Another rare piece of info

This is a text version of an advertisement in the form of an open letter to the then Prime Minister of Australia about the tv station ABC. Philip was one of the endorsers.

ADVERTISEMENT 

An open letter 

to the Prime Minister 

from Australia’s actors 

Dear Prime Minister, 

Australia’s national broadcaster, 

the ABC, is at the heart of Australian 

television’s creativity, innovation 

and expression. 

As performers, the ABC is also where 

we learnt our craft and experienced 

some of the greatest challenges and 

joys of our working lives. 

Like everyone else, we grew up with 

the ABC and, for those of us who are 

parents, we’re now watching Play 

School and Bananas in Pyjamas and 

the Wiggles with our own children. 

Like everyone else, we’ve sat in our 

living rooms and watched shows 

like Brides of Christ and Changi 

from the edge of our seats, and 

laughed along with Kath and Kim 

and We Could Be Heroes. 

Like everyone else, we value the 

ABC and want it to flourish and 

grow. Australians have always supported 

the ABC, and the public’s 

demand for quality drama and 

entertainment has not diminished. 

We’re in the midst of an exciting 

era of profound change as the 

development of digital media 

remakes our industry and the way 

our audiences experience our 

work. As we move towards a digital 

world the thirst for local content 

that tells original and fresh stories 

to adults and children alike will 

only increase. To keep up with 

technological change and exploit 

these new opportunities on our 

behalf – and on behalf of the 

Australian public – the ABC must 

be adequately funded. 

Before the 2007 election, the Labor 

Party promised to amend the ABC 

Charter to make sure the public 

broadcaster screened the same 

level of local drama as the commercial 

free-to-air networks. During 

the 2007/2008 financial year the 

ABC broadcast only 22 hours 

of Australian drama. Bringing that 

figure to the promised level will 

cost money. Maintaining the high 

quality for which the ABC is justly 

recognised will cost money. 

Research conducted nationally for 

the Alliance found that 65% of 

Australians thought that the level 

of Government funding to the ABC 

should be increased to allow it 

to broadcast more Australian 

children’s programs, and 64% of 

Australians thought that the level 

of Government funding to the ABC 

should be increased to allow 

it to broadcast more Australian 

drama programs. 

In New Directions for the Arts, 

Labor promised to fund the ABC 

so that it can continue to deliver 

quality public broadcasting services. 

The Federal Government can deliver 

on these promises and we urge you 

to do so. 

Australia’s public broadcaster is 

where we go to be told stories that 

resonate with our lives. It is where 

our children can go to watch programs 

that tell stories about kids 

like them: who look like them and 

sound like them. Our ABC must also 

be able to rise to the challenges of 

taking us and our children into the 

new digital environment. 

It will cost money but the ABC can’t 

do without it, and Australians can’t 

do without our ABC. 

ENDORSED BY: 

Jolene Anderson 

Oliver Ackland 

Emily Barclay 

Steve Bastoni 

Lorraine Bayly 

Roy Billing 

Julia Blake 

Rachel Blake 

Emma Booth 

Shane Bourne 

Sibylla Budd 

Simon Burke 

Saskia Burmeister 

Tina Bursill 

Rose Byrne 

Gia Carides 

Bridie Carter 

Khan Chittenden 

Justine Clark 

Toni Collette 

Rodger Corser 

Brendan Cowell 

Caroline Craig 

Essie Davis 

Matt Day 

Alex Dimitriades 

Joel Edgerton 

Jack Finsterer 

Alan Fletcher 

Leon Ford 

Megan Gale 

Rebecca Gibney 

Max Gillies 

Marcus Graham 

Corinne Grant 

Rachel Griffiths 

Don Hany 

Tony Hayes 

Kevin Harrington 

Chris Haywood 

Wayne Hope 

Sacha Horler 

John Howard 

Shane Jacobson 

Samuel Johnson 

Claudia Karvan 

Genevieve Lemon 

Tom Long 

Emma Lung 

Tammy MacIntosh 

Catherine McClements 

Garry McDonald 

Anthony LaPaglia 

Robert Mammone 

Miriam Margolyes 

Tony Martin 

Kestie Morassi 

Rhys Muldoon 

Sam Neill 

Robyn Nevin 

Terry Norris 

Bojana Novakovic 

Barry Otto 

Miranda Otto 

Teresa Palmer 

Matt Passmore 

Guy Pearce 

Peter Phelps 

Angela Punch 

McGregor 

Philip Quast 

Richard Roxburgh 

Geoffrey Rush 

Natalie Saleeba 

Brooke Satchwell 

Greta Scacchi 

Toby Schmitz 

Henri Szeps 

Magda Szubanski 

Libby Tanner 

Sigrid Thornton 

Sonia Todd 

Damian 

Walshe-Howling 

Gemma Ward 

Hugo Weaving 

David Wenham 

Simon Westaway 

Dan Wyllie 

Sarah Wynter 

Alison Whyte 

Sam Worthington 

William Zappa 

Julia Zemiro 

2FISHPRODUCTIONS_ME078130309_OPENLETTER 

AUTHORISED BY: CHRISTOPHER WARREN FEDERAL SECRETARY, MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS ALLIANCE, 245 CHALMERS STREET REDFERN NSW 2016.