The ABC asked me to pay more than $80,000 for the historical footage used in the doco, even though I’m never going to fully recover the six-figure sum I’ve spent on my film. This is for footage that has already been paid for by the Australian public.

The national broadcaster collects hundreds of minutes of unedited news footage per day, ranging from political speeches and interviews, to vignettes of metropolitan and rural life. Multiply that by decades and you get a sense of how rich this audiovisual history of our country really is.

But the ABC covets this historical material like Tolkien’s Golem, price gouging anyone who wants to use any of it. It’s telling that the business unit responsible for footage licensing is called ABC Commercial.

The ABC’s archive is “a national treasure belonging to the citizens of Australia who paid for its creation”, says Associate Professor Tony Moore, a media and communications academic at Monash University.

“The excessive access fees charged to students and scholars, and the high licence fees charged to independent documentary makers effectively locks this treasure away.”

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Today, the ABC charges up to $88 per second for the use of archival footage.

This leaves many documentary makers trying to squeeze money from Screen Australia, a government body, just to pay the ABC, another government body. Filmmakers who sell their work to the ABC often end up owing the national broadcaster money because archival fees typically exceed the amount paid for the film.

Australians say they’re hungry for more Australian stories – and there are many to tell. But the ABC makes it difficult to unearth the diverse voices governments say they want to hear more of. Archival fees for independent producers should be waived until the project at least achieves a healthy profit, and fees for academic research should be eliminated or significantly discounted, especially for postgraduate students.

I do have some empathy for the ABC. Like many government-funded institutions it has endured millions of dollars of cuts while being encouraged to make up the difference by commercialising. And to its credit, the Albanese government has provided additional funding. But the issues remain.

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I don’t believe our national history should be locked away behind a paywall, so I’ve built a streaming platform into my film’s website so Australians can watch How to Capture a Prime Minister for free. Hopefully, the national broadcaster won’t sue me for using their footage without paying.

Many filmmakers are afraid to speak out for fear of being blackballed. Or they are forced to give up. Screen Australia analysis suggests up to 61 per cent of Australian documentary directors don’t make a second film.

I’m inclined to join their ranks.

Gary Newman is a Melbourne-based filmmaker, journalist and communications specialist.

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