Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Mayo for this motion and for giving me the opportunity to acknowledge the work that our local newspapers do to keep our communities informed about matters that are local and most important to them. I am a proud supporter of the Cessnock Advertiser, the Maitland Mercury, the Port Stephens Examiner and the News of the Area: Port Stephens. I am particularly grateful to be able to contribute to these newspapers' bottom lines by updating my community on federal issues and matters that affect them by advertising in the newspapers. It is very important. I also take this opportunity to note that the News of the Area, an independent paper in my electorate, has been playing a really important role in reporting on local issues and delivering opportunities to good local journalists. My government recognises the critical role that these local publishers play in Australian communities, particularly in regional communities like my own. Social media, let's be frank, has had an immense impact on their viability, and some may say that social media is the future. But, like me, many in my community still relish reading a good paper over a cup of tea in the morning, or sitting in the sun in the afternoon and checking in with the local paper, looking at what's being advertised by local businesses and what services are on offer, catching up potentially on some local history, doing the crossword and occasionally reading our stars. For me, it is an institution. Locally, when there was talk of the Port Stephens Examiner closing, my constituency were straight on the phones to me to save the paper, as they could not imagine missing their local newspaper. I got on the blower straight away to the editor and received an update on what was going on with the paper. Then I spoke to my friend and colleague the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, and she was already right across her brief. The government has recognised the rising costs for publishers and is providing $15 million through the Regional and Local Newspaper Publishers program as part of a local news and community broadcasting package; 206 regional independent First Nations and multicultural print publishers were recipients of this grant. My government is currently developing the new media assistance program. You'll hear it called News MAP, for short, around the corridors here. This will establish a principles based policy framework for longer term policy and future funding interventions for news media and new media.

I'm a former journalist and radio talk show host, a role that I did love. In fact, among the reasons I decided to run for parliament was not only the importance of local news and platforms in letting people be heard but also the absolutely intrinsic need for communities to feel connected, updated and as though they know what's going on in their local area. That is something that print journalism does so well. Let's face it, truth-telling can be somewhat of a mystery in this modern world we face, and vocalising and posting unfounded nonsense is often a fact of social media. When we have to try to navigate that, really good journalists do a sensational job. They are well trained, they're genuine, they're respected, they do a lot of research and they ask a lot of questions. On the whole, print media journalists in our regional areas do such a good job because they know our communities. They know if the story doesn't add up. They think to ask the appropriate and meaningful questions. They handle local sensitivities very, very well and at times they're extremely entertaining because they understand the local angles on things so intimately.

I'm always going to be a big supporter of print media: a platform for information, for storytelling and for the truth to be heard. In saying that, I want to pay tribute to the Newcastle Herald, a fantastic daily masthead that has printed so many wonderful stories across the years and has been a source of excellent journalism for many people across the Hunter. I'm really delighted to support print media.

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