Bridget McKenzie tells ABC to staff regions, not just breakfast television

A bill drafted by the senator in 2017 was reintroduced to Parliament last week, which would force the national broadcaster to have a greater focus on rural and regional areas.

Changes to the charter would ensure the ABC had a duty to spend taxpayer fund in rural areas and have two rural members on the board.

Communities would also have to be consulted before any cuts were made.

"We love the ABC out here in the regions," Senator McKenzie said.

"The ABC has spent a lot of money over the past 10 years on some great buildings, some new programming, to have a breakfast TV show - it's fabulous, it's up against Sunrise with Kochie and Mel and Today - but at the same time cutting rural and regional service provisions."

Asked if ABC Goulburn Murray had enough staff and resources, she said "I'd love to see more".

Her idea was to overcome bias and show regional Australia is not a second choice.

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"I thought how do I get the ABC to recognise that their No.1 customers are out here in rural and regional Australia where it's not often not commercial for broadcasters to run local news, current affair and weather services," Senator McKenzie said.

"It's a great place to raise a family, you can have rewarding and sustainable careers, play some sport and get a lot of fresh air.

"I think we need to see more people and I would have to liked to have seen the ABC really focus on and prioritise service provisions to the regions."

After WIN recently axed its Border news bulletin, the senator said television broadcasters needed to embrace technology to stay relevant.

"People aren't watching TV as much as they used to, that is reality," she said.

"We need other models and modes to actually get our stories out - using websites, live stream, Facebook.

"It's using a whole array of technologies to connect with local audiences and ensure that their stories are being told and heard in ways that they can access."