Federal Communication Minister Stephen Conroy announced recently that an investment of $15.3 million will support the ABC to expand its Local Regional Broadband Hubs and foster our future digital economy.
The Minister emphasized that expanding the availability and influence of broadband across the economy was a key goal for the Rudd Government.
“We want to ensure that we establish an environment where Australia gains maximum benefits from our investments in broadband infrastructure… We are working to stimulate the creation and adoption of broadband applications, and to foster our future digital economy”, said the Minister.
Given the precarious financial state of a large number of existing media players throughout the world (and the demise of numerous once famous mastheads) perhaps not unexpectedly the local newspaper publishers perceived the taxpayer funded initiative as an unprovoked attack on one of the last bastions of free enterprise (namely themselves) and rushed a patently self-serving response into print – see Lara Sinclair, The Australian – Media supplement, 25 May 2009.
It must be said – coming in a week when General Motors, the once largest corporation in the world, filed for bankruptcy protection – the sensitivity of an additional commercial challenge to their already shaky long term futures obviously hit an extremely sensitive spot.
The one-sided attack was partially remedied with a much more balanced piece the following week – see Mark Day, The Australian – Media supplement, 1 June 2009, although his colleague (they must not talk to each other over at News) could not resist the temptation to go on with the misguided mission in the same 1 June issue, presumably working on the theory she ‘might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb’.
But what have the newspapers and TV proprietors to be worried about ... and perhaps more importantly: should Australians be concerned?
Well for starters it is not clear what exactly the ABC will deliver over the next three years, if it in fact receives the funds allocated in the ‘09 budget.
However the whole notion of tying national interest to the financial viability of US citizen Rupert Murdoch and his cohorts reeks to me of the much mis-quoted "What's good for General Motors is good for the country” ethos.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_General_Motors
Which given the famous car maker’s current situation and uncertain future, with the US Government as major shareholder, probably reveals starkly the new realities of conducting so-called free enterprise business in the 21st century.
Looking after the ‘big boys’ first and foremost used to be a well established and pragmatic practice in most elite circles in this country, in the bad old days, however the current era of transparency and good citizenship places many of these now dated approaches rightly under a new and unforgiving spotlight.
The test to be imposed on any new tax payer funded initiatives should not be anti-business; national interest should always have primacy, and if it means a Kerry Packer or a Richard Pratt also does quite nicely on the deal, so be it.
In this context: If the ABC only intend rolling out some forums, blogs and posting home grown videos i.e. largely concentrates on building on their current digital presence, I think they will rightly face the criticism leveled by the BBC Trust when it overturned a similar proposal from the UK’s national broadcaster.
If, however, the ABC wish to utilize the network of hubs to truly stimulate the creation and adoption of broadband applications, and to foster our future digital economy, then their initiative should receive the whole hearted support of all right minded citizens. | 
