We have all relied on the ABC particularly with the recent bushfires and Covid-19 pandemic. But is the ABC now facing a serious crisis? There have been significant budget cuts and a 1,000 staff have left over the past five years; the AFP raids raise questions about press freedom; and there are influential voices arguing for the privatisation of the ABC.

What are the implications for democracy?  It can be said that in an era of fake news, the ABC is a trusted source of impartial and objective news and it plays a vital role in investigative journalism - holding power to account (think Four Corners). Is our democracy damaged by the ABC budget cuts and would it be compromised by privatisation of the ABC?

Professor Ed Davis is Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at Macquarie University. He is an economist who specialised in industrial relations. He is National Vice President and NSW President of ABC Friends. He is passionately committed to the pursuit of well-funded and independent public broadcasting. In 2006 he was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia.