The ABC will relocate 300 of its employees from Ultimo to new facilities in Parramatta.
It is unclear which teams or staff will be moved at this early stage, though in a memo today, Managing Director of the ABC, David Anderson, told staff that the move is expected to be finalised by 2024.
The first step in the move will be to identify premises to meet their requirements with a tender for a property advisor to be released.
The new facilities are expected to include both radio and TV studios along with a public space for community engagement.
The move to Parramatta is part of the ABC’s five year plan to see 75% of content makers moved outside of Ultimo by 2025,
The Minister for Communications Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, has welcomed the move and says, “I welcome today’s announcement that the ABC will move up to 300 staff to Parramatta. This is a good first step. Parramatta will be a considerably more convenient location for people who live in many parts of Sydney that today are underrepresented at the ABC, particularly Western Sydney.
More diversity of people will mean more diversity of opinion amongst ABC staff and journalists, and any objective observer would agree that can only be a good thing. The ABC has editorial and operational independence and decisions on property matters such as this are matters for ABC board and management.”
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In Sydney, the ABC used Gore Hill for all TV and it had many rental properties in Forbes St and Kings Cross. Eventually they built Ultimo for all ABC operations.
In Melbourne they had Ripponlea for TV and radio was in many rented properties, they moved Radio Australia to Burwood. https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber/hansardr/1990-12-04/0071;query=Id:%22chamber/hansardr/1990-12-04/0039%22
They then built Southbank for all ABC operations. Radio Australia is a feint shadow of its former self.
In other cities they built new studios which include a TV production studio. Now they make nothing in those studios and use a small studio for news. Much of these buildings are now commercial leases.
If Parramatta move is about audience, then will there also be a move Westward in Melbourne?
If "some" staff from the Ultimo complex are being deployed to the Parramatta complex, how does it change the editorial content of their programs?
It appears that the supposed woke/greenie/left perception has been imputed by some anti-ABC people because of the ABC's location at Ultimo. The woke/greenie/left perception has been imputed because of a belief that all ABC workers are living close to Ultimo. Perhaps they do live close to Ultimo.
The perception of living close to one's workplace does not necessarily mean a particular political narrative is being generated. The greenie/woke/left narrative is also 'aggravated' by the notion of the latte-sipping eating smashed avocado.
It results in a false narrative because other people live near the CBD of Sydney who sip lattes and consume smashed avocado. They may work in law, finance, accommodation services to name a few.
Consuming a latte and smashed avocado does not turn someone into a green/left/woke person.
Consequently, if 'some' ABC workers transfer from Ultimo to Parramatta, I doubt we'll see a change in the kinds of programs emanating from the ABC.
That somehow working in Ultimo promotes a certain kind of editorial is a fallacy.
Before Ultimo, workers were either at (i) Gore Hill (TV), (ii) Forbes and William Sts (Radio) and (iii) Headquarters in Elizabeth St, affectionately known as "b/s palace".
The Murdoch press is using any means to label the ABC as greenie/woke/left organization because of the ABC's Ultimo location together with the narrative of sipping lattes being associated with a political leaning.
The Murdoch press has been against the ABC since 1931 because the ABC was in competition with 3DB.
By the way, I do read News Limited articles. It is that News Limited has had a particular historic "tick" against the ABC since 1931. Now "Ultimo" is the narrative created by News Limited consisting 'images' of ABC workers being woke/greenie/left, latte-sipping and smashed avocado consumers.
Therefore I believe that relocating 'some' staff from Ultimo to Parramatta will not change the ABC's editorial output.
In a similar vein, a proposal to relocate the Artarmon studios of SBS to Campsie would not necessarily mean as SBS's spokesperson said, “...The geographical location of our offices has no bearing on the services SBS provides...”, reference https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/sbs-square-proposal-would-see-headquarters-move-from-artarmon-to-campsie/news-story/a6c37080fe27c598c08f5843e5d1e658
So too with the ABC,
Thank you,
Anthony of exciting Belfield, adjacent to Campsie.