Michelle Rowland and Jason Clare
In the recent Senate Estimates hearings, the SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid reportedly could not guarantee that the Abbott Government cuts to the SBS budget would not affect SBS language services.
Reacting last week to Mr Ebeid’s reported statement at the hearing, shadow assistant minister for communications and shadow minister for citizenship and multiculturalism Michelle Rowland said, “SBS ethnic radio is the lifeblood of many migrant communities providing ethnic specific news and important language services that are crucial for the local diaspora. Any cuts to the SBS budget will hurt these communities”.
Before the election Tony Abbott said on SBS news the night before the election:
“No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS,” Ms Rowland said.
Since then the Government has established a Commission of Audit, which is examining the SBS budget and an Efficiency Review into the ABC and SBS.
“If the SBS budget is cut in May, the Prime Minister will have broken another promise to the Australian people. Now we also know that these cuts will hurt our community,” Jason Clare, shadow minister for communications said.
Ms Rowland and Shadow Minister for Finance, Tony Burke, have also launched a website to urge the community to send Tony Abbott a message to reverse the cuts to multicultural organisations.
The website – www.ISupportCommunities.com – calls on the Abbott Government to reverse its $11.5 million cut from the Building Multicultural Communities Program.
“The best way that governments can help build inclusive, harmonious communities is from the bottom up, by supporting grassroots programs like this,” Ms Rowland said.
Published in Indian newspaper Australia
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