Acting manager regional local radio James O'Brien said Fiona Wyllie's Statewide Afternoons program would be expanded by one hour.

The program is proposed to shift timeslots to air from 3pm to 6pm weekdays and replace the Sydney-based Statewide Drive program from early next year.

That will mean one more producer here.

It will be business as usual for other Port Macquarie-based programs.

Mr O'Brien said the ABC tried as much as possible to keep the job cuts in local radio to the capital cities.

"We decided the best thing for the audience is to have a regional afternoon show coming out of a regional centre," he said.

The ABC is consulting with the unions after ABC managing director Mark Scott announced the proposed changes to the public broadcaster this week.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull revealed the ABC would lose $254 million over five years, bringing its allocation to $5.2 billion over the same period.

Lyne MP Dr David Gillespie said every government department was taking a bit of a haircut so the federal government could get the budget back under control.

"The ABC and SBS aren't immune to savings," he said.

Dr Gillespie said a lot of people had an affection for the ABC but it had to be run efficiently otherwise taxpayers weren't getting value for money.

ABC Friends Mid North Coast Branch president Drusi Megget said proposal to expand the Statewide Afternoons program proved the ABC did value the regions.

But the federal government's cuts to the ABC were ill advised, she said, as the ABC was not there to make money but to fulfil its charter.

"It's an incredible resource for the whole community," Ms Megget said.

ABC Friends Mid North Coast Branch is in talks with GetUp about protest action.

The government says the efficiencies to the ABC and SBS budget represent a modest saving in comparison to the government's continued investment in national broadcasting.

* Drusi Megget is The Greens' candidate for Port Macquarie.