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

This package of broadcasting legislation is about employment and jobs in the Australian media industry, and the Turnbull government is standing up for jobs, with a package which is unanimously supported across the media sector. What did the chief executive of Channel 10 have to say?

… it is blindingly obvious that these pre-internet era laws are now achieving the opposite of what they were intended to do. They are now working against a strong, viable and diverse media sector, and they must go.

I remind the House that the Ten Network is in administration. There are 1,400 jobs at risk. The Turnbull government is standing up for jobs. Labor have got their heads stuck in the sand. They ignore the fact that the media sector is exposed to global competition through the internet. They ignore the fact that the entire Australian media sector is asking simply to be able to compete on a level playing field with global media companies. They ignore the fact that these global companies can supply services to every Australian online without being constrained by the outdated restrictive requirements in the present Australian media legislation. That is why the Turnbull government is putting forward these amendments, including critically the abolition of the two-out-of-three rule.

This package is a holistic package. All elements of it must be supported. The Turnbull government is standing up for jobs in the media sector. It is standing up for the Australian media sector. It is supported by the entire Australian media sector. These amendments must be rejected.

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