A coordinated campaign to privatise or significantly defund the ABC has gained momentum within sections of the Liberal Party, with internal documents obtained by Breslin Media Network revealing a detailed policy proposal that would restructure the national broadcaster into a “limited public interest” service covering only content markets private operators will not serve.
The proposal, which has been circulated among senior party figures, would see the ABC’s news and entertainment operations sold to commercial operators, with the rump public service focused solely on regional and Indigenous broadcasting, emergency services communication, and children’s content.
What the documents show
The 47-page internal paper — marked “for discussion purposes only” — argues that the ABC’s current charter duplicates services available commercially and that taxpayer funding of approximately $1.1 billion per year is “difficult to justify in a media landscape fundamentally different from 1932.”
Senior Liberals who spoke to Breslin Media Network on background were split on the proposal’s merits, with several warning that any move against the ABC would be “electoral poison” outside of major cities.
The ABC declined to comment on the proposal, and the Liberal Party did not respond to questions before publication.
