ABC – you need to be in Liverpool: Mayor

Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller has welcomed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s announcement that 300 staff will relocate from Ultimo to Parramatta by 2024, but has urged the national broadcaster to go one step further and return to Liverpool permanently after the wildly successful pop-up news room in the capital of Sydney’s South West.

“ABC’s coverage of Liverpool during the pop-up news room in March attracted the interest of millions of people," Mayor Waller said. “I am in favour of the ABC adding more texture to its audience, but there is much more to Western Sydney than Parramatta,” Mayor Waller said.

“ABC Chair Ita Buttrose said it herself today - the ABC pop-up news room uncovered wonderful stories and they want more.

“Ita was particularly moved by a feature on the stories of immigrants in Liverpool. It attracted 350,000 page impressions.

“And that was just the start – the ABC discovered what we already know – Liverpool is a place with a heart, history and future.

“You can’t capture that from Ultimo or Parramatta.”

The engagement results of the month-long pop-up news room include:

Radio Sydney producing 21 segments across breakfast, drive and afternoons in addition to the three outside broadcasts – Richard Glover’s award-wining TGIF! Variety program and two Focus broadcasts by Cassie McCullagh at Liverpool City Library;The flagship 7pm TV news broadcast 13 Liverpool packages across the month (with an average audience of 180,000) including stories on the future Western Sydney International Airport and Aerotropolis;Twelve Liverpool digital feature stories on the NSW ABC homepage delivered more than 700,000 page views and 1.5 million engaged minutes;Additional content on the Aerotropolis delivered 700,000 views;The Liverpool social media takeover drove 300 per cent more new followers on the ABC’s Facebook page than the month prior, with a snapshot showing high take-up in South West Sydney.

Mayor Waller said Council could offer 700 sq m of office space to accommodate 50-75 ABC staff quickly.