Defund the ABC and Deploy ACMA

On Tuesday 2nd June, members of the Jewish and Iranian communities gathered in front the ABC headquarters to call for greater accountability from those who claim to be journalists. There was a time when a career in journalism was highly desirable because a journalist’s main purpose was to investigate the facts, pursue truth and share that with the people.

However, today we have a national broadcaster, funded by taxpayers, that has been justifiably criticized by many for using its platform to propagate its own biased agenda. Most concerning, is its recent employment of Ms “Globalise the Intifada”, Grace Tame. Her recent involvement in controversial protests against Israel has not only fueled a lack of social cohesion in Australia, but goes against Australian values.

According to many Australians, for years, ABC’s coverage on news in general has predominantly been increasingly Marxist propaganda . Most importantly, its recent coverage on the issues happening in the Middle East have been heavily pro-Palestinian and now with the addition of Tame to their team only makes their one-sided reporting more obvious.

For this reason, the ABC needs to be held to account for its biased views which can potentially cause harm by deepening social divisions and inciting of violence towards our Australian Jewish and Iranian communities. More needs to be done to ensure they provide a balanced view of local and global events and become a publication that reflects the general views of the Australian people. Employing a known activist who calls for the genocide of Australians is downright irresponsible.

The ABC has a responsibility to the Australian people at large, to maintain journalistic integrity. Surprisingly, it has its own Editorial Policies and its own internal review board, which in itself, is a red flag. How can a publication maintain impartiality when it reviews and investigates itself. There is a list of evidence-based concerns regarding their journalistic integrity which you can read here.

It is high time for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to intervene, investigate and examine the role of the ABC and whether it has become an entity unto itself. This might mean consideration of its funding model, requiring that it subsidises itself and becomes its own independent source of news and current affairs.

Regardless of where people stand on all issues, the appointment of Tame to the ABC team questions whether it is in fact meeting its obligations as a public broadcaster and maintaining public trust as Australia’s taxpayer funded media institution.