ABC funding should be safeguarded against government influence, Rod Sims says

Rod Sims, the former ACCC chairman, has called the ABC a ‘vital institution that should continue essentially as is' and certainly not narrow its focus or be privatised. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The ABC should have a guaranteed five-year funding cycle and its budget and board should be at arm’s length from government influence, former competition tsar Rod Sims has said in a speech.

Ahead of Tuesday’s budget, when the ABC will have its $84m indexation restored, Sims called for “strong and clear” ABC governance and stable funding for the public broadcaster.