Up to 200 people rallied at South Bank on Friday afternoon to defend their favourite Aunty.
Holding placards reading "Hands off our ABC" and with cries of "No buts, no cuts", the small but passionate crowd demanded Queensland jobs and content be preserved.
Efficiency dividends imposed by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull will effectively strip $250 million out of the ABC over five years, with another $60 million to go from SBS.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters said Prime Minister Tony Abbott had underestimated affection for the national broadcaster - even within his own electorate.
"It is one of those universal services and great beacons of information that we all know and love," she said.
"These are people's jobs ... I thought Mr Abbott was meant to care about jobs."
The Prime Minister famously pledged not to cut funding from the ABC and SBS on the night before the 2013 election that he went on to win.
Labor Member for Griffith Terri Butler said Mr Abbott's broken promise was undeniable.
"[It] goes to the guts of the difference between those who believe in democracy, in standing up for everyone and power for everyone, and those who believe in power and privilege only for those who can afford it," she said.
"Here in Queensland there are hundreds of ABC staffers, they are going to have an anxious Christmas.
"We've got 7 per cent unemployment because of what the Newman government has already done to public services in this state."
Michael Tull from the Commonwealth Public Sector Union said Mr Turnbull's insistence the savings could be made through "back-end" efficiencies ignored the reality.
"Over the last few years, the ABC's done a lot of work to find internal savings and efficiencies, and those have been reinvested back in the business," he said.
"It's how we got iView, it's how we got News 24, it's how we got all the new online presence and new applications - none of those things were funded by government."
Michelle Rae from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance called on ABC managing director Mark Scott and his team to avoid jumping straight into slashing on-air programming, including the Queensland edition of 7.30.
"He's definitely been defending the network, but if we know cuts are coming, staff want to be able to sit down and say 'Here are some ways we think money could be saved, and that's the step I don't think's happened yet," she said.
"They need to consult widely."
Supporters at Friday's rally, held in the shadow of the ABC studios at South Bank, vowed to keep up the fight, signing a banner that would be taken to Canberra as part of a national campaign in coming weeks.
