Gov criticised for ABC changes criticism

Malcolm Turnbull accepts the ABC's claim it is not cutting staff or local content as it changes programming in regional areas.

But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten isn't so sure, taking aim at the federal government for agreeing to budget cut-backs.

The public broadcaster insists there won't be job losses as its Mornings program is folded into a longer version of Breakfast with a new features show to follow.

"We're not giving one minute of air time back to metro from regional because we have to accept that we have different audiences in different parts of the country," regional division head Fiona Reynolds told ABC radio.

The prime minister accepted that, saying he has no reason to doubt there won't be reduction in local content.

Mr Turnbull even joked he couldn't believe the Tasmanian ABC program host Leon Compton was suggesting his esteemed employer could be misleading people.

"How can you live with yourself working for a company that you're so sceptical about? Must be a life of torment you go through," he joked.

But Mr Shorten took aim at the "audacious" government, saying MPs were complaining now, despite voting for ABC funding cuts in the last two budgets.

"Before the last election the Liberal and National parties promised there'd be no cuts to the ABC, since then they've folded their arms and whistled whilst $250 million has been cut from public broadcasting," he told reporters in Melbourne.

Nationals MPs aren't happy about the news, with leader Warren Truss warning there was not a "high level of trust" in regional Australia that the broadcaster won't cut local content.

"I still have very vigorously in my memory the time when the Howard and Anderson government provided $50 million to the ABC to improve services in regional communities and they used some of that money to close studios," he told ABC radio.

Mr Truss said regional MPs were briefed on changes only a few months ago but they were "left out of the loop" about the decision.

Liberal MP Ewen Jones said the Morning program in his region of North Queensland was not just about politics.

"I'm not a great fan of Paula (Tapiolas)'s because she beats the living daylights out of me, and I don't get a great run on the show, but it's not just about Ewen Jones," he said.

"It's about the north, it's about our region."