Committee probes ABC on Victorian footprint

6 March 2025

The ABC makes around 23 per cent of its productions in Victoria.
The ABC makes around 23 per cent of its productions in Victoria.

The Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee has pressed ABC management on the share of its budget allocated to Victoria.

The Committee is inquiring into the cultural and creative industries in the state. 

Mark Tapley, Director of Strategy and Sacha Gregson, Head of Production appeared before a public hearing held in Melbourne last month.  

Mr Tapley told the Committee that the ABC employs more than 900 people in Victoria across ten metro and regional offices, including a number of key ABC teams, such as ABC News Breakfast and the Asia Pacific News Centre, that are based in Melbourne. 

‘We seek to reflect the breadth of life and experiences across Victoria, from the inner and outer suburbs of Melbourne to regional and rural communities across the state, from Wodonga to Warrnambool,’ he said.

The ABC's Sacha Gregson, Head of Production and Mark Tapley, Director of Strategy at the February 27 hearing.

The Committee is investigating the funding and support available to Victoria's cultural and creative industries.  
 
This includes examining Victoria's share of national arts and cultural spending (including share allocated to regional Victoria); the ongoing financial sustainability of arts training organisations; and whether state and federal policies and spending are sufficient to support the industries following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
The creative industries are an evolving mix of sectors spanning arts, culture, screen, music, design, games development, fashion, publishing and more. Pre-pandemic, these industries collectively contributed $33.9 billion to Victoria's economy and employed 292,000 Victorians. 
 
Mr Tapley said the ABC invested in productions made in Victoria, including Fisk and The Newsreader, Hard Quiz and Utopia. 
 
‘Over the last four-and-a-half years the ABC has committed $157 million to 75 projects with the independent production sector,’ he said. 

'Here in Victoria, these projects have a total production value of over $318 million and represent 319 hours of programming. Additionally, over the same period, the ABC invested over $80 million in 52 internal productions based in Victoria, delivering a further 507 hours.’ 

Mr Tapley told the inquiry that the widespread availability of streaming services in Australia had lifted audience expectations around production quality at a time when resources were thinly spread. 

'We need the support of screen agencies, be it Screen Australia or VicScreen or other agencies around the country,’ he said. 

'So for us, I would say the main issue is around the the budgets of those state screen agencies.’ 

Check the committee’s website for the full terms of reference and details of hearings.