Stephen Jones has today warned local football fans that they are set to become the latest victims of Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbulls lies.
Football is the most popular sport in the region and has been a nursery for national and international champions, including Socceroo stars Scott Chipperfield, Luke Wilkshere, Adam Federici and Mile Sterjovski.
SBS has enjoyed a proud, 35 year relationship with Australian football and enabled people from all walks of life to watch their cherished European Champions League and Socceroos games without purchasing expensive pay TV subscriptions.
Unfortunately for football-mad Wollongong and surrounding areas, this may all soon change. Speaking on SBS World News the night before the election, Tony Abbott promised:
No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to ABC or SBS.
TONY ABBOTT SBS WORLD NEWS 6 SEPTEMBER 2013
That was a lie. Since the election Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull have cut more than $500 million from the ABC and SBS.
Yesterday it was revealed that SBS is planning to cancel the broadcasting of A-League football matches and possibly even cancel their plans to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.
This is a shocking slap in the face to Australian football fans and is a direct consequence of Tony Abbott breaking his promise not to cut funds to SBS.
SBS is the spiritual home of football but Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull are intent on gutting the specialist broadcaster and the latest people who will pay for it are football fans.
Changes to free to air football coverage would be a backwards step and not go unnoticed by people in the community. The World Game attracts support from so many different segments of society, it is a unifying force that draws the nation together.
By taking an axe to SBS and effectively forcing the broadcaster to cut its coverage of football, Tony Abbott has demonstrated once again just how out of touch he is with community expectations.
Whenever the World Cup is screened Australians from a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds come together to cheer on the Socceroos. Sadly, the Abbott Governments cuts mean that from now on only those with Foxtel at home may be able to do so.
