ABC not alone in government scrutiny

As the ABC feels the heat of scrutiny from the Abbott government, Britain's BBC is also under the spotlight.

Shadow Minister for Agriculture Joel Fitzgibbon

Shadow Minister for Agriculture Joel Fitzgibbon Source: AAP

If the national broadcaster feels it is being unfairly scrutinised by the Abbott government, it is not alone.

As the ABC continues to feel the ramifications of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's objection to allowing his ministers on its weekly current affairs program, Q&A, Britain's BBC is also under the spotlight by the Cameron government.

The British government has appointed an expert panel to oversee a root and branch review of the BBC as part of the process for renewing the broadcaster's royal charter.

The UK Sunday Times reported that a government green paper due to be published this week will ask fundamental questions about the BBC's role, while suggesting its website be scaled back and question whether the corporation's news fulfils its obligation to be impartial.

At home, federal Labor has accused the government of censoring the ABC over a bid to have the Q&A show moved to a separate division.

Mr Abbott has indicated he'll lift a boycott on his frontbenchers once the broadcaster's news and current affairs division takes responsibility over it.

"This is the greatest attack on the independence of the public broadcaster in its history," Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon told ABC TV on Sunday.

Senior government minister Andrew Robb said there were many elements of the ABC that the coalition supports outside of its current affairs news.

But he described Q&A as a forum for the so-called progressive elements of the community and week after week the issues it covered were from the left.

"I think most people in the community are in fact aware of that and make an allowance for it," he told Sky News.

Former Liberal leader John Hewson believes the ABC has badly handled the issue of former terror suspect Zaky Mallah appearing on Q&A last month, but he is not somebody who favours making bans like this.

"I think you get few opportunities in politics to get your message across, and Q&A is one of them," he told ABC TV.

"We can debate whether it is biased or not. All that is largely irrelevant, quite frankly."

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull will not be appearing on the program on Monday as previously planned, but will instead appear on another current affairs program, ABC's 7.30, a few hours earlier.


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Source: AAP


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