Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the members who have contributed to this debate on the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017 and the Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017, which contain a number of key elements of the government's broadcasting and content reform package. It is a particular pleasure to follow, in this debate, the member for Banks, who, of course, is a former senior executive in the media and broadcasting sectors and indeed in the online and technology sector. He brings particular perspectives and expertise to this debate.

The government is committed to ensuring that Australia has a viable media sector and that diversity continues to thrive in our cities and in our regions. Together, the bills before the House this morning will abolish broadcasting licence fees and datacasting charges and introduce a new spectrum tax. They will also remove regulatory barriers and burdens that achieve little from a public policy perspective and undermine the sustainability of Australian media organisations. At the same time, the measures will ensure that independent sources of news, current affairs and similar programming continue to be available to all Australians, particularly those in regional areas.

This package has the unanimous support of all sectors of the media industry and they consider it to be vital to their longevity and viability. It is the Turnbull government's firm view that the proposed measures be considered as a whole to enable Australia's media industry to compete in an increasingly fragmented and global media environment.

Ultimately, the reforms contained in these bills strike the right balance between community concerns, public policy imperatives and industry interests. Outdated broadcasting licence fees will be abolished and replaced with a more sensible spectrum tax that recognises the value of what is, at the end of the day, a public resource. Ineffective and constricting media control and ownership rules will be repealed but with important protections put in place for the provision of local content. The antisiphoning scheme and list will be updated and rationalised while ensuring that iconic and nationally significant sporting events continue to be freely available to Australian audiences.

The 75 per cent audience reach rule is antiquated and redundant in a digital media environment. It restricts commercial television broadcasters from optimising the scale of their operations and does nothing in a practical sense to support media diversity. The two-out-of-three rule, which prevents a person from controlling more than two of the three regulated media platforms—commercial television, commercial radio and associated newspapers—also does little to support diversity in a contemporary environment. The rule was developed prior to the era of smartphones, social media and streaming services. It restricts traditional media companies from optimising the scale and scope of their operations and from accessing capital and management expertise in other media sectors, while their competitors, operating mostly online, face no such restrictions. The government rejects concerns that removal of the two-out-of-three rule will reduce media diversity.

The government certainly agrees that, in any healthy democracy, a wide range of perspectives and voices are necessary to inform public discussion and debate. However, it is important to recognise that the government is not seeking to change media regulation in a way that would jeopardise media diversity. In fact, in action by this parliament on these antiquated rules represents the greatest threat to media diversity. Important protections remain. Media transactions will continue to be subject to the remaining control and ownership rules in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. The five-four rule provides that at least five independent media groups must at all times be present in metropolitan commercial radio licence areas and four such groups in regional commercial licence areas. The licence limits provide that a person may control only one television licence and a maximum of two commercial radio licences in an applicable licence area. Mergers and acquisitions in the media sector will also continue to be subject to Australia's general competition regulation under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

As I have stated, the strength of these bills is that they will usher in an integrated suite of reforms. They have the united support of the media industry. The various sectors have been able to put aside their individual differences and immediate interests to look forward to the good of the industry as a whole. They acknowledge that these reforms strike a balance between ensuring our media industry can achieve the scale and scope to compete in a global media environment as well ensuring that Australians continue to access a diversity of high-quality news and information services.

The media industry has worked together and with the government to craft this package and to support it with a united voice. Now is the time for the parliament to do the same and to take the opportunity to enable the Australian media industry to move into the 21st century. I call on all members to support the bills.

See this speech in context