What Hanson’s plan to defund the SBS and paywall the ABC could mean for Australia
RMIT University
At One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson’s first address at the National Press Club, she vowed to remove taxpayer funding from SBS and significantly curtail the ABC’s reach and accessibility. An RMIT expert unpacks how this could impact public interest journalism in Australia.
Professor Alexandra Wake, School of Media and Communication:
“Pauline Hanson’s proposal to defund SBS and shift the ABC to a subscription model in metropolitan areas fundamentally misunderstands the role and value of public service media in Australia.
“The ABC and SBS are not perfect institutions – no media organisation is. They are rightly subject to scrutiny and ongoing reform, and public debate about their performance is essential.
“However, to dismantle or privatise these institutions would weaken one of the last widely trusted pillars of the Australian media system and one that supports our much-valued democracy.
“A subscription-only model risks creating a two-tiered information environment in which access to credible, independent journalism depends on the ability to pay.
“At a time of rising misinformation and declining trust in media globally, reducing support for the country’s most reliable news providers would not only undermine informed citizenship, but erode social cohesion and democratic resilience.”
Alexandra Wake is Professor of Journalism at the RMIT School of Media and Communication. She is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster who has worked in Australia, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
