Why Labor and Anthony Albanese must save our ABC

It isn't so much that I think the new government will instantly fix the problems which beset us. As staffer after staffer has said to me this week, and I paraphrase, we know we will disappoint.

But nothing - nothing - could be worse than the Morrison government, with its partner in disrespect, the Nationals. From their blatant waste of taxpayer money on billionaires who got richer through the pandemic thanks to the former treasurer's handouts through to its cruelty towards the Murugappan family, from its love of coal and abandonment of the climate to its astonishing disregard and disrespect for women, from its lies about integrity to its lies about an integrity commission, it was time to kick this lot out. We didn't need to ask Jenny for advice.

This election result is sweeter because it shows how nearly useless News Corp papers are at influencing the national vote. Their best efforts couldn't stop a terrible government from being tossed out.

Just as they tried to destroy Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2018, they failed to annihilate Anthony Albanese. Believe me they tried. And look, it was tempting to send every Labor staffer to their respective naughty corners when the now Prime Minister failed to regurgitate on demand the unemployment rate. Apparently Malcolm Turnbull always had a cheat sheet with vital numbers for such gotcha moments. Note to future progressive campaigns.

But there is one serious impact from News's obsessive campaigning which Labor must mend urgently before it does any more damage. An array of conservative commentators within the Murdoch machinery have attacked our beloved public broadcaster. They do it because the ABC's content is abundantly free and wonderful and News Corp's CEO Robert Thomson wants you to pay for News content. Unfortunately, the cowardy custard conservatives never stood up for our national broadcaster. They wanted to appease. That never ever works. Ask Nev(ille Chamberlain). So many called for our national broadcasters to be privatised. And some of those are no longer politicians. Cheers!

As a result, the Coalition caved and cut the ABC's funding to buggery. Year on year, massive cuts. Our treasured national broadcaster, which sticks with us through fires, floods and droughts (quite unlike the Coalition), has been utterly stripped. And is the most trusted news provider in the country. It needs much more money to do its job properly. So many folks in their 40s and 50s who cost real money got the boot. We feel the loss of their experience and their insight. These cuts - and that threat to the integrity of the ABC, have had an impact.

I'm not going to pile on individual journalists. That's pathetic. Instead I would ask you to consider why these journalists behave like this. Will treating one side differently to another stop the cuts? As second worst PM in history, Tony Abbott, so famously said: Nope. Nope. Nope. This behaviour is really the result of Stockholm Syndrome, what the Cleveland Clinic describes as "a coping mechanism to a captive or abusive situation".

It goes on: "People develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time."

One insider described senior colleagues this way: "Inside the culture is like being an abused dog, chained and beaten."

That person says the ABC and its journalists are constantly defamed and humiliated in News Corp publications and Sky after Dark.

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"But worse than that, it became internalised. While it was resisted in many quarters but it took a toll on a lot of us."

Gaven Morris, the ABC's former director of news, analysis and investigations for six years, was the bloke in charge of cultural change during that time. My goodness, he did a good job. He drove what was called the diversity push. On the surface, that's a good thing. God knows we need more reporters from a wide variety of backgrounds. But Morris also drove viewpoint diversity. Its other name is false balance. It was particularly clear on issues such as equal marriage. That just led to poison being aired. Most Australians were happy for people who wanted to marry to get married. And divorced. And remarried. Those who were against it on religious grounds? Sure. Don't get married to someone of the same gender then.

During this election campaign, ABC journalists were told not to focus too much on the teals because they were not perceived to be a real political force. Haha. That directive, says one insider, included coverage of former ABC journalist Zoe Daniel, now the member for Goldstein, replacing Tim Wilson. It became clear Wilson was having unfettered access to ABC airwaves and some sensible soul prevailed.

The ABC has been utterly abused by the former government. The power of the Coalition during its time in government is nowhere more explicit than in the composition of the board, where the government time and time again ignored the independent Nomination Panel and sent captain's picks.

I've read a lot of commentary where apparently the cure is to sack everyone in the press gallery, there's much loathing of Leigh Sales and others. But I remember when, time after time, Sales completely dismembered Tony Abbott. A surgeon.

There is no doubt that the Saturday night coverage was really strange. Labor had just won government but there was only belated congratulations. Sure, not a massive bout of first preferences but second choice. The Liberals came last last last. Let's leave them there while we recover. And beyond. In the meantime, if anyone knows how to protect ABC funding, maybe shove it in the constitution, let Labor know and get them to do it before they too get the shits that reporters don't love them to bits, before they too want to control coverage.