Last night, I experienced a personal career highlight that I would like to share with the House. As a politician I am afforded the incredible opportunity of meeting many interesting, passionate and important people, but last night I had the great privilege of meeting two of Australia's brightest stars. I got to meet Bluey and Bingo. And I've got the pics to prove it, thanks to the ABC for putting on last night's Parliamentary Showcase.
The ABC is one of Australia's most trusted brands. For almost a century, the ABC has entertained us, fostered home-grown talent and informed us of important local, national and world events. The ABC is who Australians turn to in a time of crisis—during floods, bushfires, the COVID pandemic, droughts, wars and cyclones. Australians know they can turn to the public broadcaster for accurate and up-to-date information, information that can and has saved lives and averted tragedy.
The ABC continues this long tradition today, despite a decade of attacks, political interference and cuts from the coalition. But Labor understands and appreciates the crucial role that the ABC plays in Australian life. That's why, in its first budget, Labor delivered on its election promise to better fund our public broadcasters. We will deliver five-year funding terms from next year, safeguarding the independence of both the ABC and SBS and support their long-term strategic planning and innovation in high-quality content provision and service delivery across Australia.
In the budget, the Albanese Labor government confirmed that we will also return indexation to the ABC, providing it with $83.7 million. This will reinstate the funding that was cut by the previous government, from 2019 to 2022, which caused the loss of so many jobs. We will also fund a feasibility study into the expansion of Double J radio, which will look at ways to help great Aussie artists reach more ears, particularly in regional Australia.
The ABC has such an important role in many aspects of Australian life. It tells our stories. It fosters our talent. We all remember watching ABC programs such as Play School growing up, and now our children love programs such as Bluey. As an independent broadcaster, it plays an incredibly important role in our democracy and in providing quality journalism for Australians. So I'm proud that Labor is taking these steps to support it.
