Hitting back at critics:ABC chairman Justin Milne pictured with managing director Michelle Guthrie.

Hitting back at critics:ABC chairman Justin Milne pictured with managing director Michelle Guthrie.Credit:AAP

And he directly rebuked commercial outlets - including News Corp and Fairfax Media,publisher ofThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age - that have questioned why the ABC should receive public money to duplicate digital news services they provide.

"Of course,when you unpack this argument - even a little - it is revealed as simplistic,facile and entirely self-serving,"Mr Milne told the American Chamber of Commerce lunch in Sydney.

Illustration:Matt Golding

Illustration:Matt Golding

"Let's be clear:if the ABC were barred from serving audiences on digital platforms,it would wither away and cease to exist."

He noted"linear broadcast audiences are in steady decline",as global audiences turn to on-demand services and people spend more time online than watching traditional television.

"The crossover point has been reached,so modernising the ABC has become a matter of urgency,"Mr Milne said.

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"Within a generation,a majority of Australians will no longer use broadcast platforms at all."

This will mean there will come a day when"linear platforms are switched off for good",Mr Milne said. As the need for broadcast spectrum decreases,it will be auctioned off to telecommunications firms for other purposes - and at least part of the proceeds should be invested in"modern digital media platforms for the public",Mr Milne said.

"As we enter a digital age,Australia must decide whether it wants an ABC fit for the future,and if so,what investments the nation is willing to make to achieve that,"he said.

The bold speech comes as retired economist Robert Kerr finalises a review into whether the public broadcasters,including SBS,comply with the principles of"competitive neutrality"- ensuring they do not enjoy an unfair advantage over commercial rivals on account of being publicly funded.

The ABCtold the inquiry it followed the rules and that its online news operation actually"enhances competition and innovation". However,Fairfax Media contended the ABC undermined commercial news media and produced"clickbait"that was"neither high quality nor distinctive".

Mr Milne used Wednesday's speech to dismiss"the sniping of commercial foes and partisans",which he said had been ongoing throughout the ABC's nearly 90-year history. He acknowledged ABC staff"can and do make mistakes",but the vast majority of the time they were"spectacularly successful".

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has lodged at least six complaints about ABC content this year,and in June the Liberal Party's federal council voted in favour of privatising the broadcaster.

The heightened tension has prompted the Labor opposition to campaign to"save"the ABC from a further $83.7 million funding cut,in the form of a three-year freeze,announced in the May budget.

The ABC is exempt from a cross-government efficiency dividend but now faces another efficiency review,to be headed by former Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh and former Australian Communications and Media Authority acting chairman Richard Bean.

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