SBS 2009 Budget: Proper Funding & No Ads

 STEP 1 of TWO

Save Our SBS
 www.SaveOurSBS.org
 STEP 1 email Wayne Swan, & other politicians (this screen) - STEP 2 email Kevin Rudd (next screen)
 

Click to EMAIL the Treasurer and other politicians. If click fails copy and paste details from below to an email.

After sending your email please click on the 'Continue to next screen' button at the bottom of this screen, to email the Prime Minister too.

If using WEBMAIL copy all the addresses from the TO line, the SUBJECT line, and, the MESSAGE text below, into your WEBMAIL.

TO: Wayne.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au,Lindsay.Tanner.MP@aph.gov.au,Senator.Conroy@aph.gov.au,Malcolm.Turnbull.MP@aph.gov.au,Senator.Bob.Brown@aph.gov.au,Senator.Fielding@aph.gov.au,Budget2009sbs@SaveOurSBS.org
SUBJECT: SBS Budget without commercials - 2009 Federal Budget
MESSAGE: Dear Treasurer,

I am very concerned about the inadequate funding that SBS has endured which has led it to rely on advertising, and to interrupt programs with commercials. The pursuit of advertiser support has led the SBS to stray from its multicultural Charter. This is a disgraceful result for our multicultural broadcaster and is not the Australian concept for any public broadcaster.

At its National Conference in April 2007, Labor acknowledged the importance of the SBS and committed Labor to ensuring adequate funding and support for the SBS, to enable it to continue to provide Australians with high quality services, “free from political and commercial interference” (alp.org.au/platform/chapter_16.php) then in the lead up to the Nov 2007 election the ALP publicly stated "Labor has opposed and continues to oppose the decision by SBS to introduce in-program advertising" (saveoursbs.org/archives/165).

Senator Conroy Oct 2007: “The introduction of in program advertising to the SBS in effect makes the SBS a de facto fourth free-to-air commercial television station and serves to erode the fundamental tenets of public broadcasting- that is, that it should be free from commercial and political influence” (saveoursbs.org/archives/127).

The May 2009 Federal Budget is the time to restore SBS to the multicultural broadcaster it was supposed to be. I want the government to live up to its pre-election sentiment to support and fund SBS adequately, with an immediate end to interrupting programs for commercial breaks followed by a phasing out of all advertising on SBS. I urge you to significantly more than double the triennial funding for the SBS coupled with a phasing out of advertising completely.

In these economic times it is more important than ever to support our public, multicultural broadcaster so it may once again be a ‘special’ broadcaster not reliant on advertising.

Please tell me what you will do about this.

Continue to next screen to 'STEP 2 of TWO' to email Kevin Rudd - direct

 

 


 

 

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