Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. Like the member for Wakefield, I bemoan the retreat of national media from regional areas, because maintaining a viable rural and regional press is vital to the social and economic wellbeing of local communities. In the digital age, however, the challenges for regional newspapers are considerable. These include the pervasive adoption of mobile devices and social media, resulting in a much broader array of media choices, and fierce competition for advertising dollars. Newspapers today must be innovative and adapt to these challenges. But they should also be supported by government policies that help to develop regional businesses and institutions, as the coalition is doing.

In my electorate of Bass we are fortunate to have The Examiner, the only seven-day-a-week newspaper outside of capital cities in the Fairfax stable. Around 60 kilometres away in Scottsdale, we also have the North-Eastern Advertiser, a locally owned, independent, Tasmanian regional weekly that is 106 years old. It is bucking the general media trend of the big cities, with growing circulation and increasing advertising revenue demonstrating how much local people value the coverage of local issues. I congratulate editor Neil Grose for reinvigorating the paper's fortunes.

But The Examiner, based in Launceston, is newsworthy in its own right. Having grown side by side with Tasmania during its 173 year existence, The Examiner is the oldest newspaper in Tasmania and the third-oldest continually operating in Australia. Its founding editorialist, the Reverend John West, was a strong advocate for the end of convict transportation. His writing in The Examiner and later in the Sydney Morning Herald, helped pave the way for Federation. The Examiner in 2015 continues to win international awards and punches above its weight when it comes to influencing the local and national conversation.

I also know from my personal association with The Examiner over the last 30 years or so how much pride it has in its connection to our community. We see this in every edition. Just last Friday The Examiner launched its annual Empty Stocking Appeal, Australia's oldest continuing public charitable campaign. The value that local people place on The Examiner is apparent in its high reader penetration. With the additional subscription options available today, 70 per cent of people in The Examiner's catchment area read the printed or online versions each day. That is because The Examiner's editorial focus is local news, which no other local media type can cover in as much detail.

Let me now turn to the economic viability of regional newspapers which, like The Examiner, have traditionally relied on print advertising and hard copy sales revenue. It is clear this has been eroded over time by new media. Many regional newspapers are no longer locally owned and are part of major media companies headquartered in the big cities. This has occurred for a number of reasons, including market share rules and networking technology, which enable resource sharing and operational efficiencies. Efficiencies have meant reduced staffing levels in many regional media organisations, including those imposed by Fairfax at The Examiner. As a private company, that is their right. In contrast, publicly funded media organisations like the ABC, with greater regional responsibilities than its commercial peers, have, sadly, mimicked the diversion of resources to the capital cities.

As I said earlier, new media and online advertising have transformed traditional revenue sources across the board, which in many cases has seen less local news being produced. Advertising has moved on and the fact is that traditional media channels no longer deliver the coverage they once did. Newspapers, both regional and metropolitan, are facing up to the challenges of the digital age and so must the government.

It is also worth reminding ourselves that, while government advertising in regional papers is needed to get messages out, the fact is that additional revenues from advertising are managed by head offices more often than not in capital cities far removed from Launceston and other regional centres. So we must be cautious in suggesting that government advertising alone is any sort of golden bullet that secures the future of regional media.

In conclusion, let me reaffirm that maintaining a viable rural and regional press is in the best interests of regional communities. In the digital age, newspapers today must be innovative and adaptive. Government policy should similarly acknowledge contemporary realities and encourage local ownership and a fair playing field.

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