SBS

Before 1956, when security restrictions were lifted, broadcasting and the print media in languages other than English were strictly controlled and had limited content (see Press and Media and politics). This did not fit the new situation where many languages had come into use in Australia as a result of the post-war migration program. The introduction of television in 1956 and the expansion of radio frequencies increased the demand for minority language programs. The Galbally enquiry into migrant programs and services in 1978 consolidated this movement and built on the already-existing experimental radio stations 2EA and 3EA in Sydney and Melbourne; by 1980 Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) television broadcasting had begun. In 1984 there was an exhaustive review chaired by Xavier Connor QC. The threat of amalgamation with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was averted by the personal intervention of the prime minister, Bob Hawke, in 1986 after a protest meeting in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Since then the threat has rarely been repeated and governments of both persuasions seem happy to leave SBS alone.