Australia’s public broadcaster ABC is being bled of funding. “It’s a tried and true tactic. You distract the rest of the media from the issue of the long-term, incremental de-funding of the ABC by lobbing a few verbal grenades in Aunty’s direction. Commentators become so fixated on reporting the resulting explosions and collateral damage, they forget to take a step back and analyse the political and cultural implications of that de-funding process. What we need is a discussion about the vital role of the ABC in informing Australians about public affairs.”