Greens welcome Senate’s rejection of SBS advertising bill

The Greens have welcomed the Senate's rejection of the Federal Government's SBS advertising bill, calling it the latest in a long line of assaults against Australia's public broadcasters.

The Greens, ALP and some crossbench MPs ensured the vote was rejected 31-28.

"Prime Minister Abbott promised no cuts to SBS or the ABC, but since coming to office they're done just that and tried to effectively blackmail SBS with the threat of increased advertising or harsher cuts," Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens communications spokesperson said today.

"The Senate has rejected the government's bid to commercialse our public broadcaster against community and industry wishes.

"People trust the ABC and SBS a lot more than the Abbott Government. The Greens strongly oppose the defunding or creeping commercialisation of a trusted and treasured public institution.

"We will continue to fight Abbott Government moves to weaken our public broadcasters and our national discourse," Senator Ludlam concluded.