ABC.

[ABC Yours logo]

(APPLAUSE)

[VIDEO ENDS]

Michael Rowland

OK. Now it’s time for the really fun part of the morning. It’s time to hand the microphone to you, our audience.

We invited all Australians to submit a question they would like to ask. In fact, we received more than 350 questions and with the help of an independent research company, those questions were essentially grouped into themes so we could easily identify the things most of you wanted us to respond to in the available time we have this morning. The questions that will be put to our Board and our Leadership Team gathered in the front row here are the result of that independent process.

Now, if you submitted a question relating to a theme which is not covered during this live event, don’t fret. It will be answered on our website shortly afterwards.

I would now like to welcome back to the podium the ABC’s chairman, Justin Milne, to help answer your questions.

(APPLAUSE)

Justin Milne

Thank you, Michael. We’ve got a range of questions and some of them are hard ones.

Now, our first question was submitted online and it comes from Mr Christopher Gilling from New South Wales, and it reads… The question is,

Question 1 – Christopher Gilling, NSW

“Why must we be bombarded by constant commercials for ABC programs “and products on both radio and television? The emphasis on the ABC Listen app seems apparently intended to move listeners away from radio to online. Is the ABC policy now to reduce broadcast content in favour of online?”

Justin Milne

That question I’m going to hand straight over to Michelle Guthrie.

(LAUGHTER)

Answer 1 – Michele Guthrie

Thank you, Justin.

I actually get this question quite a bit as I’m going around Australia. But I also get the reverse, which is, “Why is it that you didn’t tell me that something is on or that you’ve launched this new product?”

Look, I think that what we’re really getting down to is we reach 70% of Australians on a weekly basis across TV, radio and digital, as I said earlier. We have all of these great programs that we’d like to actually have reach more people. So, it’s really important that we tell people about them.

And the ABC Listen app is one of those services that actually has become incredibly popular just in the year that it’s been launched. We now have, as I said before, the ABC Listen app is the number one radio app in Australia.

And it is, as I said in my remarks, it is not intended as a replacement to our radio broadcasts at all. It’s simply a way of actually freeing up the schedule so that if people are like me and I can’t listen to Fran in the morning and I can listen to it later in the day, or actually as I go for my walk in the evening, it’s a way of staying connected to the great programs and services that we have.

Justin Milne

Thanks. Thanks, Michelle.

Right, let’s go now down to Launceston.

LON-ceston. Pip, who have you got there with you?

Pip Courtney

Hi, Justin. We have Annabel Tyson and she has a question for you.

Question 2 – Annabel Tyson, TAS

Has the ABC adopted a policy of dumbing down for its listeners and viewers?

The organisation seems to be taking away from us so gradually that perhaps it hopes we won’t notice – some of the iconic productions that have always made those who want the truth to turn to it. The great losses last year were the cutting back of ABC Radio’s The World Today and the disappearance of TV’s Lateline, a current affairs program that once enabled long-form interviewing to help viewers come to grips with some of the world’s most complex issues.

At a time when infotainment seems more important to newspapers seeking to balance the books, we need the reliability of our taxpayer-funded ABC more than ever. What assurance can the ABC Board give us that no further cuts are envisaged?

(APPLAUSE)

Justin Milne

Thanks, Annabel. It, um…uh, there’s a lot of answers to that question, but I’m going to hand that one to Gaven Morris who is Director of News.

Answer 2 – Gaven Morris

Thanks, Justin.

Good morning, everyone. And, Annabel, thank you for the question. Let me try to seek to assure all of our audience members that the last thing we want to do in ABC News is in any way dumb down what we do for the audiences.

What we’re seeking to do at the moment, as Michelle referred to before, is build the largest daily investigative journalism team the ABC has ever had and, probably, the country has ever had, to sit alongside Four Corners and Background Briefing and 7:30, to continue to hold the powerful to account and to do more investigative journalism.

But what we want to do is to make sure that that is available to people, whether they get their information on a television, on a radio, on a computer or on a mobile phone.

And we have to recognise that audience habits are changing. Let’s take the Lateline example, you know, as one point. A generation ago, when Lateline was first established, it was set up because satellite technology, for the first time, enabled us to reach across the world and hear from people that we no longer heard from. There wasn’t any current affairs or analysis between the nightly news programs on television and the newspapers the following morning.

Well, all of that’s changed, and audiences now get their information from a thousand sources, at any time of the day, and the technology they’re increasingly seeking to use is digital technology. So, investing in investigative and research-based journalism, doing more analysis and… And I agree with Annabel, having conversations about the big issues and the big stories and the debates that the nation is having…

I do urge people if they haven’t yet, to take a look at Stan Grant’s new program, A Matter of Fact, or Patricia Karvelas’s new program, National Wrap. These are efforts to do exactly that – to allow people to have the big discussions and debates, in places and in ways that now suit them. One of the things I’m, I think, really optimistic about in relation to the future of ABC News is more people in younger age groups are now accessing ABC’s news and current affairs coverage in ways that they simply wouldn’t have been able to do 20 years ago.

So, we’re now seeing that, you know, we’re catering… If somebody, for instance, with Four Corners, you know, it either doesn’t suit their lifestyle or they don’t have the time to sit down and watch a 40-minute current affairs program at 8:30 on a Monday night, we’re now producing that story that Four Corners has covered in a way that people can access across our digital platforms. So, high-quality journalism, in-depth coverage, debates and discussion, just as we have always done.

But, yes, Annabel, indeed, sometimes that means some of the programs, created a generation ago, for a different audience need, has to change.

Thank you. (APPLAUSE)

Justin Milne

Thanks. Thanks very much, Gaven. Now, there’s another online question. And this one comes from Mr Joseph Clogstoun in New Zealand. And it reads…

Question 3 – Joseph Clogstoun, New Zealand

“The ABC schedule is full of programs that you repeated once or twice over the year. For instance, Grantchester has been repeated twice in 2017 and is still being repeated in 2018.

“I also think the ABC has resorted to buying poor-quality TV programs, rather than the quality BBC programs that you used to show. It’s a great pity that the once-proud ABC is reduced to producing poor-quality programs day in and day out.”

Now, that’s definitely a programming question. And that is over to David Anderson.

Answer 3 – David Anderson

Thank you, Justin. And thank you, Joseph, for the question, and hello, everyone.

Um, international acquisitions have been an important part of ABC’s schedule, and the schedule’s still important, as you heard from Michelle earlier. But, really, our primary focus is on Australian content. So, what you’ve heard from Justin, Michelle and Louise is that we’re actively investing more in Australian content. There’s never been a more important time to have Australian content for everyone, for all Australians. And the result of that will be that there will be fewer international repeats into the future.

Very important to us that we maintain our quality of our choices, both for what we produce as well as what we acquire. Always welcome audience feedback and…and our future, as I said, lies, we believe, in quality Australian content that reflects our culture and community, that holds national… (COUGHS) Excuse me. ..national conversations, and tells Australian stories that reflect Australians.

Justin Milne

Thank you. Thanks, David.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, let’s take a question from our studio audience in Sydney. And I believe that we’ve got a Mr Bruce Paine in the audience, who’s come here today, from the ACT. Welcome, Bruce. Thank you. And what’s your question?

Question 4 – Bruce Paine, ACT

Uh, my question… the issue is around, in many countries around the world that are seemingly democracies, citizens are, nevertheless, becoming less engaged with the democratic process and the political process, which then falls prone to being hijacked, essentially, by narrow sectional influences.

My question to the Board is does the Board and, hence, the ABC, consider that it has a duty to protect the democracy through educating people in democracy and the processes of government? Thank you. Thanks, Bruce.

Yep. (APPLAUSE)

Answer 4 – Justin Milne

Yeah, I’ll take that one. And the answer is absolutely, yes. I mean, we think that our role in democracy is fundamental and we think it’s a big role. It has a couple of aspects to it, Bruce. One, of course, is our coverage of the democratic process. So, nobody does elections like us. Nobody has the authority of Antony Green. People love our election coverage, they tune to it every time there’s an election.

They love our Vote Compass app, which is hammered every time it goes up, for each election. And it helps to tell us what we think and it helps to reflect the zeitgeist back to us. And that is a fundamental part of what we do. And, of course, we’ve got a big 18 months coming up, with sort of a rolling schedule of state elections, and a federal election to be plonked in there at some unexpected moment. So, that’s really important for us.

But the other side, I think, of democracy is the sort of slightly, perhaps, softer side, which has been referred to, which is the fact that we do things that no other media organisation does and we do that because you want us to and because we think it’s important. So, we do science and we do arts, we do politics, of course, we do religion as well. So, we’re… And philosophy. So, we’re interested in the thinking part of our world and we’re interested in providing that to people from three or four years old, all the way up to 80 years old.

And we do regard that as being absolutely fundamental to what we do.

Justin Milne

I hope that answers the question. Our next one is an online question, and it’s from a Mr Bill Buchanan in Western Australia. And his question is

Question 5 – Bill Buchanan, WA

“There’s a strong perception that the ABC is anti the Liberal National Party and it consistently acts more like the Opposition than a neutral broadcaster. This is a great pity because I’ve been a long-term fan of the ABC, until recently, when I look for news and current affairs elsewhere. The ABC may not agree but many people are of the same opinion as me and what are you going to do about it?”

(LAUGHTER) Ouch!

Justin Milne

Thanks for that, Bill. And this one I’m going to neatly flick pass to our Editorial Director Alan Sunderland.

Answer 5 – Alan Sunderland

Thanks for the, uh, hospital hand-pass.

Um, look, thanks for the question. Obviously, this is something which has been a perennial issue for us to confront, as it is the case with many broadcasters around the world.

In my role as Editorial Director, I tend to keep a file of clippings of criticisms of the ABC. And I have an editorial from a newspaper, accusing us of our bias against the government of the day, and how terrible we are, and it’s from 1932, which was the year we started. And every decade since then, you can see a similar pattern. I have some personal experience of it myself.

I was in the Canberra Press Gallery for about five or six years in the 1990s. I was working for that other great public broadcaster, SBS, at the time, but very close to my ABC colleagues. And I can tell you, there was no love lost between the Labor Government of that day and the ABC.

But here’s the thing. I’m not here to say to Bill or to anybody else listening today that you’re wrong, or to convince you otherwise. The only thing that is going to convince people that we are impartial and accurate and independent in our work is the quality of our work. So, let me take a couple minutes to tell you about my little part of the ABC, as Editorial Director, and what my small team do.

Obviously, as has been referred to earlier, we have a very detailed and very clear set of editorial standards which we make available to the public generally, which set out our requirements in a whole range of areas. But for the purposes of this conversation, it’s independence, it’s integrity, accuracy, impartiality and a diversity of perspectives are the other big ones that matter. We don’t just put them out there and set and forget.

Most of my year is taken up in rolling out training for our editorial teams. Our little team of three people trained 600 program-makers last year. We’re aiming to do at least 700 this year.

We are involved in pre-publication advice. There is a process of upward referral that we rely upon. Over and above that, we have instituted, in recent years, some proactive reviews of our content. Every single time there is a federal election, a State election or a Territory election, we will review the quality of our work during those elections. We will choose programs, we will choose issues, and we will sit down…

My team sits outside the content teams of the ABC, and we’ll look at how well we’ve done. And the final piece of that jigsaw puzzle, of course, is the feedback and the complaints we get from the public. And when people contact us and say, “You’re biased,” uh, we will say to them, “Please give us an example of that. “What did you hear? What did you listen? What did you see? “Tell us about that piece of content. “What is it about it that concerns you?” And we will look at that piece of content, we will review it independently, we’ll seek advice and we’ll form a view.

Now, I’m satisfied and comfortable at how often our content comes up trumps. But that doesn’t mean that we’re complacent. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter. It’d be great if we were the only media organisation in the world that didn’t make a mistake, but we will make mistakes. What matters is we listen, we engage and we learn from that.

It’s an ongoing process. I work for a proud organisation that asks difficult questions, an organisation that holds governments to account and that speaks up for people who don’t have a voice. That will sit uncomfortably with a great many people a lot of the time. The challenge for us is to understand when that criticism is unjustified and to hold our ground – we owe that to you – but, also, to be listening carefully enough to understand and to acknowledge when we DO get it wrong and to learn from that, and that’s the commitment we have.

(APPLAUSE)

Justin Milne

Thank you, Alan. Debating champion of Victoria. Don’t mess with Alan.

(LAUGHTER)

And now for our next question, we’re going to go up to Rocky. Costa, who have you got for us up there?

Costa Georgiadis

Yeah, Justin, look the atmosphere up here, I wish I could share it down the line for you. You can hear it in the background. Everyone’s really engaged. And they’re clapping with many of the questions, so there’s a really good feeling in the room.

Now, the next question is from a local Rockhampton resident who, unfortunately, couldn’t come in on the morning, today, so I’ve been asked to step into his shoes and read the question.

Question 6 – Rockhampton resident, QLD

“The ABC has always been a great supporter of rural areas. “Is the ABC going to remove the support that Rural has enjoyed for many years “due to cutbacks by the government?”

Costa Georgiadis

Alrighty.

Justin Milne

Thanks, Costa, and thank you, David, for that.

Now, that’s a regional and rural-themed question, obviously. And, so, I’m going to ask Fiona Reynolds, who is our Director of Regional, who happens to be in Launceston, if she might take that question. So, let’s go down to Launceston.

Answer 6 – Fiona Reynolds

Thank you for the question, David.

Well, rural reporting is certainly a strength of the ABC. And if I didn’t say that, I reckon my mate, Pip Courtney, here in Lonnie with me, would probably bash me up.

But in all seriousness, we’ve been committed to rural for the life of the ABC. In fact, ABC Rural has now been around for more than 70 years. And that commitment is growing. We’ve…through our investment of more than 15 million in rural and regional Australia, we’ve grown our rural reporting workforce. In fact, we’ve put in extra rural reporters into places like Lismore and Ballarat.

And we’re now finding our audiences are appreciating rural content online, on mobile, not just on television and radio anymore, but those services remain critical as well. So, our rural reporters now, we believe, are the strongest workforce of specialists in the world and we’re really proud of that and we don’t intend to diminish that in any way.

The Rural Reports, the Country Hour programs, Landline, our online and mobile services, they are all, we know, a fundamental way that we reflect the country issues, that we show the innovation, as Pip talked about earlier, that’s going on, but we also connect, as she said, the country areas with the city areas.

And there are amazing other programs that we’re continuing to commit to as well, like Heywire, which had its 20th anniversary this week. And I’ve just come back from Canberra, where we heard amazing stories from rural youth across the country, sharing those and their experiences and they’re empowered to tell those stories. And they are just other ways that we intend to continue building on our commitment to rural Australia.

Thanks, Fiona. (APPLAUSE)

Justin Milne

Thanks very much. The next question is an online one. It’s come from a Mr John Adriaan in the ACT.

And John asks,

Question 7 – John Adriaan, ACT

“The ABC’s biggest weakness “is its reliance on government funding. “Progressive governments see the advantage of an unfettered media “and they are happy to fund one. “But with today’s resurgence of a more restrictive government, “what are your expectations into the future?”

Justin Milne

So, that question, I reckon, is one for Michelle.

Answer 7 – Michelle Guthrie

Well, thank you, John. But I must admit, I entirely disagree with you. I actually think that our public funding is our greatest asset – that, actually, having that sense of independence from commercial interests, that trust that we have with the Australian public and our commitment to educate, inform and entertain, is fundamental to what we do. So, I truly believe that that commitment from the public and the support that we get, whether it’s from our viewership of more than 70% of the population on a weekly basis, or whether it’s the trust numbers or the commitment that you’ve shown in terms of quality and distinctiveness.

But I do highlight, as I said in my remarks earlier, that a well-funded ABC is a strong ABC. And as the Prime Minister has said in the past, the ABC has never been more important to our public institutions.

Justin Milne

So, thank you. Thanks, Michelle.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, just to keep the technology going,

I think we’ve got a pre-recorded Skype video question from a Mr David Swallow in South Australia. Perhaps we could roll that.

Question 8 – David Swallow, SA

Hello. Radio National has been so good for so long, we probably started taking it for granted. It’s a national treasure. It’s been a forum for the debate and dissemination of ideas over a remarkably wide spectrum. This does not necessarily equate to finding the largest audience.

Recent announcements about Radio National programming would suggest a move from the former to the latter. Is this happening? Thank you.

Justin Milne

Thank you. That’s a radio question.

(APPLAUSE)

And so could I introduce Mr Michael Mason, who is our Director of Radio.

Michael.

Answer 8 – Michael Mason

Thanks, Justin. And thanks for the question. I don’t think anyone in this room or watching online or in Lonnie or anywhere around the country would disagree with the pretext of the question, which is that RN is a national treasure. And it’s something we’re really committed to maintaining. And when it comes to programming the network, its ability to be a specialist network that isn’t after ratings and chasing mass audiences, is key to what we do for it.

It’s a very important part of furthering debate in the country, planting seeds and getting people to think differently about the world around them. And when it comes to programming changes that we’ve just been putting in place for 2018, there was no budget cuts to Radio National in 2018. The changes that Gaven talked about with The World Today are outlined about simply through changing audience needs. But the programming that we put in place gets to the core of our specialist content that we do on Radio National. And that’s the big driver in everything we do and all that we think about with Radio National.

It’s interesting seeing… Excuse me. ..the figures for the BBC and other broadcasters around the world. It’s my belief, and maybe I’m slightly biased, but I think I do know my radio, that the radio on Radio National is simply the best in the world. And everything that we do is through that prism.

The changes that we have made in 2018 underscore specialisation. The changes of Books and Arts daily where involving the team we’ve shifted that away from just a broad catch-all of programs to real specialisation. We have a screen program, arts program, and we also have a stage program and, of course, a books program.

And we’ve introduced a pop culture program as well. And sometimes we get audience feedback around that, that they’ve grown around that, that it can be perceived as dumbing down, but if you listen to our one, called Stop Everything, it’s done by two presenters with PhDs – Lauren Rosewarne and also Ben Law, who’ve got PhDs. And the other presenter, of course, is our widely acclaimed former EP of RN Drive, Beverley Wang, who’s got a masters in journalism.

So, I think the quality of that program underscores… ..and all the programs at Radio National, underscore those great values of specialisation and furthering thought and debate in this country.

So, when we introduce new programs, sure it takes a little while to get used to them, but don’t forget we still underscore and highly value our longstanding programs and presenters like Phillip Adams, Robin Williams, Geraldine Doogue, and Fran Kelly and Norman Swan.

Justin Milne

Thanks, Michael.

(APPLAUSE)

Alright.

Our final question is an online one and it’s from Edwina Artegas, from New South Wales. Oh, and she’s live here in the audience today. Edwina?

Edwina Artegas

Here online.

Question 9 – Edwina Artegas, NSW

My theme’s actually been spoken to by each of you today, because my question is about trust.

Four generations of my family are committed ABC watchers and listeners and the fifth generation is just starting with Play School.

My concern is that with staff cutbacks and reduced resources and multiple platforms, the supervision, fact-checking and cross-referencing is not happening as it has in the past, as witnessed by some of the Catalyst programs the year before last. So, how has this been addressed, and what are the plans for ensuring veracity in the future?

Answer 9 – Justin Milne

OK. I’ll take that one.

Trust is non-negotiable for us. I mean, it’s what we do. I’m probably gonna repeat some things here, but as you can see, being the most trusted media organisation in Australia is fundamental and vital for us. And everybody, I can tell you, and I am a new boy, but everybody in the ABC believes that.

They believe it from the boom swingers and camera operators here, right up to everybody on the Board. We’re all driven by being trusted. We’re all driven by telling the truth. We’re all driven by trying to find that sort of balanced line down the middle. It’s what we do.

And how we do it, um… I think that we’ve heard a fair bit about… ..in relation to our ed pols, as we call them.

Our editorial policies. These are like two or three phone books worth of guidelines. So, every journalist that’s here is trained to within an inch of their life on how we at the ABC do journalism. Then they are retrained, then they are assessed, then their stories are looked at, and then they are peer-reviewed. So, we never ever stop trying to do the right thing.

We occasionally get it wrong, as Alan said. We’re not perfect. When we do, we fess up, we say we’re sorry and we move on. All organisations have an error rate of some description. But for us, we spend, you know, heaps of our energy, on just trying to always get it right, to find that sort of acceptable line down the middle of issues, and to inform Australians. And we want to own your trust and be worthy of your trust, because then you’ll consider to think that we’re worthwhile.

So, we don’t have revenue. Our continued existence depends entirely on our shareholders, Australia, thinking that we’re worthwhile. And getting your trust and maintaining your trust and being worthy of your trust is a fundamental thing for us. I hope that answers the question.

(APPLAUSE)

So, thanks for all your questions and it is all we’ve got time for now. I want to thank everyone who submitted questions online. Answers to them can all be found on the web. And just before I hand back to Michael, let me finish by saying that when it comes to the future there’s one thing that we can be sure of, and that is that the ABC needs to remain strong, recognisable, and uniquely Australian. And to ensure we keep this at the front of our minds, we’re launching a new brand manifesto – a commitment to our audiences.

From next Monday, you’ll see and hear the expression, “ABC Yours”. Now “Yours” might be a simple word, but we think it packs a really big punch. It says that the ABC belongs to all of you, and it reminds us that the work we do is for you. I hope that out meeting today has reminded you that the ABC was, is, and always will be yours. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

[Video shows a collection of brief snippets from ABC programs]

Michael Rowland

Isn’t that lovely? (APPLAUSE)

Thank you, Justin. And, well, that about wraps up today. Thank you, Pip. Thank you, Costa. And thank YOU, most importantly, for joining in a conversation with the ABC.

Now, a replay of today’s meeting will be available shortly online at: Most importantly, we want to thank all of you, the Australian public, for your continued support, and for participating today. Have a great Friday, have a terrific weekend. Don’t forget, News Breakfast, 6am Monday.

(LAUGHTER) Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation