Australian Broadcasting Corporation

[Kai]

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is Australia's national broadcaster founded in 1929. It is currently principally funded by direct grants from the Australian government, but is expressly independent of government and partisan politics. The ABC plays a leading role in journalistic independence and is fundamental in the history of broadcasting in Australia.

Modelled on the BBC in the United Kingdom, it was originally financed by consumer licence fees on broadcasting receivers. Licence fees were abolished in 1973 and replaced principally by direct government grants, as well as revenue from commercial activities related to its core broadcasting mission.

The ABC now provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia and overseas through ABC Australia and Radio Australia. The ABC headquarters is in Ultimo, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales.​

 

[Kai]

PM Morrison addresses Lowy institute, outlines foreign policy goals

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed foreign policy think tank the Lowy Institute earlier today, outlining his plans for Australia under his expectedly short-lived government. Promising to defend the rule of law from 'authoritarian regimes and threats to the liberal order' in the Indo-Pacific, the speech outlined a few significant points upon which government will pursue while in office:

• Achieving self-sufficiency through expansion of the Australian Defence Force
• Working with regional partners to ensure freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region
• Boosting relations with great power states
• Working within the multilateral framework of the Global Assembly

Recognising Australia's limited power as a new nation on the global scene, Morrison struck a conciliatory tone as a likely precursor to a diplomatic tour by himself and other high-ranking Australian government officials to nations named 'countries of interest' in the speech.

 

[Kai]

Flags to fly at half mast in solidarity with victims of NYC terror attack

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The Prime Minister announced via social media earlier today that he had instructed the Governor-General to order the lowering of all flags to half-mast in solidarity with the victims of the terror attack in New York City, which official estimates now suggest has claimed more than eighty lives. In an attack described by the PM as "heinous by way of the number of casualties, the symbolism of the target and the assault on our common values as citizens of a free world", he announced that he would be laying a wreath at the American Embassy in Canberra later today with the Governor-General and the Leader of the Opposition.

Already people have gathered outside of the diplomatic mission, offering cards, flowers and prayers in that nation's time of grief. Justine, 42, said that she felt "compelled to visit the embassy as a gesture of solidarity with the people of the United States". Prominent landmarks around the country, including the Sydney Opera House and Parliament House, are to be lit up in the colours of the American flag as an additional measure of support for a nation often described as our closest cultural nation.