And local radio is vital to our planning. But that optimism must be tempered with realism. We are concerned about funds. The ABC has taken a battering from Government. But the ABC is not short of talent or creativity.
Good ideas have their own momentum.
And we will need every bit of that momentum to compete. Our audiences, as we know from our daily communications, appreciate that the ABC provides them with distinctive services - services which are not offered by the commercial sector. However, we are constrained in our ability to fund the innovations we need to keep pace with the rest of the industry. While we now have a secure first instalment of special funding for our digital conversion programming from Government, this is just the beginning. We may also be constrained if this, or any Government, seeks to curtail our editorial brief - limiting our ability to interpret a clear public broadcasting mandate in this new digital age.