The Australian government has ended its $84 million (US$59.4 million), three-year funding freeze of the country’s two public broadcasters in the run-up to the next federal election. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher made the surprise announcement on Feb. 7, which will unlock $4.2 billion (US$2.8 billion) of extra funding until 2025. Fletcher, however, cautioned the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to “avoid either reality or the perception of political bias.” “Having high expectations of how the ABC services all Australians—those in the inner city, those in the outer suburbs, those in regional and remote Australia—that is not attacking the ABC,” he told ABC radio on Feb. 7. “It’s very important that the ABC itself is scrupulously objective and impartial.” Fletcher also did not guarantee that the government would not reassess the funding if it won the next election—which is due before May 2022. “What I can commit to is the funding we’ve …