ABC spent nearly $50m on redundancy payouts after Coalition budget cuts hit

The ABC spent close to $50m on redundancy payments to staff last financial year as a result of the Coalition’s $254m budget cut.

The annual report for 2014-15 reveals the broadcaster paid out $47.1m in redundancy and separation payments up to June this year compared with just $3.8m in 2013-2014.

The ABC says the job losses amount to around 300 so far but the Community and Public Sector Union puts the figure at 430, including the 80 people who lost their jobs when the government withdrew funding for the Australia Network.

The redundancy bill will be high again next year as there have been more job losses since June, including 41 jobs cut in the technology division and more to come. The report warned that the five-year program of cuts imposed by the Abbott government started gently but would “ratchet sharply upwards” in coming years.

According to the annual report, employee benefits totalled $530m, including $366m in wages and the remainder in superannuation and leave.

“With the first impact in 2015–16 of the $206.8m funding cuts over four years, coming on top of the 1% funding cut and the cessation of the Australia Network contract in the May 2014 Budget, the ABC is in the process of implementing a number of efficiency savings initiatives targeting support functions in order to address the decline in funding from government,” the report said.

“Implementing these savings involved significant upfront redundancy and restructure costs, with overall savings to be achieved over a number of years.”

The ABC was allocated $1.11bn in the 2014-15 financial year, which includes around $200m for analogue and digital transmission costs. This leaves $868m in general funding for four TV channels – ABC TV, ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24 –and five radio networks – ABC online, iView and educational and ABC Open services.

The most popular shows on ABC television were: the 2015 Asian Cup final between Australia and South Korea; New Year’s Eve 2014: Midnight Fireworks; local dramas Anzac Girls and The Doctor Blake Mysteries; and New Tricks.

Consistent with the drop in linear television audiences overall, the ABC’s ratings were down slightly from the year before but ABC Television’s average weekly reach last year was 9.4m people, or 58% of the five-city metropolitan market.

“The digital era is proving a boon for consumers but its disruptive impact on the media landscape is pronounced,” the report said.

“It is made doubly difficult for the national broadcaster because of its budgetary situation. The five-year program of cuts announced by the federal government in late 2014 has begun.

“At the very time that it needs to invest in new audience strategies, the ABC is being forced to divert badly-needed funds back to consolidated revenue.”

The ABC spent $4.7m on consultants, the majority going on financial and strategic advice. A payment of $42,135 was made to Shaun Brown, the former managing director of SBS who is reviewing the operation of ABC TV program Q&A. The other reviewer, broadcaster Ray Martin, has not been paid yet. The broadcaster also shelled out close to $13,000 to the Australian Federal Police for a security assessment.

Funding for the ABC from the federal government has declined sharply in real terms in 30 years: the total allocation of $867m for 2015-16 represents a decrease in real funding of $299m or 25.6% since 1985–86, according to the chart ABC Operational Revenue from Government.

Opinion polls commissioned by the ABC show a large majority of Australians – 84% – believe the ABC performs a valuable role and produces quality content.