Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to rule out merging the ABC with the special multicultural broadcaster SBS, despite the merger idea being outside the scope of an ongoing government review.
He was asked if he would consider a merger and responded that he would “wait and see” what the government’s efficiency review says.
“I’m going to wait for the results of the review to come back,” Mr Morrison told ABC Melbourne radio.
“I mean those sorts of ideas have been floated before … I’ll wait to see what the review says, I think that’s the fair and sensible thing to do.”
But the terms of the efficiency review, set up by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to determine whether the broadcasters were making the best use of their money, make it clear it will not consider a “merger of ABC and SBS”, or privatisation.
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to weigh into the ABC debacle. Source: AAP
SBS News has sent the prime minister’s office a list of questions to clarify the position but is yet to receive a response.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said the prime minister was now “talking openly about amalgamation”.
“[The review] explicitly rules out the amalgamation of ABC and SBS. It does it for very sensible reasons: that they're separate organisations with very different roles and responsibilities in the Australian media landscape.”
