Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to strongly support the motion by the member for Goldstein, and I thank the member for bringing this critical issue to parliament. Media diversity—or, truly, the lack thereof—in Australia is a severe problem. It is a problem for our democracy, for our society and for the future of this country.

Just over a year ago, more than half a million Australians signed a petition started by the former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. They called on the government to establish a royal commission into media diversity and specifically into the dominance of the Murdoch media in our country. The Greens successfully led the push to establish a Senate inquiry in response to this petition. We moved for the inquiry and have long advocated for public-interest journalism to be better protected.

During the course of this inquiry, as we've heard, the problems with the media landscape became increasingly apparent, with the dangerous rise and spread of misinformation through traditional media and new online platforms. We heard about the many Australian journalists who produce high-quality in-depth reporting with integrity and professionalism. It is those hardworking journalists that are being let down by a broken regulatory system and a corporate culture inside news organisations that allows poor behaviour to flourish. This simply cannot go on unchecked and unregulated. The health of our communities and our democracy is at stake.

After 13 months of public hearings and over 10,000 submissions from the public, news organisations and countless experts, the inquiry, chaired by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, produced a report that recommended the establishment of a judicial inquiry with the powers and weight of a royal commission into media diversity in Australia. The majority report, supported by the Greens and Labor senators, also recommended a number of measures the government of the day should get on with implementing immediately to maintain public-interest journalism and prevent a further decline of media diversity in Australia. Only an inquiry with the powers and weight of a royal commission can truly do this issue, so vital to our democracy, justice. I am glad to see the member for Goldstein move a motion to establish such an inquiry today. The Greens are proud to support the member's motion and will continue our long fight to demand a fairer and less centralised media landscape.

But why is a diverse media landscape so vital to a well-functioning democracy? The public's decision-making abilities rely on the free flow of information for people to make informed decisions on topics from health care to education to who they elect to send to this place. They need a full tapestry of information, because there are not always two sides to each story—a Liberal and a Labor take. Some stories have one side. Some stories may have three or four. The window of conversation is often so much broader than what Australia's monopolised media would imply.

We cannot rely on one single company to provide reliable and balanced reporting, because their goal is not always to hold the government of the day to account; it is to turn a profit—profits which are often driven by clickbait headlines or even headlines which are knowingly misleading and promote misinformation. This erodes trust in public journalism, public-interest journalism and journalism more broadly, and in flow our democratic institutions. The pre-election retreat by Labor on addressing this issue shows just how much power—and let's be real—News Corp wields in Australia and why we must take steps to undo the monopolisation of media in Australia.

If we want to live in a country with a vibrant democracy, we must ensure that we all have access to a wide range of diverse voices and views in our media. Supporting this motion is the first step in taking us there. It should not be up to one company to dictate the direction of our country. That power of decision-making should belong to the people.

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