Fischer defends ABC as Liberals push for privatisation

FORMER Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has defended the public funding of the ABC, in stark contrast to Liberal Party membership.

The Liberal Party federal council on Saturday voted to call on the Coalition to sell the ABC, except in regional areas.

“Good, bad or interesting, the ABC is part of the core, official fabric of the nation and should never be sold,” Mr Fischer said yesterday.

But Labor has latched onto the successful motion, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten claiming Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is at odds with his base. “If you love the ABC, you’d be wise to not trust Mr Turnbull,” Mr Shorten said.

“This idea that somehow Mr Turnbull and the Liberal Party are two separate entities, two strangers at a bar, is rubbish.”

Government frontbencher Josh Frydenberg backed Saturday’s assurance from Treasurer Scott Morrison that the Government had no plans for privatisation.

“The Liberal Party membership are entitled to their views and are as frustrated as we are from time to time about the coverage on the ABC,” Mr Frydenberg said. “But the reality is this is an iconic national institution which will remain in the public’s hands.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the coalition would not privatise the ABC.