ABC to have full coverage of Federal Election Results on 14 September

For most people, the above headline may sound like an assertion of the obvious.

However, in the discussion over recent weeks as to whether television networks will host their election coverages from the National Tally Room, some people have become confused and thought that if the ABC does not attend the National Tally Room, then the ABC will not be doing a coverage of the results.

This is not correct. The ABC will have its usual full coverage of the results from 6pm on 14 September, including me, Kerry O’Brien and other ABC hosts, as well as a panel of party politicians. There will be electorate results, graphics, calls of the board and live crosses including the victory and concession speeches.

In short, everything you would expect from an election coverage.

The National Tally Room is arranged and run by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Already the commercial television networks have announced they will not be attending the tally room. At this stage the ABC is close to announcing officially whether it will host from the National Tally Room or not, with the likelihood it will host from elsewhere.

What the AEC chooses to do with the National Tally Room if the television networks including the ABC do not attend is a matter entirely for the AEC. The AEC proposed to get rid of the National Tally Room after the 2004 election, but withdrew the proposal when both the commercial networks and federal politicians requested it be continued.

Whatever happens, the ABC will be providing a full coverage of the 14 September election results, whether there is a tally room or not.

You can read an article I wroteb three years vago on the future of the National Tally Room via this link.