The ABC does a good job but must live within its means, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.
Labor challenged the prime minister in parliament on Wednesday to restore $83 million cut from the national broadcaster's budget.
Acting managing director David Anderson told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday the ABC could not achieve the cuts without "major disruption".
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the ABC's services were vital, especially for those living in rural and regional Australia.
Mr Morrison said future growth funding for the ABC had been "adjusted", but $1 billion a year would continue to be spent on it.
"The ABC budget is going up, it's going up each and every year," he said.
"We believe the ABC should be run efficiently, run independently and it should do a great job for taxpayers - and I believe it does do a great job - but they have to live within their means."
Australian Associated Press
