Kelsey Cooke a senior campaigner for social justice group GetUp! has a warning in the from of an advert for Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, after he backtracked on his election promise of no cuts to the ABC.
“We’re going to make sure as many people as possible know it,” exclaimed Cooke.
“We’ve produced a TV ad with the PM’s ‘No cuts to the ABC or SBS’ promise. Over the past fortnight, thousands of GetUp! members have shared it online and chipped in to keep it on the air.”
Since the ad has been released:
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The TV ad has been seen over 49,490 times on YouTube and Facebook.
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More than 200 GetUp! members called cabinet ministers and told them any government that cuts funds for the ABC and SBS has lost their vote.
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Another 200 called ALP ministers and urged them to re-commit the funds to public broadcasting if elected at the next federal election.
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Thousands of GetUp! members rallied alongside the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and ABC Friends in cities and towns around the country.
“Before the election, there was nothing more offensive to Tony Abbott than a broken promise.”
“This second assault on the ABC flies in the face of his supposed moral outrage and stands as a betrayal of our beloved public broadcaster from a government with an axe to grind.”
“They talk about the ABC’s left wing bias but the people making the claim are so far to the right they couldn’t see the centre without a pair of binoculars.”
“We’ve heard from countless Australians who count on the ABC as a friend, close company, emergency contact, family member and the person who tells it to them straight,” Cooke Said.
GetUp’s petition to protect the ABC has now been signed by over a quarter of a million Australians.
