WHEN Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis launched a broadside at ABC managing director Mark Scott for the decision to close the Nowra office, it blew up in her face.
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Her decision to post the open letter on her Facebook page drew almost 800 comments, most of which were negative, accusing her of hypocrisy for supporting the government’s cuts to the national broadcaster in the parliament while opposing the cut in her electorate.
When the Register reported what was clearly a Facebook fail, the story went viral, attracting thousands of new readers to the website and reverberating through the parliament.
So her decision to front a small public forum in Nowra to again voice opposition to the ABC’s Nowra decision was either very brave or quite foolish. At the very least it reflected an unexpected alignment of opinion, with her and South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris agreeing on the importance of the ABC in regional areas such as ours.
Also quite extraordinary was the offer she made to ask Shoalhaven City Council if it could make available space in Nowra City Arts Centre for the ABC to operate out of. As generous as it may seem on a superficial level, it would hardly be a satisfactory arrangement from the broadcaster’s point of view. The ABC prides itself on its standard of journalism. To be beholden to a local government headed by the good friend and housemate of the mayor would fatally compromise its independence.
It would be much more helpful for Mrs Sudmalis to go back to Canberra and demand of her political masters the upholding of the pre-election promise not to cut the national broadcaster’s budget.
