Editorial: New ABC head no "cleanskin" The following EDITORIAL was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, November 17th, 1999. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795. CPA Central Committee: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "The Guardian": <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au> Subscription rates on request. ****************************** A "cleanskin". That's how Jonathan Shier, the newly appointed Managing Director of the ABC, is being described. Shier's history, though, paints another picture. A Geelong Grammar boy, his first job was with BHP. It was BHP which recommended him to become a staff member of Ivor Greenwood, who became Attorney- General in Malcolm Fraser's Government. Shier, who joined the Liberal Party, thus became a staffer in the Fraser Government, a government which despised the ABC and took every opportunity to undermine its independence and cut its funding. He claims when he went overseas his Liberal Party membership lapsed. He also claims that he has not voted in Australian elections since then. He worked overseas in commercial television and pay television, with some experience in the coming digital TV technology. His appointment to the job was strongly backed by the present Chairman of the ABC board, Donald McDonald, himself an appointee of the Howard Government and a long-time friend and confidante of the Prime Minister. A "cleanskin"? Shier slots perfectly into the Government's plans to commercialise the ABC, with his party political history and a thorough grounding in the ruthless corporate dog-eat-dog bottom- line. He has no experience in public broadcasting, let alone in the unique services and needs of the ABC. What is certain is that he is not going to buck the current conservative trend in ABC politics. Unfortunately the basic news services of the ABC are today little different from those of the commercial stations. This is not to say that the ABC does not run some progressive programs, such as "Four Corners", "Background Briefing" and coverage of matters relating to Indigenous issues. Overall, however, its news and current affairs coverage comes from increasingly conservative perspectives. This, along with the ditching of quality programming in areas such as current affairs and the arts, are a result of the Federal Government's $65 million of funding cuts and a relentless push towards commercialisation, including an increasing number of co- productions. Shier may be portrayed as being from out of town and out of touch, but he'd already seen an opening where a quick buck could be made on the day his appointment was announced, saying that he supports proposals from some ABC board members to commercialise the broadcaster's Web site. It would certainly be a mistake to accept Jonathan Shier as some sort of non-political individual simply because he has been out of the political lime-light in Australia. Such acceptance would require ignoring the generally conservative climate in Australia, accepting it as the norm. His appointment has been welcomed by the Democrats, the ALP and some ABC unions. Nonetheless, it was not a unanimous decision on the ABC board. The savaging that the ABC has suffered financially for a number of years now is the work of both Labor and Liberal Governments. It has only been the strong support for a progressive and independent national radio and television broadcaster by millions of people across Australia that the preferred option of governments to strangle the ABC to death has not been carried out. Perhaps the presentation of Mr Shier as a "cleanskin" is to achieve the relaxation of the vigilance of the Friends of the ABC and other ABC supporters. At the same time the process of undermining the independence of the ABC goes on while continuing to push it to the political right by stacking the board with persons whose fundamental commitment and outlook is conservative. ABC chairman Donald McDonald claims that Mr Shier's appointment was not discussed with the Howard Government. One would have to be naive in the extreme to imagine that this question was not discussed between Donald McDonald and his very good friend, John Howard, even if it was not made a question for decision by the Coalition Cabinet. Shier has declared that he will fight for more finance for the ABC and defend its independence. We shall see. One is entitled to be wary in the extreme of the machinations of governments which have made it very clear that they wish the ABC to be out of the way, while at the same time helping Murdoch, Packer and their ilk to tighten their grip on our news and information services. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
