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ABC managing director David Anderson says the broadcaster should get a slice of revenue from Facebook and Google.Credit:Sean Davey

The push for the code,now being developed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,has come mainly from commercial media organisations whose advertising revenue has collapsed,scooped up by the tech giants.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday,Mr Anderson said it would be"entirely appropriate"for the public broadcaster to receive revenue from digital platforms in return for the value it is providing to Australian people.

He said the funds"should come to the ABC to be reinvested in public interest journalism"and fund the organisation's five-year strategy,which is focused on local content.

"I certainly accept that it's difficult times for commercial operators. They are doing it tough,they are relying on a revenue stream which is falling and falling dramatically,"he said.

"I think the ABC performs a different role. And while others will retreat from the regions and retreat from being local,that's why this strategy is about being more local."

He said the ABC sought to bring in commercial revenue wherever possible but it was currently not an enormous amount and a mandatory bargaining code with Facebook and Google"might change that".

Nine,owner of this masthead,has nominated $600 million as the amount Facebook and Google should pay into a fund every year to be distributed to media companies. Former crossbench senator Nick Xenophon,who advocated for the ACCC's landmark digital platforms inquiry,has nominated $1 billion.

Facebooktook in $674 million in advertising revenue in Australia last year, recording double-digit growth.Google recorded $4.3 billion.

Facebook has threatened to reduce the availability of news on its platform in Australia if a code is enforced,denying that it derives significant value from having news stories shared on its platform.

Google Australia boss Melanie Silva hasdownplayed the value of news on its platform,saying news publishers were making"inaccurate"and"unfounded"claims.

ACCC chair Rod Sims has said he wants to see the ABC involved in revenue-sharing under the code but Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has indicated the focus should be on commercial outlets who have lost advertising revenue.

The Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age recently revealed the ABC and SBS were advocating for involvement in the code. Mr Anderson's comments on Wednesday are the first time anyone from the national broadcaster has publicly made the case.

At the Press Club on Wednesday,Mr Anderson said the ABC wanted to move to five-year government funding cycles to"take the ABC out of the politics of the three-year federal electoral cycle and further safeguard its independence".

He said he had directly lobbied Mr Fletcher to shift from the current three-year cycle and hoped the idea was being considered.

Under the current funding cycle,the ABC is subject to an indexation freeze that will cost it $84 million. Last month,the broadcaster announced a range of cuts,including 250 job losses and the end of the 7.45am radio news bulletin.

The broadcaster will receive $3.2 billion from the government in the current funding period:$1.062 billion in 2019-20,$1.065 billion in 2020-21 and $1.071 billion in 2021-22.

The indexation freeze follows hundreds of millions of dollars worth of accumulated cuts that began with the 2014 federal budget.

Mr Anderson said the indexation freeze had triggered"tough choices"that would have an immediate impact on valued services.

"The changes we announced are necessary,given our circumstances,if we are to ensure that the ABC’s operations are sustainable for the years ahead,"he said.

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