It is an issue that is both immediate and critical as the Abbott government is reviewing the future of the Australia Network, a television channel funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and provided under contract by the ABC. The channel, which broadcasts principally across Asia, accounts for the greater part of DFAT’s soft diplomacy budget, and some have argued that it does not achieve its specified objectives.

Malcolm Turnbull suggests that it should be replaced by streaming an international version of ABC News 24, but there are rights issues associated with material brought into that channel under deals which proscribe re-broadcast externally.

Defenders of the channel, such as Lynley Marshall, chief executive of ABC International, believe it is doing a sound job on a small budget. Her responsibilities include Radio Australia, a worldwide radio network, and Australia Plus — a fast-growing on-line service. She believes that the Australia Network, far from being a drain on the taxpayer, is delivering substantial value. She cities, for example, the Learn English segment which outranks competition from the BBC, and the relations she has established with regional media companies in China and Indonesia, to name but two.