Malcolm Turnbull takes a swipe at ‘left-leaning, inaccurate’ ABC

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken a hit at the ABC, claiming their “inaccurate” reporting is “disappointing” during an interview with 3AW on Friday morning.

During his chat with 3AW radio host Neil Mitchell, the Liberal leader made his opinion of the national broadcaster very clear, while also ensuring a privatisation is not on the cards.

“It will never be privatised under any government I lead,” he promptly replied to Mitchell’s question regarding the future of the broadcaster.

His comments come just days after Liberal members gathered at the party’s Federal Council in Sydney and voted to privatise the majority of the ABC, with the exception of regional areas.

The vote to sell was quickly knocked back by senior party members, who said the ABC would remain in government hands as long as they were in power. However, while he has no intention of selling the national broadcaster, Turnbull did lash out at its “disappointing” reporting record.

“I think some presenters and programs are biased more to the left but what I found disappointing in recent times is the quality of journalism and lack of accuracy,” he said. “The ABC’s got an obligation under its act for news and current affairs to be accurate and impartial.

“Obviously impartiality is in the eye of the beholder and people can have different views, but accuracy is different and I am concerned that there have been too many cases of simply inaccurate reporting. They really have to ensure that when they are putting out the news it is accurate and factual and when they make a mistake they promptly and prominently correct it.”

Read more: Liberals vote to privatise ABC, but Morrison says ‘no’

Despite Turnbull’s claims of bias, the ABC has consistency been voted Australia’s most trusted news source, with faith in its television and radio networks particularly high.

On Tuesday, ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie responded the the political drama surrounding the network and told the Melbourne Press Club that “far from being a drain on the public purse, the audience, community and economic value stemming from ABC activity [has] a real and tangible benefit”.

“What price do you put on public trust in an independent, commercial-free news organisation at a time of fragmentation and disruption?” she asked.

“What price do you put on an ABC devoted to serving the nation across its vast expanse and through a myriad of services, with quality and distinctiveness as a hallmark?”

The Labor Party didn’t hesitate to turn talk of the privatisation into an election issue, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten echoing the cry of the Mediscare campaign in a press conference on Sunday.

“Every time that the right wing of his party want to do something terrible towards the Australian way of life, in this case privatising the public broadcaster, Mr Turnbull says he won’t listen to them and every time that he says that he starts walking towards whatever the right wing of the party wants,” he said.

“If you love the ABC you’d be wise not to trust Mr Turnbull.”

The Labor leader followed his impassioned press stop with a tweet pointed at the Liberal Party saying, “the Australian people pay for the ABC. It’s theirs not yours.”

“I fund the ABC.”

The Australian people pay for the ABC. It’s theirs, not yours. https://t.co/l3iIDTnaGr

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) June 18, 2018

Have you been following the debate around the ABC? What are your thoughts?