Question: 135
Topic: Annual Report
Senator Birmingham asked:
If the SBS annual report has not yet been tabled, when will it be tabled and was any consideration given to having the annual report ready in advance of Supplementary Estimates as a courtesy?
Answer:
The SBS Annual Report has been tabled in Parliament and has also been placed on the SBS website www.sbs.com.au .
The Annual Report was tabled in accordance with the timeframes and guidelines required by the Australian Government.
Question: 136
Topic: Staff recruitment
Senator Birmingham asked:
How many permanent staff recruited since the budget estimates?
What level are these staff?
Answer:
Fifteen permanent staff have been recruited since 26 May 2008. They are employed on the following levels:
SBS2: 1
SBS3: 4
SBS4: 2
SBS5: 2
SBS6: 3
SBS7: 3
Question: 137
Topic: Staff recruitment
Senator Birmingham asked:
How many temporary positions exist or have been created since budget estimates?
Answer:
Fifty temporary positions have been created or existed since 26 May 2008.
Question: 138
Topic: Staff recruitment
Senator Birmingham asked:
Since budget estimates, how many employees have been employed on contract and what is the average length of their employment period?
Answer:
Since 26 May 2008, fifteen staff have been employed on contract, with an average length of employment period of 2.28 years.
Question: 139
Topic: Efficiency dividend
Senator Birmingham asked:
Have staffing numbers been reduced as a result of the efficiency dividend and/or other budget cuts?
If so, where and at what level?
Answer:
SBS is not subject to the efficiency dividend and has not had its budget cut.
Question: 140
Topic: Razor Gang
Senator Birmingham asked:
What discussions has the SBS had with the Razor Gang Mk II?
Has the Razor Gang indicated any cuts/savings to be made by the SBS?
Answer:
SBS has had no discussions with the Razor Gang and there have been no indications regarding cuts or savings.
Question: 141
Topic: Special accounts
Senator Birmingham asked:
What special accounts does the SBS currently hold? How much is in these accounts?
Does the SBS use the interest from these funds to fund ongoing operations?
Has the Razor Gang Mark II given any indication about the future of these special accounts?
Answer:
SBS holds no special accounts.
Question: 142
Topic: Expenditure
Senator Birmingham asked:
How many programs were underspent in 07/08 financial year?
What requests have been made to roll-over underspends to 2008/09?
Were these requests successful?
Answer:
No programs were underspent in the 2007/08 financial year.
Question: 143
Topic: Media monitoring
Senator Birmingham asked:
How much has been spent on media monitoring to date this year?
Answer:
SBS has a media monitoring contract with Media Monitors. SBS spends on average $11,500 per month on media monitoring.
Additionally, SBS spent $10,000 in 2007/08 on ethnic press monitoring. This amount is expected to increase to $16,000 in total for 2008/09 due to the introduction of an e-mail alert service.
Question: 144
Topic: Media monitoring
Senator Birmingham asked:
What communications programs has the SBS undertaken, or are planning to undertake?
For each program, what is the total spend?
Please detail date, location, purpose and cost of each event.
Answer:
SBS does not conduct specific public communications programs as an organisation; however, SBS periodically conducts community consultations about issues which affect the broadcaster.
In 2008 SBS released its Plans for the Future document which outlines a vision for SBS and its services up to 2013, the proposed digital switchover date.
A series of community consultations to discuss SBS’s plans have been held or are planned across Australia in 2008.
Specific costs for the consultations on the Plans for the Future are listed below. These include catering and room hire costs.
24/7/08 – Sydney – $444.00
6/8/08 – Brisbane – $1,456.06
20/8/08 – Melbourne – $391.00
29/10/08 – Perth – $286.00
30/10/08 – Adelaide – $690.00
Consultations are also planned for Darwin, Hobart and Canberra over the coming months.
Question: 145
Topic: FOI
Senator Birmingham asked:
Has the SBS received any advice on how to respond to FOI requests?
How many FOI requests has the SBS received?
How many have been granted or denied?
How many conclusive certificates have been issued in relation to FOI requests?
Answer:
SBS relies on guidelines issued by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Since 26 May 2008 SBS has not received any FOI applications.
Two applications received in April were determined in June. One application was refused; the other lapsed when the processing fee was not paid.
Question: 146
Topic: Reviews
Senator Birmingham asked:
How many Reviews are currently being undertaken in the SBS?
When will each of these reviews be concluded?
Which Reviews have been completed since Budget Estimates?
When will the Government be responding to the respective reviews that have been competed?
Answer:
On 16 October 2008 the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy announced a review into the role of public broadcasting in Australia.
The review will canvass the key issues facing the public broadcasters over the next decade.
SBS welcomes the public review and will be making a detailed submission to the Government.
Submissions into the review of public broadcasting are due to Government by 12 December 2008.
Further questions regarding the review and the Government’s response should be directed to the Minister.
Question: 148
Topic: Programming
Senator Birmingham asked:
What proportion of airtime on SBS TV is dedicated to programs in each of the following segments: news/current affairs, sport, comedy, documentaries, movies, drama and other?
Answer:
This information is available in the 2007-08 SBS Annual Report.
The table below gives a breakdown of SBS program hours by genre.
|
|
Local |
Imported |
|
|
||||||
|
Genre |
First Run |
Repeat |
Total |
% Local |
First Run |
Repeat |
Total |
% Imported |
Total |
% Total |
|
Animation |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0.1% |
2 |
18 |
20 |
0.4% |
22 |
0.3% |
|
Arts |
1 |
12 |
13 |
0.8% |
46 |
42 |
88 |
1.7% |
101 |
1.5% |
|
Comedy |
3 |
3 |
6 |
0.4% |
22 |
33 |
55 |
1.1% |
61 |
0.9% |
|
Current Affairs |
78 |
151 |
229 |
13.4% |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
229 |
3.3% |
|
Documentary |
84 |
279 |
363 |
21.3% |
429 |
377 |
806 |
15.7% |
1169 |
17.1% |
|
Drama |
19 |
13 |
32 |
1.9% |
118 |
168 |
286 |
5.6% |
318 |
4.6% |
|
Educational |
16 |
5 |
21 |
1.2% |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
21 |
0.3% |
|
Entertainment Series |
51 |
60 |
111 |
6.5% |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
111 |
1.6% |
|
Features |
5 |
8 |
13 |
0.8% |
350 |
493 |
843 |
16.4% |
856 |
12.5% |
|
News |
433 |
0 |
433 |
25.4% |
2477 |
0 |
2477 |
48.2% |
2910 |
42.5% |
|
Performance / Variety |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0.2% |
24 |
14 |
38 |
0.7% |
41 |
0.6% |
|
Short Films / Fillers |
10 |
39 |
49 |
2.9% |
39 |
12 |
51 |
1.0% |
100 |
1.5% |
|
Sport |
152 |
10 |
162 |
9.5% |
458 |
12 |
470 |
9.2% |
632 |
9.2% |
|
Other* |
271 |
0 |
271 |
15.9% |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
271 |
4.0% |
|
TOTAL |
1126 |
582 |
1708 |
100% |
3964 |
1169 |
5133 |
100% |
6842 |
100% |
Question: 149
Topic: Programming
Senator Birmingham asked:
How has the English language/non-English language component in each of these programming segments varied over the last ten years?
Answer:
SBS does not compile information on this basis.
Question: 150
Topic: Programming
Senator Birmingham asked:
What proportion of current English language programming would SBS consider is related to indigenous cultural issues?
Answer:
Under the SBS Charter, SBS’s principal function is to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia’s multicultural society. In performing this function, SBS must contribute to meeting the communication needs of Australia’s multicultural society, including ethnic, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
SBS Television broadcast a total of 82 ½ hours of programs with Indigenous Australian content in 2007/08.
This included 32 hours of first release programming such as Living Black (current affairs), The Circuit (drama), The Deadlys (arts), A Bit of Black Business (a series of interstitials), Who Do You Think You Are? (Cathy Freeman episode) and My Brother Vinnie (documentary).
In September-October 2008 SBS also broadcast the landmark seven-part documentary series First Australians, the first television series to chronicle the history of Aboriginal Australia since 1788.
SBS Radio produces and broadcasts the Aboriginal Program.
Three one-hour programs are broadcast each week in Sydney, Canberra, Wollongong and Melbourne and two one-hour programs are broadcast each week on SBS’s National Radio Network.
Question: 151
Topic: Radio
Senator Birmingham asked:
Of which language programs has spot monitoring for radio content taken place this year?
Answer:
The list of language programmes monitored in 2008 is below.
|
Month |
Programme |
|
January |
German |
|
February |
Hindi |
|
March |
African |
|
April |
World View |
|
May |
Greek |
|
June |
Italian |
|
July |
Burmese |
|
August |
Dari |
|
September |
Czech |
|
October |
Turkish |
|
November |
Swedish |
Question: 152
Topic: Radio
Senator Birmingham asked:
What, if any, breaches of editorial standards or other guidelines were identified?
Answer:
There were no breaches of the SBS Codes of Practice and Editorial Guidelines identified.
Question: 153
Topic: Radio
Senator Birmingham asked:
What spot monitoring is planned or forecast over the rest of the financial year?
Answer:
The list of language programmes scheduled to be monitored during the rest of 2008/09 is listed below.
|
Month |
Programme |
|
November |
Swedish |
|
December |
Slovak |
|
January 2009 |
Spanish |
|
February 2009 |
Tongan |
|
March 2009 |
Dutch |
|
April 2009 |
Punjabi |
|
May 2009 |
Filipino |
|
June 2009 |
Portuguese |
Question: 154
Topic: Community announcements
Senator Fierravanti-Wells asked:
Please provide details of what free to air time on both TV and radio that SBS dedicates to “community” announcements including, if possible, the frequency and nature of such announcements.
Answer:
The broadcast of Community Service Announcements (CSA) is guided by the SBS Codes of Practice and Editorial Guidelines.
SBS allocates a limited amount of free airtime on the Television and Radio schedules to community and charitable organisations for the broadcast of community information.
SBS will broadcast announcements and material on the basis that the public interest is being served. In the selection and placement of this material, SBS will take into account its role as a multicultural broadcaster, in particular its Charter duty to contribute to meeting the communications needs of Australia’s multicultural society, including ethnic and Indigenous communities. For more information on the criteria for broadcasting CSA’s please consult the SBS Codes of Practice.
The amount of CSA’s broadcast varies each week.
SBS Television will generally air 4-6 chosen organisations or causes each week, and attempt to broadcast at least 25 spots for each organisation or cause.
SBS Radio content is broadcast in-language, with some air-time devoted to community announcements. There is no formal tracking of the number of CSA’s on SBS Radio at the present time.
Question: 155
Topic: Radio
Senator Fierravanti-Wells asked:
What component of the SBS budget is currently allocated to radio programs?
Answer:
This information is available in the 2008/09 SBS Portfolio Budget Statements.
In an integrated broadcasting organisation such as SBS, it is difficult to separate and allocate the resources and costs of the organisation, specifically against program activity in the three main content streams of television, radio and online. Some costs and resources are shared by different parts of the organisation.
SBS estimates that in 2008/09, the direct cost of providing radio services will be $28.7 million.
Question: 156
Topic: Radio
Senator Fierravanti-Wells asked:
In relation to SBS Radio, please provide a weekly schedule of programs, including details of the nature of the programs for each of those time slots.
Answer:
This information is available in the 2007/08 SBS Annual Report and is also listed below:
AM – Sydney 1107 – Canberra 1440 – Wollongong 1485 & 1035
|
TIME |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
TIME |
|
12am–6am |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
Nightwatch (1hr) O/night progs |
O/night progs |
12am–6am |
|
6am |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
6am |
|
7am |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
7am |
|
8am |
Serbian |
Slovenian |
Croatian |
Croatian |
Serbian |
Croatian |
Slovenian |
8am |
|
9am |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
9am |
|
10am |
Cantonese |
Mandarin |
Cantonese |
Cantonese |
Mandarin |
Mandarin |
Cantonese |
10am |
|
11am |
Mandarin |
French |
Khmer |
French |
French |
Khmer |
Hebrew |
11am |
|
12pm |
Aboriginal |
Albanian |
Aboriginal |
Maori |
Lao |
Hungarian |
Yiddish |
12pm |
|
1pm |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
1pm |
|
2pm |
Hungarian |
Hungarian |
Hebrew |
Korean |
Cantonese |
Tongan |
Cook Is. Maori |
2pm |
|
3pm |
Croatian |
Serbian |
Yiddish |
Serbian |
Norwegian |
Fijian |
Korean |
3pm |
|
4pm |
Tongan |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Swedish |
French |
4pm |
|
5pm |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
Danish |
Kannada |
5pm |
|
6pm |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
6pm |
|
7pm |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
7pm |
|
8pm |
Cantonese |
Cantonese |
Mandarin |
Mandarin |
Cantonese |
Cantonese |
Mandarin |
8pm |
|
9pm |
Khmer |
Croatian |
Serbian |
Khmer |
Aboriginal |
French |
Samoan |
9pm |
|
10pm |
Lao |
Korean |
Somali |
Amharic |
Korean |
Malay |
Macedonian |
10pm |
|
11pm–12am |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
African |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
11pm |
FM – Sydney 99.7 – Canberra 105.5
|
TIME |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
TIME |
|
12am–6am |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
Alchemy (1hr) O/night progs |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
12am–6am |
|
6am |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
6am |
|
7am |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
7am |
|
8am |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
8am |
|
9am |
German |
German |
German |
Czech |
German |
Nepalese |
Hindi |
9am |
|
10am |
Dutch |
Filipino |
Dutch |
Filipino |
Filipino |
Dutch |
Urdu |
10am |
|
11am |
Russian |
Russian |
Filipino |
Portuguese |
Portuguese |
Portuguese |
Tamil |
11am |
|
12pm |
Maltese |
Maltese |
Hindi |
Maltese |
Armenian |
Maltese |
Sinhalese |
12pm |
|
1pm |
Spanish |
Spanish |
Spanish |
Spanish |
Spanish |
Spanish |
Spanish |
1pm |
|
2pm |
Bosnian |
Indonesian |
Burmese |
Gujarati |
Indonesian |
Persian-Farsi |
Ukrainian |
2pm |
|
3pm |
Hindi |
Turkish |
Turkish |
Turkish |
Turkish |
Turkish |
Turkish |
3pm |
|
4pm |
Bangla |
Ukrainian |
Latvian |
Ukrainian |
Dari |
Russian |
Russian |
4pm |
|
5pm |
Turkish |
Lithuanian |
Russian |
Estonian |
Maltese |
Latvian |
Finnish |
5pm |
|
6pm |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
Italian |
6pm |
|
7pm |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
Arabic |
7pm |
|
8pm |
Romanian |
Armenian |
Armenian |
German |
Assyrian |
Thai |
German |
8pm |
|
9pm |
Filipino |
Thai |
Portuguese |
Punjabi |
Dutch |
Filipino |
Czech |
9pm |
|
10pm |
Spanish |
Japanese |
Spanish |
Indonesian |
Spanish |
Kurdish |
Slovak |
10pm |
|
11pm–12am |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
Alchemy |
11pm |
Melbourne – AM 1224
|
TIME |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
TIME |
|
12am–6am |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
Nightwatch (1hr) O/night progs |
O/night progs |
12am–6am |
|
6am |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
O/night progs |
O/night progs |
6am |
|
7am |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
7am |
|
8am |
Serbian |
Slovenian |
Croatian |
Croatian |
Serbian |
Croatian |
Slovenian |
8am |
|
9am |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
9am |
|
10am |
Cantonese |
Mandarin |
Cantonese |
Cantonese |
Mandarin |
Mandarin |
Cantonese |
10am |
|
11am |
Mandarin |
French |
Khmer |
French |
French |
Khmer |
Hebrew |
11am |
|
12pm |
Aboriginal |
Albanian |
Aboriginal |
Maori |
Lao |
Hungarian |
Yiddish |
12pm |
|
1pm |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
Polish |
1pm |
|
2pm |
Hungarian |
Hungarian |
Hebrew |
Korean |
Cantonese |
Tongan |
Cook Is. Maori |
2pm |
|
3pm |
Croatian |
Serbian |
Yiddish |
Serbian |
Norwegian |
Fijian |
Korean |
3pm |
|
4pm |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Macedonian |
Swedish |
French |
4pm |
|
5pm |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
World View |
Danish |
Albanian |
5pm |
|
6pm |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
Greek |
6pm |
|
7pm |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
Vietnamese |
