ABC chair Kim Williams says 'no doubt' Peter Dutton would review ABC funding if elected

ABC chair Kim Williams says he has no doubt the national broadcaster will "perform well" in any funding review ordered by the Coalition, should it win the federal election.

Mr Williams addressed the Melbourne Press Club a day after federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton warned he would scrutinise the ABC's budget if elected, as part of a bid to cut "wasteful government spending".

Mr Dutton said a government led by him would "reward excellence" and "cut waste" at the national broadcaster.

Mr Williams said he had "no doubt" Mr Dutton would initiate an efficiency review of the ABC if he were to win government.

"Game on," Mr Williams said.

"The ABC is an accountable institution, and I have no doubt it will perform well in any such review."

Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday, Mr Dutton said if the ABC was "being run efficiently" then funding would be kept in place, but if not, taxpayers would not expect the Coalition to "support the waste".

He backed up those comments on Thursday morning, again promising to scrutinise "waste" at the public broadcaster.

"Australians are working harder than ever, and when they pay their taxes, they want the government to spend the money wisely," he told radio station 2GB.

He also raised concerns about the ABC's impartiality.

"I think there are some [ABC journalists] who are, frankly, just partisan players and people see that on the TV screens every night. And, again, the ABC is using taxpayers' money, so use it wisely," Mr Dutton said.

'Heck of a lot of feedback' part of the job, chair says

When asked about Mr Dutton's comments, Mr Williams noted the "numerous" inquiries into ABC funding since the 1990s.

"Of course, one person's 'efficiency' is another person's 'extravagance'," Mr Williams said.

He did not specifically call for an increase in ABC funding, but said the national broadcaster's funding "remains extremely low by historical standards".

"In real terms it is more than $150 million per annum less than it was in 2013," he said.

"In the year 2000, funding for the ABC comprised 0.31 per cent of Commonwealth outlays. Today that is around 0.12 per cent, and we are called upon to do much more with it."

He said the ABC performed "as well as we can with the allocations provided".

Mr Williams would not "confirm or deny" whether he had sought multiple face-to-face meetings with Mr Dutton.

"I do not comment publicly on meetings that I have with politicians of a rich diversity of character," he said.

Mr Williams became emotional when reading out a message from an audience member thanking the ABC for its coverage of Cyclone Alfred.

He paused to compose himself, reflecting on the significance of it, before adding he received a "heck of a lot of feedback" in his job and most of it was "emotionally unhinged".

His tears drew a small round of applause from the audience and he later apologised for being "a sook", but again became emotional when paying credit to the ABC's dedication to communities.

Mr Williams also said the ABC had "lost the plot" in some areas, including its "underperformance in documentaries", which he described as "deeply alarming".

Williams 'learned a lot about pile-ons' in Joe Rogan controversy

The ABC chair was also asked for his reflections on the backlash that followed  comments he made last year about US podcaster Joe Rogan, who he said "preyed on people's vulnerabilities" in a way which was "deeply repulsive".

Mr Williams said he "learned a lot about pile-ons" after making what he described as "modest" comments about Rogan.

He said "within minutes", every device he owned "was consumed with tens of thousands of messages", which "took over" his life.

"I cannot begin to describe to you how vile many of these messages were, and how violent so many of them were," he said.

He said it was ironic the messages were "meant to be in the service of free speech", but he had found it an "educational" and "instructive experience", despite being "immensely inconvenient" as it "paralysed" his phone and devices.

"I did find … with the messages from Kanye West and Mr Musk, who [encouraged people to directly message me] sharing their "wisdom", I did at times surrender to a pretty white-hot fury," the ABC chair said.

ABC chair takes aim at Trump, Musk and Bezos

In his speech to the Melbourne Press Club, Mr Williams referenced US President Donald Trump's attacks on media freedom.

The ABC chair declared there was "no freedom without media freedom" as he cited Mr Trump's attempts to "silence" media organisations that he felt gave him unfavourable coverage.

"If we live in a world where the truth is whatever those in power say it is … we can call Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator. Call his countrymen Nazis. And call his nation 'part of Russia'," Mr Williams said.

Mr Williams also took aim at billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos over what he called their "interference" with a free press.

"Jeff Bezos's behaviour is increasingly appalling. Preventing a presidential election editorial. Effectively censoring the op ed page. Paying $40 million to the president's wife for a documentary series," he said.

He also referenced Mr Musk's overt attempts to influence election results in the United States and overseas.

"This is a world in which democratic elections cannot automatically be assumed to be free of foreign interference," he said.

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