Katoomba’s Winter Magic Festival drew a sea of humanity to the Blue Mountains on Saturday — and ABC Friends was there.
For most of the day, crowds filled the streets, and our stall was a natural gathering point for people wanting to talk about the ABC. But this year felt different. In all our years at Winter Magic, we’ve rarely seen such sustained, spontaneous engagement from festival-goers.
The catalyst was clear: Pauline Hanson’s address to the National Press Club, in which she called for the ABC to be placed behind a paywall. People came to us unprompted, wanting to share their concern, their frustration, and their support for a free and independent ABC.
It’s a reminder of something we know but sometimes take for granted: Australians care deeply about their ABC. They don’t want to see it commercialised, defunded, or locked behind a subscription. They want it to remain what it has always been — a fearless, independent ABC that is free for all Australians.
One Nation’s proposal would make the ABC unaffordable for many of the people who need it most. In tough economic times, the ABC is often the only free, ad-free source of trusted news, emergency information, and quality Australian content that families can rely on.
The conversations we had in Katoomba on Saturday are exactly why we do this work. The support is out there — and it’s growing.
Already over 10,000 people have signed our call to ‘Keep the ABC free for all Australians’. Are you one of them?
A fearless, independent ABC that is free for all Australians is worth fighting for — but that freedom is under threat. Sign our petition to reject calls to defund the ABC and force it onto a subscription model that would price out the Australians who need it most.