With the Prime Minister kicking off the unofficial campaign for the 2025 Federal Election this week, the Greens are calling for the ABC to be declared the official host of the leaders' debate and for the Greens' leader to be included in the leaders' debates.
Greens acting leader and spokesperson for communications Senator Sarah Hanson-Young urged the Prime Minister to name the ABC as the official leaders' debate host and commit to legislating the policy to 'Dutton-proof' it.
"When parliament returns in February, the Greens will move for the ABC to be designated as the official host of the Federal Election leaders' debate," Senator Hanson-Young said.
"This is a simple and common-sense proposition; our national broadcaster should be the home of our national election debates.
"When it comes to our democracy and a fair and balanced leaders' debate, we can't leave it to the Murdoch Media.
"Voters deserve to be able to watch the debate for free on TV and online and for it to be moderated by the most trusted media outlet in the country.
"Unlike the commercial networks, the ABC is governed by a charter that demands that it act independently and with the best interests of the Australian people in mind.
"Election debates should be about providing information to Australian voters, not about securing ratings for billionaire media moguls.
"At the last election, we saw a sitting prime minister refuse to appear in a debate on the national broadcaster and instead participate in debates that were behind paywalls or on commercial networks.
"Australians pride ourselves on our free and fair elections. As we see the erosion of democratic institutions around the world, making the ABC our national election host broadcaster is an important step in preventing the wider spread of misinformation.
"Given neither major party looks able to win a majority, it is more important than ever that the Greens are included in the leaders debate because it will be the Greens holding both Labor and Liberals to account."
