Address to the Australian Broadcasting Summit 2010

This year SBS television celebrates its 30th birthday. That’s a fairly remarkable milestone for what many pundits termed an ‘experiment’ in multicultural and multilingual broadcasting.

30 years on television, 35 years on radio and around a decade online, SBS has proven that Australia’s cultural diversity can be a source of inspiration, discovery and personal transformation.

In 1980 SBS commenced television broadcasting to Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong with Peter Luck’s documentary Who are We which looked at the history of migration in Australia. Then we launched our world news service, showed a Polish film and broadcast a match from the A-league of the day – the Philips Soccer League.

Traditional SBS fare. So in 30 years what has changed? Well, for starters we no longer call it ‘soccer’. And I would like to think that SBS and, particularly, Les Murray and the late Johnny Warren, have had a large part to play in championing football in this country.  Their dream to see Australia at the FIFA World Cup, not as an occasional fluke but consistently on the basis of performance, has been realised.

So in June and July, Australians in very large numbers will be tuning into SBS not only to see how the Socceroos fare, but also to enjoy every aspect of the most important sporting event in the world.  Our coverage will be unprecedented in scale, across all our digital and analogue TV channels, including HD, on Radio in English and other languages, and, of course, Online.

We still play Polish films – only now we do it across two digital television channels – SBS ONE and SBS TWO – as well as on our wholly owned subscription television channel – World Movies.

Our world news service is still going strong and is complemented by an award winning stable of current affairs programs Dateline, Insight and Living Black.

We are still the home of insightful and thought provoking documentaries and will revisit the theme of Peter Luck’s documentary next year when we screen Second Australians – which charts Australia’s experience with migration.

And tomorrow night marks another milestone in the SBS journey when we host the launch event for our second subscription channel – the arts focused channel STVDIO – which will screen on FOXTEL and Austar from April 1.

It is unusual for a public broadcaster to deliver some of its service through subscription television — but not without precedent.

Channel 4 in the UK has operated subscription channels for some years and TVNZ, across the Tasman, has just announced its intention to launch a subscription channel.  

For SBS and our audiences there are significant advantages.  We increase the range and depth of our services and our audience reach.  That in turn contributes to the delivery of our Charter.  

The model is self-funding — these niche channels are delivered without a dollar of taxpayer funding being invested.  It also generates a profit which is paid to SBS to support its service on free-to-air television and radio and online.

For the purists, who believe all public broadcasting should be ad-free and free-to-air, this may all be rather challenging.  And indeed, it would be a lot simpler if SBS had the same level of taxpayer funding as the ABC.  But we don’t and our purpose and charter are very demanding and so we will continue to seek out imaginative ways to meet these demands.

In some respects it’s appropriate that a broadcaster committed to diversity uses diverse funding models to survive and grow.

Online, we are certainly seeing growth.

Unique browsers will hit one million this month and we have an extensive video catch up service.  Over the past three years video views have gone from 100,000 to two and a half million per month.  This is both a source of satisfaction and frustration for us:  satisfaction that we have achieved so much off such limited resources, frustration at the thought of how much more we could do with more resources.

On digital radio we’ve begun experimenting with music formats — SBS Chill offering a relaxed mix of music from around the world and SBS Pop Asia featuring hits notably from China, Japan and Korea.

If you think you detect a note of complacency in my previous comments then you’re mistaken.  While all of us at SBS have pride in our achievements — significant as they are — we are equally aware of how much more we could and should be doing.

Quite simply, SBS needs to do more — we need to have a bigger voice in the noisy media landscape.  We continue to have discussions with the Government about how we can best achieve that.

In particular, we are falling short on serving our ‘multilingual’ objectives — across all our platforms.

A few obvious points to make are:

– The make up of the Australian population has changed, yet SBS’s core services have not.
– We significantly under-serve major or growing language communities.
– At the same we do little or nothing for new, high need language groups.
– And, we continue to largely serve our language communities on analogue radio when our audiences are increasingly turning to online services.

This is clearly unacceptable for a modern media organisation with a remit like SBS’s.

We are falling short on our obligations because the specialist services our Charter compels us to provide – in language content; extensive radio services as well as local content that reflects the true, multicultural Australia – do not come cheap.

There are also technical constraints to what we can deliver, particularly on television. As we head towards digital switchover there is the opportunity for SBS to further expand its services.

We are currently focused on finding more resources to invest in SBS TWO which predominantly carries content in languages other than English.  And while we are committed to launching SBS THREE to further broaden and deepen our content offering, technical and funding issues constrain us.

As part of our submission to the Government’s discussion paper on the Digital Dividend, SBS supported a restack of the spectrum not just to assist the Government’s efforts to secure the dividend, but particularly to achieve a more efficient use of our spectrum allocation. We currently labour to deliver our services under less than ideal circumstances on the UHF band.  Restacking us into VHF will potentially allow us to launch a third channel while improving the quality of our signal on existing services.

The digital dividend is also an opportunity to address the adequacy of SBS’s funding and our ability to continue to deliver services to the Australian community, particularly our in-language services.

The contribution we have been making to social cohesion in Australia for more than 30 years is very real and there are very persuasive arguments to be made for us to be around for at least another 30 years.

A force for good

The media play a very influential role in shaping our perceptions of different cultures in Australia.

At its best it is an empowering force by helping to foster social cohesiveness —acting as a mirror, a mentor and a mediator. At its worst it can create divisions, exacerbate tensions and encourage a tribal view of society.

The pivotal role of media in contributing to or undermining social harmony is both self-evident and highly complex.

A small example — should SBS be proud that it first exposed the issue of attacks on Indian students and then provided on-going coverage of developments, including a full scale Insight televised debate?

Well, I obviously think so.  But I’m sure there are those who might believe this served only to trigger a media feeding frenzy, both here and in India, that destablised relations between Australia and India and created an atmosphere of vulnerability and distrust among the Indian community here.

Of course, SBS is not responsible for how other media covers such issues, and the real test for me is that if similar circumstances arose again would SBS take such a front-foot approach? The answer has to be yes.

However painful it is to confront and trigger debate about racism, if it is not tackled then the very foundation on which we build social harmony, inclusiveness, and cohesion are fractured.

Those fractures may remain hidden for a period of time but at some point those foundations will fail.  And when the foundation sags, then cracks will certainly appear in the edifice of social harmony.

This issue is not solely about news and current affairs coverage.  The role of media in social harmony covers all aspects from drama and documentary to talk-back radio.

I’ve recently attended a 2-day conference in Perth of the subject of Racism organised by Murdoch University.  It was a salutary reminder that any sense of complacency about the state of multicultural Australia is misplaced and unjustified.  There is much work to do if all Australians are to be included in sharing the values that most of us take for granted.

In an ideal world, the media should reflect the cultural realities of the community. It should be a platform for the exchange of ideas around how a community can become more socially cohesive.

In a pluralist and democratic society it should represent the views of different members of society and give them a means to participate in discourse and debate. In highlighting differences and disagreements it can help society resolve them, or to find ways to move forward respectful of those differences.

It is not my intention to analyse how other media perform in this regard. I intend to focus on how SBS views its role in fostering social harmony and ensuring accurate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

I will return to the Indian student issue because there are some interesting insights gained from SBS research recently conducted—  in particular the views of Indian Australians about the media and the way in which they access it.

Diversity on screen

Presenting a true picture of the Australian community is at the heart of what SBS does. We are passionate about portraying the cultural realities of Australia whether it is through our commissioned and acquired content or through our news and current affairs coverage.

To have had a unique broadcaster like SBS since the 1970s demonstrates the willingness of the Australian community to understand and embrace cultural diversity.

It also demonstrates the foresight of successive Governments which have understood that multiculturalism will not succeed by good will alone. It requires an active policy agenda to support it.

What was most interesting about the decision to establish SBS was the insight that the policy agenda had to be bigger than traditional government welfare based program models.

Media is used to inform and educate but also, critically, to entertain — to engage the imagination and bring people on a journey by sharing the stories of Australia’s cultural diversity.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser — who was the driving force behind SBS television’s creation – was recently asked at the National Press Club about multiculturalism in the 1970s and the need for SBS.

He recalled how the ABC at the time was reluctant to include in-language information provision for new arrivals as part of their services. When ABC management finally, and reluctantly, acquiesced, the Government had already decided to establish a stand-alone service to help connect new migrants to the information they needed about Government services.

Fraser said SBS was created not only to help new arrivals interpret Australia but also to help other Australians learn about the history and culture of people who had recently made Australia their home. It was always a two-way relationship, he said.

SBS continues to balance its responsibility to meet the diverse communications needs of Australia’s multicultural community while informing, educating and entertaining all Australians.

It is a balancing act. We have a vast remit articulated in our Charter and limited resources with which to deliver it. There is often the misguided (but I would say well meaning) view that we must try to deliver all things, to all people, all of the time, in all languages without diminishing the distinctiveness of what we do.

It is an impossible task. Instead, SBS in delivering its Charter, focuses on core activities which can meet the communication needs of Australia’s multicultural communities while opening a window on cultural diversity for all Australians, from all backgrounds to enjoy.

Reflecting diversity in our content is one of our strengths as a broadcaster.  Sadly it is one of the key factors that sets us apart from other broadcasters in Australia.

Over the past few years we have made a conscious commitment and investment in telling more Australian stories that reflect the cultural reality of the Australian community. Our award winning dramas The Circuit and East West 101 alongside our landmark documentary series First Australians are standout examples of this commitment.

We give a voice to different sectors of the community in our national debates and we enable different voices and different languages and cultures, to be reflected back to all Australians.

Significantly, when we talk to communities around the country (especially those who feel they are misunderstood or misrepresented) we are regularly told that our news and current affairs service is the only one they feel gives a balanced view of the issues that concern them.

Unfinished business

Despite multiculturalism being embedded in Australian society, there is more work to be done to create greater cultural awareness, understanding and inclusiveness. Just as policy makers in the 70s and 80s couldn’t assume multiculturalism would flourish without effort, no one can take it for granted today.

We can see from current and recent events the powerful, all too often negative, narrative that can develop in the media about culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Australia’s image as a tolerant inclusive nation has been tested in recent times – fuelled by incidents such as the recent attacks on the Indian community and the Cronulla riots before that.

These public demonstrations of disharmony may well be the exception rather than the rule, but they have focused the attention of political leaders and public commentators on the unfinished business of social inclusion in Australia.

The Australian Social Inclusion Board recently released a report tracking ‘How Australia is Faring’ and while clearly we have traveled a very long way, there is still much more that needs to be done.

The report noted there is currently no national data gathered on the general population’s perceptions of discrimination or the effects of discrimination, including racism.

In a new move, the Australian Human Rights Commission will map the experiences of racism at the local level across Australia which may give us real insights into the state of the nation when it comes to social inclusion.

The basic aspirations of a socially inclusive society as outlined in the report are to reduce disadvantage; increase social, civic and economic participation and give the community a greater voice combined with greater responsibility. SBS’s mandate in part is to provide services that assist the Australian community – no matter what their cultural provenance or language they speak – to reach these aims.

Since its inception, SBS has fearlessly championed the evolution of Australian multiculturalism, often times in the face of great criticism.

By exploring multiculturalism and challenging cultural stereotypes in content that spans a range of languages and origins, SBS promotes inclusiveness and combats intolerance.

For many Australians SBS may be the only contact they have with some cultures. For others we portray the cultural reality of their community.  For those recent arrivals who have made Australia their home, we are their link to social and civic life in this country.

Digital ghettos

I have heard people argue that there is no longer a need for a ‘special’ broadcasting service. That technology has opened up so many other avenues for people to source information, in-language, from overseas, that SBS’s in-language services have become redundant.

Quite the opposite is true. While choice may well be unlimited, it inevitably lacks an Australian content.  Where is the news and information about living and participating in Australia coming from? Who is telling the local stories in-language, talking about the issues affecting CALD communities here? Where do people go to learn more about Australia and what opportunities are available to them?

Digital technologies have fundamentally transformed the way in which we access information. Both the number of sources and the pace of information flow have vastly increased. Discrete satellite TV services for individual communities are easily accessed here. And the choice is only going to get greater.

The paradox of all of this choice for communities and recent arrivals in particular is that it gives people the excuse to retreat – to circle the wagons, particularly in times of racial and community tension.

SBS made it easy for communities in the 1970s and 1980s to participate in civic life here.  Indeed we were often their only source of in-language information apart from expensive phone calls home or week old news in the form of newspapers or letters from family.

It is vitally important that CALD communities today can engage with local issues, in-language; rather than solely engaging with news and views from overseas sources.

SBS’s expertise, particularly in radio, is to bring the professional standards of a national public broadcaster to issues relevant to diverse communities.

This includes national, professional news services and forums and discussions about international and Australian issues. SBS prides itself on inclusiveness and impartiality and unbiased discussions about policy and public issues.

If we seriously think the need for a multicultural and multilingual public broadcaster in Australia is diminished then we risk further marginalising the more than three million Australians who speak a language other then English at home.

We risk opening up digital ghettos – where despite the plethora of choice that digital technologies can bring  – local stories and an Australian perspective on the world are denied to CALD communities.

Research

Recent research conducted by SBS into attitudes in the Indian community in Sydney and Melbourne reinforces this view.

To help inform our decisions about future services, I have been conducting community consultations with some major language communities across Australia. We have backed this up with targeted research into several communities – including the Indian community in Sydney and Melbourne – to gauge their perceptions of the Australian community and the media in this country.

The findings were not surprising. Participants almost universally acknowledged the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne were playing on their minds. They said they felt less secure when they were out and about, particularly at night. They are more wary when they see strangers and when they’re on public transport.

This wariness has led to many behavioural changes as well. One female participant said that her husband calls her 10 times while she is on the train and another participant said they were worried about attending our focus group which was held after hours in Melbourne.

Most participants said they had experienced low level prejudice in Australia. Examples included being called names, jokes at their expense, stereotypes and condescension. But few said they had been physically threatened and many only knew of violence from hearing about it from other members of their community.

The recent attacks in Melbourne have undoubtedly changed the mindsets of the Indian community participants said. Since the attacks participants said they had become more conscious of their Indian ethnicity and felt a strong need to associate more with other Indians and less with Australians of different backgrounds — to circle the wagons if you like.

But most participants said they didn’t feel that the majority of Australians are racist and that the attacks and low level prejudice were the result of ‘a few bad apples’. They said most Australians are warm, friendly and welcoming and that they had never felt there was a problem in Australia until recently.

The reporting of the attacks in India and in Australia was not well received by the focus group participants. Many thought both Australian and Indian media were making the incidence of violence sound worse than it is.

Participants said the media coverage in India was ‘very biased’, ‘very tabloid’ and ‘very unfair’ when it came to Australia. Indian relatives had been in touch with participants questioning why they are living in such a ‘racist’ country.

Similarly, there were low levels of trust in the Australian media with many commentating that both the media coverage and Government and police responses were too defensive in tone.

I was pleased that SBS had a strong level of trust in these focus groups and that we were singled out as being different to mainstream media and in presenting both sides of the story.

Significantly, participants reported that around 80 per cent of their media consumption is from overseas with satellite television services prominent and growing. Having access to satellite was identified as a major aspiration for the Indian community.

Reflect on that for a moment.  Our research reinforced the view that if the only source of information about what is happening in Australia about a certain cultural community is from overseas; the opportunity for misinformation is very high.  So statements by the Australian Government or other Australian commentators on attacks on Indian students were being received by Indian Australians only through the filter of Indian media.  In some cases such comment or information was removed by that filter.

The upshot is that Indian communities do not need to engage with Australian media because they have access to many other sources of information. Furthermore, the fact that they lack respect or trust for most Australian media outlets means that they are disinclined to rely on them any way.

Community leaders express concerns about this state of affairs. They want their communities to understand and participate actively in Australian society. They acknowledge the risk that community members will miss out on many of the benefits of Australian society simply because they are unaware of them. They are concerned that views from India may give a distorted view, in this case reinforcing fears for personal safety and distrust of Australian institutions.

Many community members, while critical of slow government and police responses also acknowledged that they did not know much about positive steps being taken by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments because these were not reported in the Indian media.

Similar sentiments have been coming through from the two other language communities we conducted focus groups with – the Chinese and Arabic communities.

That research is still being finalised and will help us formulate our thinking about how SBS can better serve these large and influential language groups both now and in the future on television, radio and online.

One thing is clear though, the natural tendency for culturally and linguistically diverse communities to retreat inward (particularly when vulnerable or threatened) and the prolific nature of global communications will have profound implications for Australia’s multicultural communities.

In the future CALD communities may feel they don’t have to participate in Australian life because they can exist within their own communities. They will hear no Australian voice, no localised news and views, or information to help them settle in Australia.

And this at a time when Australia is getting more diverse, not less.

Migration patterns

We are currently experiencing the largest wave of migration in our history. Over the long term migration will continue to track upwards as our economy continues to grow.

Skilled migration in particular will increase as Australia attempts to address skills shortages and the effects of an ageing population. Treasury has predicted the Australian population will reach 35 million by 2049; a figure which cannot be reached solely through natural growth.

Overseas student visas have more than doubled since 2001 while the number of overseas students staying in Australia has more than tripled with India, China and Korea the top three countries of origin.

Based on current projections, SBS estimates that migrants will account for 31 per cent of the population by 2049 with first and second generations Australians making up almost 50 per cent of the population.

This brings into sharp relief the need to ensure that we do all we can to assist new arrivals, as well as established culturally and linguistically diverse communities, to participate in civic life and contribute to public discourse.

SBS was created in the 1970s to ensure that new arrivals to Australia could access, in-language, important information about Government services – health services in particular. Over time our remit has grown and we are now the most diverse broadcaster in the world, broadcasting in 68 languages on radio and more than 47 languages representing 136 cultures on television.

There is a very real need for SBS’s services to not only continue, but to grow. We need to harness the potential of new technologies to expand and deepen our range of services.

As migration increases SBS’s role in supporting settlement and engagement with Australia’s democratic institutions through multilingual and culturally relevant communications will be more critical than ever. We are constantly seeking ways to improve our service delivery and we are in regular dialogue with Government about how we achieve that.

Conclusion:

We must all recognise that there are barriers to ensuring that all Australians can play a part in the social, cultural and creative life of this country.

An inclusive and cohesive society cannot be left to chance. We must work to ensure we are meeting the needs of our diverse community and that those who choose to make Australia their home can truly achieve, belong and participate.

I am committed to working with Australia’s multicultural communities and the Government to ensure that SBS is delivering the types of services on a variety of platforms to meet the evolving needs of the Australian community.

After all, for the last 35 years SBS has existed to provide a connection to Australia for all Australians, wherever they are from. I look forward to ensuring we continue to do that for another 35 years.