One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called for the ABC to be defunded, as staff at the national broadcaster took part in their most serious industrial action in two decades.
Employees at the ABC walked off the job for 24 hours on Wednesday after negotiations over pay, working conditions and the use of artificial intelligence broke down.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday night, Hanson said the dispute showed the broadcaster should no longer receive public funding.
“There’s an easy answer to all this,” she said. “Defund it, the $1.2bn a year.
“Then they can have to reapply for the jobs and it’d be subscription only.”
Hanson said she would still support regional radio services but argued the rest of the organisation should move to a paid subscription model.
“Keep the ABC Radio going,” she said, adding regional broadcasters “do a great job”.
“Pay for that, by all means, but the rest of it, shut ‘em down and make them subscription only.
“So, if people want to pay to watch the ABC, so be it. I wouldn’t fund it anymore, I’d shut it down.”
When asked whether the proposal reflected One Nation policy, Senator Hanson replied: “Correct”.
“It’s lost its ratings. It’s just not getting many people watching it, but costs $1.2bn a year to the taxpayer,” she said.
The comments were made as staff continued industrial action, with the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance not ruling out further strikes.
Hanson has previously criticised the national broadcaster. In 2017, she said she would boycott the ABC following a Four Corners report on One Nation and an appearance on the program Insiders.
“I’ve been a little bit – you know – down lately, and that’s why you haven’t seen much of me doing much of the media,” she said in a Facebook video at the time.
“To tell you the truth, I’ve had a gutful of the media.”
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