Who could possibly argue with the idea that the ABC should be efficiently run and produce excellent programs?
No one, you would think. So why, then, has there been immediate resistance to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s statement that, if elected next month, a Coalition government would “reward excellence” and “keep funding in place” if the ABC is “being run efficiently”?
The fact that Coalition governments – and Dutton himself – have historically been deeply hostile to the public broadcaster is part of it. Many have picked up on the implicit threat that if his government did not find “excellence”, its funding would be cut.
