Update March 2004

Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc.q u a rt e rly new s l e t t e rM a rch . 2004 Vol 14, N o. 8i n c o rp o rat i n gb a ck ground briefingnational magazine

friends of the abc

Stalking the financial ‘buds ofMay’, what is the A B C ’s MD thinking?Russell Balding, since 702’s A n g e l aCatterns knocked the parrot off hisperch, has been publicly almost invis-ible - except for one extended inter-view with Lyndall Crisp in theAustralian Financial Review ofJ a n u a r y 1 0 - 11. Below is an editedv e r s i o n .

Russell Balding likes to keep alow profile. He works hard at it,and despite the ABC’s bumpy ridefinancially and politically last yearhe has stuck his head above theparapet only when absolutely nec-essary.

That tactic hasn't impressedstaff who think the managingdirector should be out there whip-ping up support for increasedfunding and confronting the feder-

al government about its habitualcarping.

After all, isn't it the perfect timet o thump the bushes now the gov-ernment is gearing up for an elec-tion?

“Not necessarily,” says the for-mer accountant. “When you askfor money from government, tim-ing is an issue, but it’s also theargument you put forward... therationale behind it and the benefitsthat will flow through to theAustralian public.”

“We’re not going to get anyadditional funding by enraging thegovernment - that has neverworked in the past. What I've gotto do is engage with governmentand build a relationship.”

Continued on Page 6

Inside:Free Trade or Fair Trade -

the FTA analysed....................... ...9ABC's Walkley Award triumphs...... .11FABC quizzes Lindsay Tanner.........12Friends farewell Edith Waller...........14Black Friday - now a documentary...15

Planning ElectionStrategies…at ‘13 cents a day’

Stemming from last year’s FABC nation-al conference in Perth, state off i c e - b e a r e r sconferred on a national phone hook-up on1st Feb. Focal point was the expectation ofa Federal election in 2004.

Some discussion turned on that stur-dy slogan of the 1980s ‘our 8-cents aday ABC’. So what is 8-cents in today’scurrency? Darce Cassidy undertook tounravel the maths. He reports thatsince 1985 ABC operational fundingdeclined by 30.2% in real terms; andthat 8 cents in 1987, the first year of theslogan, is today worth 14 cents - a con-clusion reached using the consumerprice index and adjusting for inflation.

Darce Cassidy points out that nextyear the special funding of 2001, $17million a year for four years, runs out. Ifit is not renewed, two new regional sta-tions and fifty new broadcaster jobscould go. (See Budget Day report –opposite columns)

Russell Balding has explained thathe can't wait until the money is gonebefore he does anything. Staff are enti-tled to redundancy and other terminationbenefits. It costs money to undo things.

Darce says this kind of stop/go fund-ing is wasteful, inefficient and demoralis-ing. "What's the point of new initiatives,"he asks, "if they’re going to be disman-tled a few years down the track?"

Continued on Page 7

I t ’s that one day of the year again…ABC Budget Day

u p d at e

Robyn Wi l l i a m sat Great LakesFriends - w i t hsome advicefor all of us

More than a hundred peopleturned up on the last Sunday oflast November at the MemorialServices Club, Forster, to listento Great Lakes Friends’ g u e s t ,Radio National's Robyn Williams

Robyn, presenter of RadioNational's Science Showsince 1975 and the only jour-nalist to be elected a fellow ofthe Australian Academy ofScience, drew on his longassociation with the ABC, inboth television and radio, tooffer us some advice.

The Friends of the ABC,he urged, should not concen-trate only on complainingabout funding cuts as “toonegative.” They should culti-vate relationships with risingyoung politicians of all partiesso that in years to come wemight get Ministers familiarwith, and friendly towards, theABC.

He cited the case of theMinister for Science, PeterMcGauran, who had beeninvited to ABC functions andkept informed about the posi-tion of the ABC for someyears. This Minister wasinstrumental in obtaining anextra funding grant whichestablished The Lab , one ofthe most popular areas on theABC's web site. Because ofThe Lab's success, fundingwas continued and, in fact,later increased.

ABC science unique

Robyn pointed out that inAustralia only the ABC broad-cast science programs. Hesaid Australia was ahead ofthe rest of the world with suchprogramming. In most of theworld science was seen as“educational” but not of muchinterest to the general public.Even the USA, he said, didvery little to promote interestin science.

Robyn believes that theculture of any organisationmust be constantly renewedin order to maintain its vitality.

He said development andinnovation were even moreimportant than core activities– “if all your projects succeed,then you have failed, youhave not ventured or takenany chances. Fresh young tal-ent is needed and staffrecruitment should be from aswide a base”as possible.”

He quoted Microsoft’s BillGates’ theory that the way tobuild a successful companywas to hire the best talentavailable and then let them dowhat they want. An engagingand pertinent question timefollowed.

Board resolution carried

An overwhelming show ofhands supported the followingmotion put by Graham to sendfrom Great Lakes Friends tothe Minister for Communica-tions, Daryl Williams:

“That a new system ofappointments to the Board ofthe ABC be adopted by yourgovernment to provide forgreater transparency in theprocess of electing its mem-b e r s . The appointments wouldbe made by the Minister onthe recommendation of anindependent panel. This wouldensure the selection of peoplewith integrity and the neces-sary skills to a Board that hasthe responsibility of governingAustralia’s only independentnational broadcaster."

(Janet Lawrence and Max Smith)

Central Coast buckles upfor an election

Central Coast FABC’s AGM last February putthe branch on a ‘war ‘ footing for the next Federalelection with plans laid and targets for campaign-ing chosen.

Each member at the meeting was to write toMPs, particularly the independent Senators,demanding that the Free Trade Agreement not besigned. Similarly a campaign would be run forincreased funding for the ABC in this year’s bud-get to restore Behind the News and the corpora-tion’s cadet training scheme.

At their March meeting format letters would bepresented and ideas exchanged for anotherround of letters to MPs of their choice; properlydrafted petitions to parliament would be preparedfor members to enlist continuous public supportfor increased funding. Central Coast decided alsoto invite local Federal candidates to a publicmeeting in July to canvas the funding issue andthe goal of an independent ABC Board chosen insimilar fashion to Britain’s Nolan Rules.

Because it is an election year the AGM decid-ed all local members would be invited to futureBranch committee meetings.

The tone of the AGM was in marked contrastto Central Coast’s end of year meeting and socialget-together at the Central Coast Leagues Club,Gosford. Some 60 Friends attended includingNSW FABC President, Gary Cook, and the spe-cial guest of honour - film, radio and TV star,John Bluthal; with a prominent colour photospread devoted to the event in the local media.

John Hale

Picnic first near the ferry wharf atParramatta,then go on an

Entertaining Guided Walkvisiting Aboriginal sites, Gaol Green, old

Kings School and convict history.River Cat from Circular Quay at

11amRiiver Cat departs Parramatta at

4.00pm.

For early leavers there’s a 2.30pm River Cat

Cost is $15 per person To book and for more information pleasecall Frouke on 9642 6485, Jason 9489 1420, Ivey 9481 0381 or Ireen 9745 4487

Sunday 18 April

Welcome to thefirst edition ofUpdate for 2004 –a critical year for

all Australians, and, of course forthe ABC. It is expected that thePrime Minister will call an electionduring the last quarter of the year.Having appointed an ElectionStrategy Sub-Committee in late2003, we will be prepared shouldthe election be called earlier thananticipated. We will again be target-ing marginal electorates, in particu-lar, by convening public forums a n dinviting candidates of all parties tostate their position on the ABC, andwhat they and their parties will doto preserve and strengthen the A B C .

It was a pleasure to welcomemore than 250 members andguests to our annual ChristmasParty at ABC Headquarters inUltimo in December. The eveningwas highlighted by the presentationof our Annual Award for Excellencein Broadcasting to Caroline Jones,who, during 2003, celebrated thefortieth anniversary of her havingjoined the ABC.

Meeting with Lindsay Tanner

In early February, in companywith our A C T colleagues, I attendeda meeting with Opposition Spokes-man on Communications, LindsayTanner. Although we were notexpecting full details of the ALPPolicy as it relates to the ABC,there were some positive indica-tions given during the meeting (seea full report on Page 12). You willrecall from my column in the lastUpdate for 2003, that I had writtento the new Minister for Communica-tions, Daryl Williams, congratulat -ing him and requesting a meeting.Three months later the Ministerremains silent and, apparently hesees no value in meeting with theFriends in an election year.

The Hutton Report in the UK,released in January, was scathingin its criticism of the BBC, to suchan extent that the Chairman,

Director-General and the reporterat the centre of the controversy,Andrew Gilligan, all resigned soonafter the report was made public.

It is a watershed year for theBBC with its Royal Charter underreview and the new communica-tions regulator, Ofcom, commencingwith a review of the provision ofpublic service broadcasting acrossall channels. There is speculationthat the Blair Government mayseek to exert more control and per-mit less independence to the BBC.Such action would not be lost onthe Australian Government, althoughthey appear to have more thanenough issues to contend with atpresent. With the new minister beingless confrontationalist and an e l e c-tion within the next nine months, theABC can expect a quieter time thisyear. However, should the HowardGovernment be re-elected, therewill be pressure from some of i t smembers to bring the ABC to heel.

That great defender of theABC, former Minister and Senator,Richard Alston is at it again.

Not prepared to accept aresounding rebuttal of his ridicu-lous claims of anti-US bias againstthe “AM” program by the ABCComplaints Review Executive andthe Independent ComplaintsReview Panel, he has appealed tothe Australian BroadcastingAuthority (“ABA”).

Mr. Alston, in his submission tothe ABA, apparently sent the wrongdocument and, in correcting hiserror, apologised profusely to theChairman of the ABA, ProfessorDavid Flint. He also requested thathis submission not be made public– a rather naïve expectation. It hasbeen appropriately leaked and canbe accessed on the web.

Inaugural Regional Conference

Our inaugural RegionalConference was held in August,2002 and was hosted by our

Illawarra Branch in Wollongong.

The conference focused onimproving the constitution toenhance the effectiveness of ourbranches. Those resolutions werepassed at our last AGM. At theconclusion of the 2002 RegionalConference, a commitment wasgiven to hold the next conferencein 2004 in the Hunter Region.Planning has commenced and welook forward to providing moredetails in the next edition of Update.

Analysis of the full text of theAustralia – US Free TradeAgreement gives rise to concernabout a loss of sovereignty andindependence. Apart from the dam-age which will be caused to ouraudio-visual sector and our uniqueidentity and culture (see full detailsPage 9), all Australians will beadversely affected by the agreementas it relates to agriculture, pharma-ceuticals, extension of copyrightsand our quarantine laws whichhave protected us for many years.

Gary Cook, President

The President’s Report

Roll Up! Roll Up!

ABC featuresin

Politics in the Pub

“It’s Our ABC! How Do We Save It?”

SpeakersEva Cox - Senior Lecturer, Social

Inquiry, University of Technology

Robyn Williams – Science

Program, ABC Radio National

Gary Cook - FABC President

Friday, 2nd April; 6pm-7.30pm

Gaelic Club

No fee, donations welcome

Devonshire St., Surry Hills

(50 metres from Central Railway exit)

ArmidalehostsPhillipAdams

An audience of morethan 300 people in Armidale in early October heardPhillip Adams discuss his chosen topic, TheAmericanisation of the Australian media, in whichhe deplored the undermining of Australia’s nationalidentity and culture by increasing US influences.

He was informal, but wide-ranging, oftenprovocative and included personal reminiscences ofhistorical trends and key political figures.

FABC (Armidale) organized the visit with the sup-port of Rural Australians for Refugees and theFriends of Armidale Dumaresq Library.

Phillip told the audience that the ABC might notbe perfect but it was one of the few avenues inAustralia offering the public informed discussionsand debate.

Armidale Friends very gratefully acknowledgedthat Phillip made the trip to Armidale at his expenseand in between his heavy schedule of commit-ments.

To cover other expenses, as a fund raiser theArmidale group followed Phillip’s visit up with a film-night that drew another 80 FABC members andtheir friends.

Priscilla Connor, Chair (FABC Armidale).

Northern Rivers Branchwins pledge from

Mark LathamNorthern Rivers branch was

well represented at a meetingaddressed by Opposition LeaderMark Latham last month. Onmedia issues, he agreed that bothmajor parties had stacked the ABCBoard in previous years and hepledged himself to introduce animproved system for appointingpeople to the ABC’s board.

He strongly defended the role of the ABC as a source oflife-long learning and as an agency providing importantbackground information on current affairs.

February also saw a visit to Lismore by GeraldineDoogue to help launch the Centre for Children and YoungPeople at Southern Cross University on February 20.

Throughout the day-long conference that came after thelaunch, positive reference was made to Life Matters onRadio National and ABC TV’s Reality Bites series featuringstudents at Canterbury Boys' High.

Members of the Northern Rivers Branch remain con-cerned about the likely impact on Australian audio-visualindustries of the Free Trade Agreement with the US. Theyare concerned about continued pressure to introduce adver-tising on the ABC and Branch members will be asking localcandidates for the federal election to provide early detail onthe parties' communications policies.

The Branch held a Christmas luncheon at The Palmsrestaurant in Hastings Point at which twenty members fromthe Lismore, Byron Bay and Tweed Districts were enter-tained by a jazz band.

Neville Jennings

Our first branch meeting for theyear was held in Lismore on February18, where plans were finalised for avisit to Lismore by ABC correspondentSean Dorney on Wednesday March 24.

Sean Dorney has had longexperience as the ABC’scorrespondent for PNG andthe South Pacific.

He will speak to journal-ism students at SouthernCross University at lunch

time and then add ress bra n ch membersfrom 7.30 pm at the Lismore Workers' Club.

Another FABC Free Film NightHopscotch Films invite FABC members

to a free screening of the Oscar winning foreign language film –

“THE BARBARIAN INVA S I O N S ”Screening at Hayden Cremorne Orpheum

Monday, 5th April; 6.45pm ,

"The Barbarian Invasions" - the work of the Canadianwriter/director, Denys Arcand - is regarded as his mostmoving film.

It was lauded at last year's Cannes Film Festival, winningboth Best Actress and Best Screenplay. The Barbarian Invasionsis a social drama/comedy that centres on a man who spends thelast days of his life trying to make peace with those around him,and is a touching, true and open-hearted film that is full of wit,compassion and lyricism, vibrant with love and life.

RSVP (double passes): Ph 9319 0233 or e-mail: [email protected]

specify FABC screening.

This is a.FREE event, but we would appreciate adonation on the night to assist FABC in this electionyear. President Gary Cook will provide an update on our activities.

Snaps taken at the FABCChristmas Party at ABCheadquarters in Ultimo.

Treasurer, Peter Burke (left) and MembershipSecretary, Carolyn Green (right) with guests.

Members and guests

Students from William Clarke College, Kellyville

The Friends’ Excellence inBroadcasting Award, presentedat the end of each year, usuallygoes to a program. In 2003however for the first time theaward went to an individual -Caroline Jones.

Caroline received heraward at the Friends’Christmas party in the DotStrong Terrrace of the A B Ccentre, Ultimo, where she wasguest of honour.

President, Gary Cook, pre-sented her with the award tohonour and celebrate “the forti-eth anniversary of her joiningthe ABC and for her dedicatedcareer of broadcasting, report-ing, writing, producing anddirecting radio and televisionprograms.”

FABC ensured the Christmasparty included a host ofCaroline’s friends and associ-ates who had worked with herover the years each of whomshe called up to acknowledgethe support she had enjoyedfrom them on many programs.For more than 200 Friends andguests present it was anintriguing glimpse behind themedia scenes and a reminderof some great programs.

Caroline has been writingfor film, television and radio asa reporter, presenter and pro-ducer since 1963.

From Murrurundi to ABCRadio Canberra, from This DayTonight, as its first femalereporter, to City Extra on BL;from Four Corners to ABCradio’s The Search for Meaningand TV’s Australian Story.

She has won Logies,Sammys, gold awards, MediaPeace Prizes, and publishedfive best-selling books. In 1988she was made an Officer of theOrder of Australia –AO, andwas also appointed anAmbassador for Reconciliation,by the Aboriginal Council forReconciliation.

In 1997 she was voted oneof Australia’s 100 NationalLiving Treasures. Gary Cook and Caroline Jones

with her FABC award forExcellence in Broadcasting

For Broadcasting Excellence - Caroline Jones AO

Lasting values –Ratings not the pointThe A u s t r a l i a n ’s television ‘scribe’, Errol Simper, welcomed

the end of television’s summer holidays and the resumption of‘ p r o p e r’ programing with a special word for the A B C

“Yes, ratings for the ABC were good through the sum-mer. But that wasn’t the point and it’s not what the govern-ment had in mind in establishing an Australian counterpartto the BBC. And isn’t it grossly unfair to pick on the ABC?

Commercial television, after all, also presented a greatdeal of summer nonsense. Well, Nine’s Sunday morningfare excepted, commercial television unfailingly serves upa lot of nonsense.

To isolate the ABC is, in truth, a compliment to it. It’sconfirmation that we continue to expect something a littledifferent, a bit better, from the national broadcaster.

To witness a concerted attempt from one of the threecommercial channels to give the corporation some seriouscompetition at the thoughtful end of the market would be afine and wonderful thing, a consummation devoutly to bewished. But the commercial schedules insist that you nothold your breath.

The Australian Feb 19, 2004

“That's not to say I'm not goingto turn the heat up; we will, but we'lldo it in a very constructive and con-sidered way.”

$26 million enforced cutbacks

Despite all the bad vibes comingfrom Canberra and the $26 millionenforced cutbacks, the broadcasterearned enormous respect and sup-port from the community.

What better ammunition to backBalding's latest submission in thelead-up to the next budget.

Balding would like to have a rela-tionship with government - and thenew Communications Minister, DarylWilliams - which better reflects theABC's relationship with its public.

“Despite controversies and dis-tractions, the ABC has had a goodyear - we've put a lot of runs on theboard. More people are watchingthan ever before, they are coming tothe ABC and they’re using andenjoying ABC programs,” he said.

ABC meeting expectations

“That demonstrates we’re meet-ing expectations - more than thecommercials, we satisfy expectations.Hopefully it’s sending a message togovernment that what we're doing ismeeting our charter responsibilities.”

Last May, the ABC received$448.7 million for 2003-04, $501.4million for the following year and$512.9 million for 2005-06. Baldinghad asked for an extra $250 millionover the three years, but got apromise to maintain only the ABC’sfunding in real terms.

He regrets that he didn’t engagethe government on a lot more detail.It was a tight fiscal environment...but there was also a budget surplusof $2.2 billion.

Now there’s a surplus of about$4.6 billion, “so I'm feeling more con-fident going into this year,” he says.“I think the government can do better."

Pulling off programs?

Being midway through the trien-nial funding, theoretically (Balding)shouldn’t be approaching the gov-ernment, but he needs a commit-ment in the next budget to continuethe $70.8 million funding for theNational Interest Initiatives program.The funding ceases in June 2005and if Balding doesn't get a commit-ment by the beginning of next finan-cial year, he'll need to pull some pro-grams off air around November orDecember.

10,000 Hours of local reg i o n a lcontent would have to go

“The hard reality,” he says, “isthat the two new regional stations inBallarat, Victoria, and Wagin, We s t e r nAustralia, would have to close. Andthe local version of the 7pm week-end news in Darwin and Canberrawould be replaced by the Sydneynews. About 10,000 hours of localregional content would go.”

“It would meanmore repeats and,on radio, vital localregional program-ming would bereplaced by metropolitan programs.”

“Our strength is our reach, butit’s also the localism aspect. Again, itcomes back to our success, becausein local radio we truly engage withour local audience.”

“I don’t think it will [come to that].I'm confident we'll get renewal andwe'll continue delivering the benefits.”

Balding admits his biggest disap-pointment was the non-funding ofcontent for the digital multichannels,ABC Kids and Fly T V, which had to beclosed. That hurt. A lost opportunityin the new digital environment, butnot lost forever, he says. The deci-sion to drop the popular children'sprogram Behind The News hurt ustoo - and no, that decision was notpolitically motivated. “I don’t workthat way,” he says.

Cut Cadet Journalistsor lose programs

“Cutting the cadet journalistintake program - a disaster in termsof nurturing the next generation ofqualified journalists - saved $500,000.It was that, or take a couple of pro-grams off air.”

“Things look brighter now. Thenew Minister has a different approachto Richard Alston,” Balding says.“Daryl has said publicly that he's notgoing to get into arguments anddebates in the media. Any issues hehas with the ABC he will bring to usand I welcome that.”

“I think you'll find this minister willbe much more engaged with theABC from an internal aspect ratherthan through the media, and hopefullymuch more supportive.”

“The first months have been pos-itive. The minister, at our invitation,has been to Ultimo for a tour of thenew facilities so that he better under-stands the complexities of broad-casting we're facing. He has metwith the board, he opened theCanberra facilities, he spoke verypositively.”

After Shier's crash-tackleapproach, Balding has had a calm-ing effect; his is a very hands-offapproach. This was put to the testwhen Radio National called a 24-hour strike on December 10 overmanagement style.

“There's a broad range of issuesand I think it best that managementaddress those issuesdirectly with staffrather than me talkingto the media about it,”(Balding) says.

While RN was striking, 702 wastoasting Angela Catterns winning thebreakfast slot - the program has ahuge following in Sydney - but ABCpurists wonder if it's good ABC fare.

“I reject that; we haven't dumbeddown,” says Balding. "But there'snothing wrong with being popular...popular doesn't mean dumbingdown.”

I t ’s that one day of the year again…ABC Budget DayContinued from Page 1

The original program was one ofthe ABC’s many success stories ofthe mid-1970s and a source notonly of some very clever inventionsbut of several spin-off programs onnew ideas and science such asWhat Will They Think of Next andBeyond 2000.

This generation’s inventors pro-gram will have a rotating panel ofAustralian inventors with an inter-national reputation and once again3 inventions a week.

Original program panelists,Vic Nicholson,Di Fisher and Leo Port.

The ABC has re- invent-ed The Inventors. Itsweekly successor, TheNew Inventors, was

due to go toair March 10hosted byJamesO’Loghlin.

Bone to PickWith Itbrickbats from Michael McGirr in the

SMH (18 Feb.2004) miss the point.

I live in regional Australia andwe’d all die of boredom withoutRadio National.

My affection and gratitude for theABC is genuine. It has been one ofthe most formative cultural institu-tions in my life. But I do have a boneto pick with it.

The ABC’s self-promotion hasreached saturation levels. It used tobe a challenge to get to the toiletbetween programs on ABC TV. It’snow possible to have a bath.

I have come reluctantly to theview that if there has to be so muchadvertising on the ABC, it may aswell get paid for it…

The ABC is not supposed to runads within programs but it does.Gardening Australia regularly adver-tises a magazine, GardeningAustralia, a commercial publicationwhich has paid advertising and ispublished by the Federal PublishingCompany…It is not fair that only oneof the gardening magazines inAustralia gets to promote itself on theABC.

The same applies to Limelight,the successor to 24 hours. It’s acommercial operation, published byState of the Arts and takes paid

advertising. Limelight promotes theABC and the ABC promotes it. No other entertainment magazine isallowed access to the ABC’s broad-cast audience.

Unfortunately the ABC doeshave to supplement its income. Itmay be the lesser of two evils for itto take paid advertising between pro-grams just like on SBS.M e r c h a n d i s i n g and self-promotion areseriously undermining the quality ofwhat Aunty has to offer.

(What Michael McGirr fails to sug-gest is appropriate increased fundingfor the ABC, and while the promos drivemany of us mad, it’s surely drawing along bow to connect them with programq u a l i t y – Ed.)

Restoring the ABC budget

This has led the Friends of theABC to develop a proposal to restorethe ABC to reasonable and affordablefunding, consistent with past practice,public opinion, and international stan-dards. This requires an immediateincrease of 30% in the ABC budget: atotal national funding of approximate-ly 13 cents a day

Gary Cook pointed out that aNational Social Science Survey in2000 revealed Australians were pre-pared to pay around 30% more forthe ABC, even if it involved increasedtaxation, while a 2001 News pollSurvey showed most Australiansthought the ABC should be betterfunded; as did 60 per cent of thosesurveyed in a similar, independentpoll.

A thirty percent increase in ABCfunding would:

✔Restore the ABC budget to its1985 level.

✔ Be consistent with the public’swillingness to pay.

✔ Bring the ABC from 17th to13th, in public broadcaster funding indeveloped countries.

✔ Cost 13 cents a day.

Focus GroupsAt two focus groups in Victoria,

Terry Laidler reported he had been

able to add 20 minutes of ABC-relat-ed questions. The answers - com-ments - were these:

➜ Our current funding messageis too sophisticated; keep the mes-sage simple.

➜ "We’ve had cut-backs for yearsand years, when are we going toreceive the dividend?’

➜ Respondents thought weshould stress raising funding by t h eamount the ABC is underfunded.

➜ We’ve gone through Shier ’srestructuring upheavals and belt-tight -ening with Balding…but the bottomline’ remains: since 1985 the ABC hasbeen about 30% under-funded.

➜ If it isn’t restored, our childrenwon’t have access to Australian cul-ture and education.

➜ Send a message to Laborlinked to Labor’s education drive.

What else transpired?

WA: intending to advertise WA’swebsite in newspapers.

QLD: starting up several regionalgroups, with incentives for new mem-bers to join..

NSW: with ten marginal seatsones, has appointed an election sub-committee:

VIC: with only one marginal(Deakin); is focusing on grass-rootscontacts.

ACT: courting candidates, includ-ing a Green ex-member of the ACTLegislative Assembly and a strongABC supporter who could defeat thecoalition candidate.

Planning Election Strategiesat 13 cents a dayContinued from Page 1

At a ceremony in Sydney last monthABC New Media & Digital Services wonsix awards at the prestigious A u s t r a l i a nInteractive Multimedia IndustryAssociation (AIMIA) annual presenta-tion night.

ABC New Media & DigitalServices had 14 projects as finalistsin this year’s awards, and took outsix of the total 16 categories:

★ Winged Sandals – Best of theBest and Best eLearning orReference. ABC Online in associ-ation with The University ofMelbourne's Centre for Classicsand Archaeology,abc.net.au/arts/wingedsandals

★ Kylie Kwong – Best ArtsLifestyle or Non-Profit. ABCBroadband and TV Online,abc.net.au/kyliekwong

★ Grow Your Own – BesteInclusion, ABC Rural Online and Radio National, abc.net.au/grow

★ Game On – Best ElectronicEntertainment or Game. ABCOnline, Film Victoria and SouthAustralia Film Corporation,abc.net.au/gameon

★ Health Matters – Best Health.ABC Health Online,abc.net.au/health

Winged Sandals, the only entry toreceive two awards, is a rich interac-tive website that brings Greekmythology to students with moderninterpretations of classical Greekmyths and characters.

Other ABC finalists includedBlack Friday –abc.net.au/blackfriday; Kath and Kim 2 –abc.net.au/kathandkim;

ABC Asia Pacific Online –www.abcasiapacific.com;

Planet Slayer–w w w. p l a n e t s l a y e r. c o mwhich was awarded the presti-gious Prix Italia award last year.

New Media & Digital Services’ win six AIMIA awards including ‘Best of the Best’

ABC New Media and Digital Services also received 26‘ Top 10 Aw a r d s ’ in their categories, with five of them rankednumber one, in the Hitwise industry awards recognising thetop 10 most accessed Australian websites.

21 ABC sites were among the most visited Australianwebsites, measured in the final quarter of 2003 fromover 450,000 websites worldwide.

Five ABC New Media websites were recorded as themost accessed Australian sites in their categories andacclaimed as number one :

¥ Entertainment: Books and Writing - abc.net.au/arts¥ Lifestyle: Children’s sites - abc.net.au/children¥ Lifestyle: Environment - abc.net.au/science¥ Lifestyle: Pets and Animals -

abc.net.au/creaturefeatures

¥ Sports: Olympics - abc.net.au/olympics

The awards are based on information collectedregarding the Internet usage of over 25 million usersworldwide, covering websites sourced for home, workand educational purposes.

The ABC websites recognised with a Top 10 award

include ABC Rural : abc.net.au/rural, A B C Science Online :abc.net.au/science, ABC A r t s: abc.net.au/arts, ABC Kids:abc.net.au/rollercoaster and abc.net.au/children, ABC Broadband services : abc.net.au/broadband,

abc.net.au/broadbandkids and abc.net.au/streaming,Triple J : triplej.abc.net.au, Radio National : abc.net.au/rn,ABC News : abc.net.au/news, ABC Health Online:abc.net.au/health, Gardening A u s t r a l i a: abc.net.au/gar-dening, ABC Shop : shop.abc.net.au.

ABC New Media and Digital wins 26 Awards for ‘most accessed’ w e b s i t e s

Perseus,. in a scene from the Wi n g e dSandals we b s i t e, a Who’s Who ofgods, heroes and monsters fromclassical mythology

From Lifestyle -Environment: abc .net.au/science website

If you haven’t already, check out some of these abcwebsites. You’re in for a treat.

FABC (NSW) Inc. Executive CommitteePresident - Gary Cook

Phone: 9810 3358 Fax 9144 1351

Secretary- Liliane Leroy Phone 9969 5159

Treasurer - Peter BurkePhone 9144 2668

email [email protected]

Membership Secretary - Carolyn GreenPhone 9144 1351 or 0417 650 443

[email protected]

Update Editor: Brian DaviesPhone 9977 7130

[email protected]

This issue of Update was delayed tocoincide with therelease of the fulltext of the negoti-ated Free Tr a d eAgreement withthe US so wecould scrutiniseand consider its

impact; and foremost what is its eff e c ton A u s t r a l i a ’s culture, our media andlocal content?

Loss of Au s t ralian content

FABC President, Gary Cook,says that predictably the worstfears have been realised –“despite the government’srhetoric during the negotiations,there is no question that overtime there will be a definite lossof Australian content in film, tele-vision and the internet.”

“It is astonishing that anAustralian government is pre-pared to surrender local contentand all that it means so as togive greater space at home toanother country’s culture; assome of us feared the FTAmakes a commodity of nationalself-awareness – makes it astradeable as a sack of potatoesor a bushel of wheat.” Gary said.

“And it happened in creepingfashion: in November 2002, theArts Minister, Rod Kemp, declaredthat ‘cultural support mecha-n i s m s ’ would be safeguardedfrom trade deals; in May 2003,Trade Minister, Mark Vaile saidhe would ensure that our capacity t osupport Australian culture andnational identity, including audio-visual media, would not be watereddown in the negotiations."

“ Yet in November last year,Prime Minister John Howard said“the line to date is that existinglocal content rules ought to bepreserved in relation to existingmedia. As to some discussionabout what might apply to futurearrangements, then that might be

part of the negotiation.”

“And there you have the devilin the detail,” Gary said.

“There is a ratchet clause whichpermits the Australian Government tolower the local content quota for free-to-air TV, and having reached thatlevel it can never be increased – theemphasis is mine and anotherquestion is raised. "

“What can we expect to getfrom the United States to fill thevacant space? It cer-tainly wouldn’t be any-thing with anAustralian accent, asit were.”

“ S i m i l a r l y, Australia must con-sult with the US before we raiselocal content quotas for Pay T Vor set local content quotas forinteractive services. Again, wemust defer to A m e r i c a ’s enor-mous entertainment industry. ”

A reason why

“This is an agreement from anAustralian government that allalong kept reassuring enquirersas to why local content was evenon the negotiating table, thateverything had to be on the table- but nothing would be concededwhen it came to Australian cultureand its expression."

Gary Cook said A u s t r a l i a ’snegotiators may well have foughtthe good fight and bargainedstrongly in A u s t r a l i a ’s interests –but: “to appreciate the real rea-sons for the agreement one hasto go no further than thestartlingly frank admission by theForeign Minister, A l e x a n d e rDowner on 2nd March that amajor factor incommitting troopsto the war in Iraqwas the fear ofd a m a g i n gA u s t r a l i a ’s alliancewith the US.”

Gary referred to the role theAustralian Fair Trade andInvestment Network (AFTINET)had played in monitoring theprogress of the negotiations,endorsing their criticism of thecontents including their concernthat in a side deal the Governmenthad pledged to privatise Telstra -- when the issue was still subjectto parliamentary debate and par-liamentary decision – “a clearabrogation of the democratic pro-cess,” A F T I N E T declared.

“Dr Patricia Ranald from thePublic Interest Advocacy Centrewas spot-on when she said theU S F TA announcement was sup-posed to be a public relationsdream for the Government ableto claim great economic benefitand reassure us that health andcultural policies would not bea ff e c t e d . "

“”Instead, quite a different pic-ture in key areas has been paint-ed,” she said.

Time to lobby

With the enabling legislationrequired to go through theAustralian parliament, Gary Cooksaid it was time to campaign vig-o r o u s l y.

“Let us voice our disapprovalof an agreement that is neitherfree nor fair and write to theOpposition, the Democrats, theGreens and theIndependents to over-turn the agreement inthe Senate,” he said.

See AFTINET’s website www.aftinet.org.au for more information.

Is a Free Trade Agreement the same as a Fair One?Are we trading away our national identity? An urgent call goes out to lobby Federal MPs.

Phone Trees‘Disconnected’

The NSW branch at itsCommittee meeting February 16decided to discontinue the Telephone Tree networkin its traditional form.

The committee agreed the system had beenproving extremely time consuming while becomingless effective, due to our ever-changing membershipbase, a base which includes more than a thousandFriends on e-mail.

So in lieu of using a Phone Tree, importantmessages will be sent directly to those memberswith e-mail. In turn individual branches can commu-nicate on a local basis … more value from beingable to exchange information when members haveagreed to do so.

Friends President, Gary Cook, said all Friendswere undoubtedly most appreciative of the workdone over recent years by members of theTelephone Trees, in particular its co-ordinators, mostnotably Nan Manefield.

“However, with the growing proportion of mem-bers with e-mail, it is a realistic move to change thesystem, particularly when we are all facing a verybusy year.”

“A flexible membership base means phonetrees can become unwieldy and hard to monitor forbreaks in the chain; efficiency, cost and effective-ness mean it’s time to embrace the e-mail list.”

“Other branches of course will still run their ownphone trees as well, if that suits them.”

Song of Praise for RNOur Guest Columnist this issue is past-

President, Penelope Toltz, a Radio National addict andkeen – as Tennyson put it – ‘to stir a little dust of praise’.

Radio National is said to have a small audience, butit covers all Australia and is often the only radio signalable to be picked up in our more remote areas.

To me, Radio National is like a friend. For the manyyears I’ve worked at home, spending time on my own,after a busy morning Radio National is brain food; or, if I‘m working around the home, Radio National is my con-stant companion.

Nowhere else on our radio waves can I hear the spe-cialist programs I’m so fond of. I love hearing aboutmedicine, the law, the media, religion and, yes, evensport, when it's covered intelligently and forensically as itis on Radio National.

RN is the place where I can listen to music with com-mentary and explanation. I can hear poetry read or listento the intelligent questions of the Radio National Quiz . It’salso where I learn about science and the latest develop-ments in that fascinating world.

But Radio National not only informs and entertains, itcan often do even more. At a party some years ago, aguest came up to Robyn Williams and thanked him forthe Science program. He said his wife was suffering fromcancer, and he was dissatisfied with the progress sheshowed under her current treatment regime. He had lis-tened to the Science Show and discovered there werenew treatments not on offer from her current medicalpractitioners. Better informed than before, he was able tochallenge her doctors and insist that they look at somenewer treatments for her. It enabled his wife to live yearslonger and in far more comfort. Not a ‘miracle cure’ ofcourse but just one lesson in the value of information ofthe sort we only get on RN.

What else is there? I like the fact that I can hearabout indigenous arts and culture; that I hear many posi-tive stories about the indigenous community - stories thinon the ground in other media. And I’m a devoted fan ofEarth Beat, another RN program that covers the positiveas well as the negative about ecology.

To do as I do, study Radio National's programs in theweekly television guide in the Sydney Morning Herald orconsult the Radio National Web Site to see the depthand breadth available to you in Sydney on 576 on theAM band, otherwise just switch it on. You can’t go wrong!

Radio National’s website gives the details of its frequen-cies right around Australia; for anyone without a computert h e r e ’s a Radio National leaflet with the same information in it.

Cartoon courtesy Jennifer Harwood

The A B C ’s successat last year’s Wa l k l e yAwards for Journalismwas a forceful rebuttal ofits critics.Senator JohnC h e r r y, Democrat spokes-person on broadcasting

and communications, launched into aspirited defence of the Corporation atthe awards ceremony and later had hisspeech incorporated into Hansard...withparticular reference to Senator Santoro.(Slightly abridged, it’s certainly worth‘ i n c o r p o r a t i n g ’ in Update.)

As the Democrats Communica-t i o n s spokesperson I wish to congrat-ulate all those journalists honouredthis year, and all of those journalistswho continue to pursue truth andaccuracy, regardless of the pres-sures imposed on them.

I particularly congratulateRichard Moran, Paul McGeough andJason Southon on their awards atthe top of the list. The ABC, whichhas been under attack by theHoward Government all year, won allthree awards in the radio categoryand two of the four television awards,with a Walkley to Andrew Denton'sEnough Rope for broadcasting inter-viewing. Given the intense pressurethe Government has placed on ABCjournalists throughout the year, this isa credit to the ABC’s continuing highstandards.

I particularly note the award forRadio Current Affairs Reporting wentto A M and Mark Willacy for hisreport, “The Fall of Saddam”

I also congratulate MattPeacock, the ABC's then Londonbased correspondent, who last weekwon the British Foreign PressAssociation award for the best storyby a foreign journalist: another radiostory related to the Iraqi war, thistime for P M, on Tony Blair's “masterof spin” Alistair Campbell.

The ABC’s coverage of the Iraqiwar, particularly that of AM, senatorswould recall, has been the particularsubject of complaints by formerCommunications Minister SenatorRichard Alston and the newQueensland Senator, Santo Santoro.

Since May, Senator Santoro hasspoken in this place on six differentoccasions, using the Senate toattack various journalists and journal-istic decisions within the ABC.

On August 13, his most virulentattack on AM's coverage of the Iraqwar, (targeted) Linda Mottram, whenhe said her comments “...highlightthe instinctive anti-Americanism andthe institutionalized hostility to thisgovernment that has become part ofAM’s stock in trade. But it is not onlybias. It is sloppy and shoddy journal-ism, which should have no place atthe ABC - the sort that perenniallytransmits the leftist coda of themedia elite.”

Senator Santoro declared him-self a “friend” of the ABC and his`careful monitoring’ as “the key tosecuring an ABC (to) match the bestin the world in the professional andobjectivity of its reporting.”

Well, I sayto SenatorSantoro, threeout of threer a d i oWa l k l e y ' s , andtwo out of fourtelevisionWalkleys is in

my view, a pretty clear indication thatABC radio and television does in factmatch the best in terms of profes-sionalism and objectivity.

The ABC does not need SenatorSantoro as its self-appointed moralguardian to set its standards. Whatto Senator Santoro is ‘hostility’ is tome and millions of ABC listeners andviewers a healthy scepticism towardsGovernment and power that is nec-essary if a public-spirited mediaorganisation is to do its job.

The audience is clear in itsviews. According to Newspoll, 90%of A M / P M listeners regard the pro-grams as balanced and even handed.

Even the Independent ComplaintsPanel, in dealing with the 68 com-plaints lodged by Senator Alston,concluded, and I quote:

“The Panel finds no evidence,overall, of biased and anti-Coalitioncoverage as alleged by the Minister,nor does it uphold his view that theprogram was characterised by one-sided and tendentious commentaryby program presenters and reporters.The Panel believes that the AM cov-erage of the war was competent andbalanced.”

ABC Staff Honoured at 2003 Walkley Awards

Senator Alston’s Travel – the Million Dollar Man■ The former Minister for Communications and the Arts Senator Alston since being elected in 1996 hasspent the best part of $1 million dollars on overseas travel. This is an incredible amount for a front benchSenator who is not the Foreign Affairs, Trade or Prime Minister.

■ It could well have been more, but for the fact that the Prime Minister knocked back his request to trav-el to London during the Winter recess last year – Alston’s self-indulgence was too much even for him.

TRAM RIDEJoin Friends Wednesday 26th May at 11 am to tour the Sydney Tramway Museum at Sutherland.

- a 2 1/2 hour ‘trip’ including tram rides through Royal National Park or Sutherland.Admission - $13 or $10 concessions; BYO lunch

Ring – Jason 0407 065 512 ,Ken 9850 2453, Gillian 9144 2891 or Ivy 9481 0381 by 3 May.

Margaret O’Connor( A C T President andNational Spokesperson),Gary Cook (NSWPresident), and JillGreenwell (ACTSecretary) met LindsayTa n n e r, Opposition

Shadow Minister for Communications,on 9 Feb.2004 at Parliament House,Canberra. Jill Greenwell - Secretary,FABC A C T and Region - reports.

A L P ’s commitment to the A B C

On the ALP’s commitment to theABC, our first question to LindsayTanner was directed at the level ofsupport for public broadcasting gen-erally, and for the ABC in particular,outlined by the ALP before the lastelection.

Mr Tanner said that the ALP’sposition remained substantially thesame, but with the significant addi-tion of the policy, which he had ush-ered in last year, on appointmentsto the ABC Board.

He had used the UK’s NolanRules as a guide to making theappointment process transparentand to making it as independent ofpolitical influence as would be con-sistent with his responsibility asMinister; he added that that was notnecessarily the end of the processof developing policy on the ABC.

Political independence

Mr Tanner made it very clear thatas a Minister he would not be inter-fering in ABC programming, man-agement or budget priorities. Hestressed the point that he regardedit as important that the ABC shouldbe kept at arm’s length from politi-cians.

That theme also ran through hiscomments about government fund-ing of the ABC: that it should not betied to particular programming deci-sions or management initiatives, asthese are the prerogative of theABC itself.

Funding – Tanner challenges FABC

He threw out a challenge toFriends of the ABC to identify the

sorts of improvements extra fundingwould make possible. He suggest-ed, as one possible example, theextension of programs and servicesto rural and regional areas. In hisown efforts to secure extra fundingfor the ABC he expected that thisapproach would be received moresympathetically than if he came upwith a figure or formula.

He pointed out that the ABC’sbudget allocation always had to beconsidered in the context of theGovernment’s over all budget strat-egy. Outside that context any figure,such as going back to the levels of1995 (the ALP pre-2001 electionpromise), or formula based on over-seas comparisons, is arbitrary.Nevertheless he would be seekingan increase in funding for the ABC.

The future

The Shadow Minister made it abit hard for himself to answer ques-tions about his vision for the ABCbecause of his concern to be seenas not interfering in ABC manage-ment. However, he did say that dig-ital broadcasting was one of thechallenges facing the ABC; and thatwith its intermediate-sized marketsthe ABC could be eased out by ‘bor-derless broadcasting’. On the otherhand, the ABC’s importance as ‘theAustralian broadcaster’ couldenable it to retain a viable audience.

Interestingly, in discussions in2002 with the Friends of the ABC,Lindsay Tanner made essentiallythe same suggestion - that theadvent of digital television, and amulti-channel environment, wouldbe a threat to the survival of theABC. It was that suggestion whichat least partly prompted DarceCassidy to write his paper ‘Fiftyseven channels and nothin’ on’(http://www.friendsoftheabc.org/nothin.htm)

Perhaps next time we meet,FABC should tackle Lindsay Tanneron what proposals he has devel-oped to strengthen the ABC’scapacity to survive the digital age,what he is doing to enable the ABCto cater for the needs of particularcommunities around Australia andto contribute to our sense of nation-al identity?

Friends quiz Lindsay Tanner WANTED – ALIVE - ANEW HON. TREASURER

How would you like to be an impor-tant member of a highly motivatedteam - working for a cause in whichyou passionately believe?

Yes? Then this may be for you!We need a new Hon Treasurer.

Peter Burke hasannounced that, after fiveyears, he’s retiring fromthe post.

The Hon Treasurer is responsible for:

ü Keeping track of the monetaryresources of our organization – bankaccounts and cash. This is largelydone using MYOB for simple book-keeping of deposits and payments.

ü Processing all incoming monies –i.e. membership subscriptions anddonations. "Processing" involves list-ing (using MS Excel or similar) for reg-ular (usually weekly) bank depositsand for transmission to the MembershipSecretary for issuing new membershipcards. One list serves both.

ü Making all payments. Two chequesignatories are required and paymentsare made against authorized invoicesand signed expense claim dockets.

ü Producing a simple one-page reporton income and expenditure each monthfor the regular committee meeting.

ü Producing accounts for presentationto the AGM each year – possiblyneeding help from some one withaccounting experience. The outgoingtreasurer will be pleased to assist.

ü Handling all insurance matters,which mainly means filling in forms atrenewal time.

The job requires onaverage about 3-4 hoursper week. The mainattribute needed is amethodical and orderly

approach. A PC computer using Exceland MYOB is essential. Computerskills can be learned quickly. Tuitionfrom the incumbent Treasurer is avail-able as is his help at any time.

Applications to: Peter Burke on 9144 2668 until March 26 and thereafter Gary Cook on 9810 3358.

Lifelong activist and founder andformer CEO of the Body Shop, A n i t aRoddick, connects Tony Blair’s attack

on the BBC with the conservative assault on public broad-casting in the US and the debt Blair owes Rupert Murdoch.

Roddick describes the diminution of public space,especially public broadcasting, by the powerful forces ofprivatisation, as a fait accompli and the context in whichBlair is now operating.

She says the assault on the Public BroadcastingService (PBS) as a 'left-wing network’ dates back more

than a decade. Originally, $300 millionin appropriations from Congress washeld up by then-Senator Robert Doleand other conservatives who

launched carefully co-coordinated ad hominem blastsagainst supposedly ‘left-wing presences’ on public televi-sion and branded as ‘hard-line Marxist ‘a human rightsseries titled South Africa Now and Rights and Wrongs.

Eventually the Republican-controlled House ofRepresentatives, led by then-Speaker Gingrich, tried toget rid of PBS entirely. The effort failed but it left PBSweakened and more vulnerable than ever.

” Here in Britain, she says, “the BBC has one greatadvantage over PBS in America - freedom from suchpolitical pressure afforded by the annual licence fee TVowners pay.”

“The tax raises US$4.2 billion for the BBC annuallyand nobody in government can reapportion it or redis-tribute it. Thus the BBC is not only well funded, but alsowell protected from politicians.”

BBC in Murdoch's crosshairs

Every ten years, however, there is a charter reviewwhich reassesses theBBC’s budget and perfor-mance. The next one isin 2006. Since the BBCis one of the most influ-

ential institutions in British life, the review will becomeone of the nation's most profound political battles. AsMichael Wolff puts it, it's all ‘about getting a piece of thepie. Or at least a fight about Murdoch's piece.’

Not surprisingly, then, Rupert Murdoch and his politi-cal cronies have begun to lay the groundwork for an all-out assault on the BBC and the annual fee. While theywill probably not be able to eliminate it, endless attacks,slanted polls, and political pressuring may well result in areduction in the amount the BBC receives annually, thusweakening its strength as a ‘public’ competitor to privatecorporate interests, especiallyMurdoch’s BSkyB network.

This impending assault should be viewed throughthe prism of what otherwise appears the oddest of cou-plings: Rupert Murdoch and Tony Blair. Blair first becamePM owing in large measure to the endorsements of the

traditionally rightwing Murdoch press. It now seemsapparent that Blair made a devil's pact years ago to gar-ner Murdoch's support and Murdoch is now collectinghis payback.

Couple this scenario with the BBC's controversialIraq war reporting, (the Hutton inquiry) and the Blair gov-ernment's ensuing assault on the BBC and the conver-gence between the interests of Blair, Murdoch and theAmerican rightwing becomes clear.

Everything is ‘up for grabs’

Announcing the formation of a charter advisorypanel, Labour's culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, recentlyannounced that everything was up for grabs, includinghow the BBC ‘should be funded and regulated andwhether it delivers good value for money.’

Add to this, the next salvo from Murdoch crony TonyBall who recently claimed growing public antagonismwas the real threat to the BBC's future. Citing his ownpoll, Ball claimed that more than half of all Brits don'tthink they are getting their money's worth from thelicense fee - an ‘unfair tax’ Ball calls it.

Ball posits that the forthcoming BBC charter reviewprovides an opportunity to start ‘from first principles.’ Inother words, let's throw out the past and re-examine thepurpose of the BBC from scratch – a highly dangerousproposition, of course, when dealing with ‘compulsorytaxes’ like the licence fee.

In the ideal world then, from Murdoch's vantagepoint, the BBC would become something much more like

Rupert Murdoch’s ‘plans’ for the BBC

public television in the U.S. - there, butbarely so.

Cartoon courtesy Horacek

Direct links with Friends’ firstdays are gradually unraveling.Edith Waller died late last year,aged 85, and profoundlymourned by all who knew her.Word of her passing was circu-lated to members by her friend,Walter Bass; while her deathwas reported in a moving obitu-

ary in the Sydney Morning Herald under the heading -“Age did not weary her passionate idealism”.

Edith Waller embarked on her political and communitywork in the mid 1970s, including membership of AmnestyInternational and the original Friends group in which shewas a tireless champion of Radio National and a pas-sionate defender of the ABC’s Independence, inspired byher commitment to a life of ideas, cultural values andhumanist principles. Her family quoted friends whodescribed her as kind, loyal, wise and witty, feisty inargument as she clung to beliefs - but modest in regardto her own talents as a writer, occasional poet and a reg-ular astute observer “often tinged with wry human empa-thy."”

Born in Sydney as Edith Riley, she studied at SydneyUniversity with such contemporaries as Donald Horne,James, McAuley and Amy Witting and was profoundlyaffected by the teachings of the influential philosophyprofessor of the era, John Anderson – a lifetime factor inher thinking. She married fellow philosophy student,Neville Waller, in 1948.

Between then and the seventies, she raised threechildren and cared for her ill mother.

When she switched to publicly pursuing the publicissues she did so with characteristic flair, incisivenessand commitment - lobbying politicians, drafting countlesselegantly-written missives in letter-writing campaigns,protesting early mornings and late nights for AmnestyInternational, targeting Pinochet’s Chile, raising interestin China long before it was common to do so, or savingsuburban Seaforth’s trees (she was also passionateabout the Australian landscape and was a foundingmember of the Sydney University Bushwalking Club).

She was Secretary of the Friends of the ABC and forabout 20 years edited “News and Views”, U p d a t e ’s prede-cessor. Her own contributions to the magazine werealways incisive and sharply perceptive. In the 80s shealso served on the ABC’s State and National AdvisoryCouncils.

Another close friend, Joan Michie, told U p d a t e thatEdith believed in tackling issues, concerned with sub-stance not shadows, believing in fighting the good fightfor egalitarianism, but not in promoting herself or her role.

She wistfully recalled Edith’s “quirky” little illustrationsfor News & Views and Edith’s dedicated concern, as avigilante for malapropisms, for the English language, itsword meanings and structure . She recalled too Edith’s‘absolutism’ about the “News & Views” editor’s editorialindependence.

Among Edith Waller’s writings whose sting and turn ofphrase still linger in memory, one of the most telling washer submission to the 2001 Senate inquiry into theappointment of the ABC board.

“Jonathan Shier”, she wrote, “is apparently about tofulfill the PM’s long-cherished wish for ‘a more main-stream ABC’, although that would seem to be a marketalready well-served by the commercial sector. Perhapsthere is always room for more mediocrity. The PM once,surprisingly, said he would like to have a ‘right-wingPhillip Adams’. One wonders why. Phillip Adams mightinterview Henry Kissinger, Ralph Nader, Salman Rushdie- but it is John Laws who interviews our prime minister.That is fine and appropriate. Commercial radio doeswhat it does best and Radio National does what nobodyelse does at all. Its audience may not be large, but itsvoice is.”

Walter Bass concluded his tribute, this way: “...mywife and I were extremely saddened by the news ofEdith’s death. She possessed great warmth, quick witand a wonderful sense of humour. She was passionateabout the causes she held dear. We spent many won-derful weekends with Edith and Neville in their cottage atMt. Wilson. I last visited her in hospital. She was frail andcould hardly speak, but her eyes understood what I wassaying. Goodbye, old friend

update Print Post Approved PP 245059/00002

U p d a t e is published four times a year by Friends of the ABC NSW, P.O. Box 1391, North Sydney 2059. Phone 9810 3358 Fax 9144 1351 To become a member phone 9990 0600 or visit our web site at: w w w. f a b c n s w. o r g . a u /Extracts from newspapers and other publications appearing in U p d a t e do not necessarily reflect members' views. U p d a t e goes to all members of FABC (NSW) Inc., as part of the membership fee. U p d a t e is also supplied to journalists, politiciansand libraries across Australia. It is produced and edited in Sydney but contributions are welcome from NSW country and inter-state branches. Material may be freely quoted or reproduced from the newsletter provided the source is acknowledged andreproduction is sent to FA B C ’s President Gary Cook, Editor Brian Davies, Layout, format and assembly Irwin Kurtz. U n a t t r i b u t e dtext is by the editor. email: f a b c n s w @ f a b c n s w. o r g . a uFABC UpdatePost The Editor

C/–FABC UpdatePO Box 1391North Sydney NSW 2059

Friends and ABC lose a passionate ‘Defender of the Faith’ –A Founder and Life Member, Edith Waller, dies

Scoured deeply into the Australian psyche is theknowledge of Black Friday, January 13, 1939 – the daybushfires roared across the State of Victoria – afirestorm consuming a million hectares of mountain ashforest and hundreds of settlements and townshipsenclosed in the bush. 71 people died.

“About a million hectares of ash forest were burnt –the equivalent of 5 thermonuclear weapons or 5 hydro-gen bombs. If anybody thinks we have the capacity tocontrol that, they're totally mistaken,” a FireManagement Consultant says in a new ABC interactiveonline documentary that explores the events and con-sequences of Black Friday,1939 called – Black Friday.

It is compelling and troubling and frightening. B l a c kF r i d a y is a powerful new interactive online documentary.On that day in 1939 hundreds of bushfires burning outof control for at least a week suddenly converged into aterrifying firestorm that swept across Victoria, almostfrom Gippsland to the South Australian border – andacross it…the most terrifying fires since the Europeanoccupation of Australia.

Black Friday, . an initiative of the ABC-Film VictoriaMultimedia Production Accord, is produced, written anddirected by Moira Fahy

“The widespread and devastating 1939 Black Fridaybushfires remain, arguably, the most significant event inthe 160 year history of park and forest management inVictoria, and one of the most significant events in therecorded history of south-eastern Australia,” Moira Fahysaid.

“The Black Friday bushfires shocked Australiansociety to its core and burned into the national con-science.”

The on-line documentary - at http://abc.net.au/black-friday - is an evocative, comprehensively resourcedaccount of the tragedy and scale of an awesome natu-ral disaster.

The Black Friday site includes survivors and eyewit-nesses telling their personal stories, with some speak-ing publicly for the first time in sixty-five years. Thereare also

- an interactive map providing details on the fire-affected areas

- a time line placing the fires in local and internationalhistory

- an online archive of newspapers from the time- details of the findings and recommendations from

the Royal Commission that followed Black Friday and

- expert opinions and analysis of the fires contributedby leading firefighters, scientists, historians and today’s key decision makers

“Mum went to the stove and she bent down to lookat the cake and this ball of fire come through the win-

dow, the house just exploded,” says 75-year-oldDaphne Fowles who was trapped at Jeeralang.

Seventy-two year old Ray Dafter, then a child, shel-tered with his mother in a river as the fires explodedaround them. His uncle Bill was one of only two peoplewho came out of the Matlock region alive.

“(Searchers) were going through to Matlock andthey saw this animal, but it wasn't an animal...it wasBill. He told me Gallipoli was nothing, absolutely noth-ing, compared to the '39 fire,” Ray says.

Moira Fahy is a producer/writer in film, televisionand new media and has also written and produced newmedia programs for major corporations and govern-ment and education organizations.

New Documentary zeroes in on the day Victoria burst into flames

A fire line

Searchers

New South Wa l e sGary CookPO Box 1391North Sydney 2059Ph: 9810 3358Fax: 9144 1351f a b c n s w @ f a b c n s w. o r g . a u

A l b u r yPlease contact ourMembership Secretary on(02) 9144 1351

A r m i d a l ePriscilla Connor41 Judith StreetArmidale NSW 2350Ph: 6772 3454 or 6772 2217c p s u m m e r s @ n o r t h n e t . c o m . a u

B a t h u r s tNorah Ta y l o r254 Keppel StBathurst 2795Ph: 6331 [email protected]

B e g aEleanor Beasley2 Main StreetMerimbula 2548Ph: 6495 1392 Fax: 6495 3202a l e c a n d n e l l a @ d o d o . c o m . a u

Blue MountainsJohn DerumP. O . Box 469Springwood 2777Ph: 4758 6979j o h n d e r u m @ b i g p o n d . c o m

Central CoastJohn Hale21 Stephenson Rd.Bateau Bay 2261Ph: 4333 8107j h a l e @ t a c . c o m . a u

Eastern SuburbsNizza Siano (Secretary)16 Holland RdBellevue Hill NSW 2023Phone / Fax 9327 3423s i a n o @ t p g . c o m . a u

E u r o b o d a l l aPlease contact ourMembership Secretary on(02) 9144 1351

Great LakesAudrey Semon (Secretary)P.O. Box 871Forster 2428Ph: 6554 8507a s e m o n @ t s n . c c

I l l a w a r r aJan Kent (Secretary)Friends of the ABC IllawarraPO Box 336,Unanderra 2526Phone/Fax: 4271 3531j a n k e n t @ b i g p o n d . c o m

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Northern RiversNeville Jennings PO Box 167 Alstonville 2477Ph/Fax: 6674 3830 (H)n j e n n i n g @ s c u . e d u . a u

O r a n g eBev Holland26 Sunny South CrescentOrange NSW 2800Ph: 6362 4744s l o w a l a n @ c o l o u r c i t y. c o m

P a r r a m a t t aMal Hewitt31 Queen St, Granville 2142Ph: 9637 2900m a c i a n @ p e n t i r e . c o m

Port Macquarie/Mid North CoastDrusi MeggetPO Box 1752Port Macquarie NSW 2444Ph: 02 6583 8798d r u s i @ f e l g l o w. c o m . a u

Vi c t o r i aFriends of the ABC (Vi c )PO Box 2103St Kilda West VIC 3182Ph: 03 9682 0073f a b c v i c @ v i c n e t . n e t . a u

Q u e e n s l a n dDon SinnamonSuite 14B17/421 Brunswick StFortitude Valley QLD 4006Ph 0405 721 617d o n . s i n n a m o n @ a p h . g o v. a u

Gold CoastFrances E. RollsPO Box 342Nerang QLD 4211Ph: (07) 5596 3835f r o l l s @ f a n . n e t . a u

A C TMargaret O’ConnorGPO Box 2625Canberra A C T 2 6 0 1Ph: 6251 1880Fax: 6244 6690 (W)m a r g o f o r t e @ h o t m a i l . c o m

South A u s t r a l i aJoan LaingP.O. Box 1758 Hutt St, Adelaide SA 5 0 0 0Ph/Fax 08 8271 0751l a i n g @ i n t e r n o d e . o n . n e t

Western A u s t r a l i aRoger RavenPO Box 179Darlington, WA 6 0 7 0Phone: (08) 9370 [email protected]

Ta s m a n i aTo be advised

Northern Territory Brian HolmPO Box 25 Howard Springs NT 0 8 3 5Ph: (08) 8983 1251Fax: (08) 8941 3350Mob: 0409 831 251a b c f r i e n d s _ n t @ w e - w o n t -b y t e . c o m

National Resource CentreDarce Cassidy w w w. f r i e n d s o f t h e a b c . o r g

State and regional branches of Friends of the A B C

Membership form Please fill out the form below and return it with your payment to: The Tr e a s u r e r, Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc.PO Box 1391, North Sydney NSW 2059.N a m e r E m a i l :

A d d re s s S u b u r b P / C o d e

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Federal Electorate My details will be passed on to my local FABC Branch..Age Group 30 or under 31-50 5 1 +

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I would like to join I would like to renew I am interested in helping I would like to join the email network (and help pass on information to members)

I / We apply for membership of FABC (NSW) Inc. and accept its objectives and rules. S i g n a t u r e . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Individual $ 2 0

F a m i l y / H o u s e h o l d $ 2 5

S t u d e n t $ 1 5

P e n s i o n e r $ 1 5

Corporate (covers 3 members) $ 6 0

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Update March 2004

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