Voices for ‘vital’ broadcaster

RELAUNCHING in late-2019, the Bendigo branch of ABC Friends Victoria are campaigning to protect, maintain and advance the national broadcaster.

As a member of the ABC Friends Bendigo working group, Nancy Toohey said the group exists to emphasise the essential nature of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s wide-reaching news and entertainment services.

“As of the last few years, there’s been a reduction in financial support for the ABC. While the government maintains they have not taken anything away, the value of what they have offered has reduced considerably, year after year,” she said.

“We’re protesting against that, and the fact that the charter of the ABC does include it being financed to a reasonable degree, and it has certain things that they must abide by; no advertising being one.

“The situation is very worrying, and most of us have supported and have known the ABC most of our lives. We want that education from the ABC, their ability to challenge the political situation of the day, their fact checking, and open and honest view to continue, without opinion-bias.”

Living in regional Australia, members of ABC Friends Bendigo are most mindful of the critical role Aunty has played for them, and will inevitably play in the future, as an emergency broadcaster.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to avoid climate change tragedies that have been occurring, but we did realise that the communication that the ABC has with rural and regional areas became a very, very important thing for us,” Ms Toohey said.

“Many years ago there was a fire in Bendigo, and these modes of communication are vital and absolutely very important to us.

“We want that to continue, and so we want the ABC to be supported, because it takes a lot of money to keep all the transmitters going. In recent fires, transmitters were damaged, and the ABC has to repair them themselves.”

ABC Friends Bendigo meet monthly and have recently been doing so via Zoom. However, they are planning to return to the Queens Arms Hotel for a face-to-face gathering in May.

The group often hosts guest speakers with an interest in the national broadcaster, with some offering a political perspective.

“Primarily, we’re all interested in conducting letter-writing campaigns, and are planning to have more stalls, and vigils on the highway not far from the front of the ABC building with banners,” Ms Toohey said.

“We’re engaging with the community as much as we can. We have all sorts of material, and anyone who asks a question of us gets an answer.

“We have social days at places that are very pleasant around Bendigo, like the Forest Garden, to get together to talk and to exchange ideas.”

Bendigo residents are encouraged to join ABC Friends Victoria via bit.ly/3fuBaGT, and keep up-to-date with the local branch’s projects at facebook.com/ABCFriendsBendigo.

Get in touch with [email protected] for further information on the group, or to access a paper membership form.