And so farewell, then, Sean Dorney, Jim Middleton, Margaret Pomeranz and David Strattan and a host of other lesser known mortals as the ABC undermines Treasurer Joe Hockey's happy futuristic suggestion that people will have to work until they're 70.
Despite the goodbye spin of departing ABC celebrities, they are among the 70 or so already shown the redundancy door or had contracts discontinued in the past month as the ABC sheds staff, deep sixes programs such as The Movie Show, axes the Australia Network and turns international services into "rip-and-read" affairs to meet Hockey's cuts to the broadcaster's budget.
Now fear is afoot as the ABC board meets on Monday to discuss swinging the axe and staff talk of the Eugene Goossens Hall at the Ultimo headquarters being booked in the following days so managing director Mark Scott can deliver the bad news to a mass rally.
The ABC lost $120 million in the May budget and optimistic staffers are saying a further $50 million cut will have 500 jobs eliminated and almost everything apart from news out sourced. Board member Fiona Stanley defended the ABC and tore into the Murdoch press' incessant bias allegation.
Now the bravely outspoken broadcaster Quentin Dempster says the cuts will be punitive and ideological. "What's most confronting is to see the testicular hold Rupert now has on Tony," Dempster said. "I appeal to the Prime Minister to demonstrate to the Australian people that he's his own man and not a creature of Rupert Murdoch."
