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Across the world, publicly funded media institutions are being forced to confront whether advocacy, even under the banner of inclusion or justice, has blurred the line between reporting and activism.
Those concerns extend to questions of independence that should be asked about Australia’s publicly funded national broadcaster, the ABC.
The ABC, for instance, is proudly listed as a “platinum-level employer partner” in AIDS Council of NSW’s (ACON) commercial program the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI), which sells “inclusion benchmarking” to corporations and agencies who want to prove their LGBTQ+ credentials.
That means the national broadcaster, charged under law with remaining independent and impartial, is simultaneously being ranked, trained and publicly rewarded by an activist organisation that promotes a very specific ideology about gender and sexuality.
It’s an astonishing conflict of interest.
ACON’s annual reports state that the major source of its funding is a grant from the NSW Ministry of Health, and commentary suggests that a large majority of its $28 million dollar annual income comes from government sources (that is you the taxpayer).
Gone are the days when ACON’s mission was simply to reduce HIV transmission or support men living with AIDS. Today, its website brims with “gender-affirming” resources for schools, health services and workplaces. Its training materials promote contested ideas about sex and identity as settled fact, and its Pride in Diversity arm rewards institutions that adopt them.
This is not a neutral health initiative. It is social engineering, delivered through bureaucratic pathways, well-intentioned HR departments and compliant public agencies.
The ABC insists that its partnership with ACON’s inclusion programs doesn’t affect editorial coverage. Yet perception matters. When the broadcaster routinely avoids or sanitises debate on issues such as the safety of puberty blockers, the Cass Review in the UK, or the rights of women in sport, it’s hard not to wonder whether internal culture and external affiliations play a part.
A 2024 open letter signed by feminist and gay-rights groups called on ABC Chair Kim Williams to review the ACON relationship, arguing that it compromised public trust. The corporation’s response was to downplay the issue. But this is not a minor administrative matter – it goes to the very core of what an independent media organisation is meant to uphold.
Imagine if the ABC paid a conservative religious organisation to assess its “family values” inclusion score. The outrage would be immediate. Yet when the ideological direction runs the other way, silence prevails.
ACON’s reach extends far beyond the ABC. Its programs operate within the Department of Education and other government agencies, police forces and major corporations. To achieve “gold” or “platinum” status, organisations pay annual fees (about $12,000 for principal partners) and adopt recommended policies and training modules – effectively outsourcing internal culture to a political lobby group.
The ABC was built to serve the Australian people, not a political cause. It’s time for the national broadcaster, and every government-funded body under ACON’s umbrella, to remember that distinction.
Source: ACON: Activist group influences ABC and other public institutions