Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Australian Broadcasting Commission officially came into existence on the 1st of July 1932 through an Act of Federal Parliament. This entity replaced the private Australian Broadcasting Company which had been established in 1924 to supply programming for Class A radio stations.
The Chifley government decided in 1949 that the broadcaster would be funded directly by taxpayer money instead of listener fees. Listener fees remained in place until the 18th of September 1974 when they were abolished by the Whitlam Labor government.
Television broadcasting began on the 5th of November 1956 when ABN-2 in Sydney opened under Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Colour television became permanent in 1975 and ABC Online launched on the 14th of August 1995.
Richard Downing and Ken Myer publicly endorsed the Australian Labor Party at the 1972 election while Sir Henry Bland and David Hill maintained close ties to Neville Wran. Donald McDonald was considered a friend of John Howard and the Howard government made controversial appointments including Janet Albrechtsen from 2003.
On the 5th of September 2025, the Federal Court ruled that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation unlawfully terminated journalist Antoinette Lattouf. Justice Darryl Rangiah ordered compensation totaling $220,000 and criticized the broadcaster for surrendering independence to external pressure.