Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all the honourable members who have contributed to the debate on the Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024. I'm very pleased I was able to be in the chamber to hear the words of the member for Nicholls. It was enlightening. I think there were two things in particular that the member for Nicholls said that are worth reiterating—first, that free-to-air broadcasting is special. It is special. It is the stable, free and ubiquitous platform that means that people in both metropolitan areas and rural and regional Australia have access to that, and I thank the member for bringing that to the attention of the House.

The member also drew attention to the fact that the diminution of services in regional Australia—consolidation, loss of news—has been occurring over a long period of time, which is very true. That's why it is necessary to understand that we are unfortunately in a situation where we've inherited an analogue era of regulation that needs to be updated for the future. We have legislation before the parliament to do that, and, at the same time, we need to appreciate the ongoing commercial decisions and the circumstances in which these regional broadcasters find themselves. But I thank the member for Nicholls for his very thoughtful contribution. I look forward to engaging with him on how regional communications—not only broadcasting but also broadband and telecommunications services more generally—can be enhanced for the benefit of his constituents.

It's very pleasing to see strong support across the parliament for measures that enhance access to free-to-air broadcasting services in regional and remote Australia. The Albanese government is committed to ensuring that all Australians have equitable access to high-quality television broadcasting services. This bill will make a small but meaningful contribution to that outcome.

The broadcasting sector faces particular challenges in regional areas, as the closure of Mildura Digital Television, MDT, makes clear. This bill responds to two recent developments, raised chiefly by the actions of regional broadcasters, and presents practical measures for regional broadcasting: firstly, the May 2024 decision by the board of MDT to cease operations from 1 July 2024 and, secondly, the April 2024 consolidation by WIN Television of the services it provides under two commercial TV licences in the SA licence areas of Mount Gambier / South East TV1 and Riverland TV1.

The decision to close MDT is a very disappointing commercial decision of the free-to-air broadcasters WIN and Seven Network to close their joint venture, which provided Network Ten services in the Mildura/Sunraysia TV1 licence area. The decision, as I said, underscores the significant structural issues that are affecting the provision of digital terrestrial broadcasting services in regional Australia, which is why the government has introduced legislation to expand access to the Viewer Access Satellite Television, or VAST, service.

VAST is a taxpayer-funded safety net which ensures that Australians in regional or remote communities without adequate terrestrial broadcasting can continue to access free-to-air television via satellite. The safety net supports the provision of free-to-air commercial television to over 1½ million Australians. It is a Labor initiative, and the government has extended funding to continue VAST across regional and remote Australia for an additional seven years to 2030-31.

The Albanese government has moved swiftly to address the two recent issues, which I mentioned, that impact regional Australia. We briefed the shadow minister and the member for Mallee ahead of bill introduction last week so the opposition would be in a position to facilitate prompt passage of the legislation on a bipartisan basis. If the coalition choose to delay this bill or refer it to a committee, that is their prerogative, but I would note that any delay to the passage of this legislation would do the following: it would increase the time that the residents of Mildura are unable to access the option of the VAST safety net, and it will increase the time that WIN is potentially in breach of its licence conditions and other regulatory obligations.

The closure of MDT reflects the difficulties of operating commercial broadcasting and transmission services in the contemporary media environment, and it demonstrates, as I said, the consequences of a decade of inaction in the way of meaningful media reform under the previous government. The former government, in 2017, declared that their media reforms heralded a new era for the media, yet regional broadcasting remained significantly challenged. To quote a media release dated 14 September 2017, entitled 'A new era for Australia's media', the Prime Minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull, said:

The government is strengthening Australia's media industry, enhancing media diversity and securing local journalism jobs, particularly in regional areas.

Flash forward to 8 May 2024, when the shadow minister and the member for Mallee issued a media release about the closure of MDT and, of all things, poked fun at the issues facing regional Australians and the closure of MDT as they did so. This media release entitled: 'Seven West and WIN Mildura, get me out of here' responds to the closure of MDT with a series of thoughtless puns about various 10 programs. Even now, this unedifying media release remains available on the member for Mallee's website.

I have extended the member for Mallee the courtesy of briefings as well as advice on issues affecting broadcasting services in her electorate, including notification in February this year of an upgrade of services from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4. I will give the member the benefit of the doubt; she hasn't been here as long as some others. She wasn't here for the coalition's repeal of the two-out-of-three cross media rule, unlike the shadow minister. But it does demonstrate that the coalition, or some in it, are not taking this issue as seriously as they should.

The reality is that the closure of MDT has been under contemplation for some time. In fact, I understand the matter was brought to the attention of the former minister for communications in the coalition government but he failed to engage on the matter. If this is true, certainly, this is something that no doubt an inquiry into this bill might bring to light and I welcome it. By contrast, my office and my department have engaged with MDT several times to discuss their plans. I have engaged with the parties to support an orderly wind down that communicated the decision to the affected audience, and advised them of alternative ways of accessing the 10 service. And, as I said, the Albanese government has introduced legislation into parliament precisely so the residents of Mildura have the choice of accessing the VAST service so they may receive the full suite of television broadcasting services by satellite if they choose to do so. If a resident of Mildura takes up the VAST option, they will have access to a full suite of those services, more than just the 10 services. But consumers do have choice, and many residents in Mildura with an internet connection may choose to watch 10 content over 10 Play app. Because of the Albanese government's commitment to improving connectivity in the regions, many more residents of Mildura will be able to exercise this option.

I am pleased to inform the House that an additional 16,500 residents of Mildura are now able to access high-speed broadband, supported by the Albanese government's investment of $2.4 billion to give an additional 1.5 million premises full-fibre access and that includes more than 660,000 additional premises in rural and regional Australia. This investment is boosting the reliability of broadband services and the productivity of businesses, supporting the way we now work, study and transact.

I note the shadow minister mentioned the commercial broadcasting tax. He said this tax hits regional broadcasters hard. For the record, the commercial broadcasting tax was introduced by a coalition government. It is a Liberal-National Party tax, and the shadow minister was a member of the government that introduced this tax. In recognition of the challenges facing regional broadcasters, the Albanese government has already extended and increased the commercial broadcasting tax rebate, which means regional broadcasters pay less tax for the spectrum they use. Under the Albanese government, the rebate for the broadcasting tax has been extended and increased for the first time since the coalition introduced it in 2017.

I note the opposition have indicated they would remove the CBT. As has been reported in the Australian Financial Review, in May 2023 the opposition wrote to broadcasters offering to remove the commercial broadcasting tax in exchange for the removal of wagering advertising during the broadcast of sport. So it would be misleading for the opposition to now claim they are removing the commercial broadcasting tax to support regional outcomes when their purpose was to make up for lost wagering revenue. I think those opposite need to understand that the CBT can only be offset once, and I look forward to the opposition policy on how spectrum will be valued in Australia. I'm sure the telco industry and all of industry will be very interested to understand this too.

But that isn't all we're doing for the media sector when it comes significant reforms and, indeed, when it comes to this bill. We have funded the regulator, the ACMA, to intimate a new Media Diversity Measurement Framework. We've introduced genuine media reforms into the parliament to modernise Australia's analogue-era broadcasting laws with the Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) Bill 2024, which will support access to free local TV on connected devices and free sports coverage in the streaming era. We've consulted publicly on the News Media Assistance Program, and my department has analysed submissions and is working across government to consider a range of measures to support the sustainability of the sector and media diversity. This is in addition to stable funding to ensure regional Australians continue to receive the ABC and SBS services, as well as community radio broadcasting, after a decade of cuts and uncertainty under the coalition. That's in addition to our funding for the AAP and over 200 regional and local independent newspaper publishers under the Regional and Local Newspaper Publishers program, as well as a journalist fund supporting cadets in the regions. Unlike the former coalition government, who wasted a decade, ignored regional broadcasters and now make light of this service closure, this government takes the issues facing regional Australia and broadcasters seriously. We're working hard to fix the mess that the coalition left behind.

As I said, this bill will make amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act to expand access to the government funded viewer access satellite television service for Australians living in areas where there has been a material reduction in the number of commercial television broadcasting services provided terrestrially. Although we know that these amendments to the Radio Communications Act adjust the licensing framework that applies to broadcasters, there is a strict one-to-one relationship between the broadcasting licences that authorise broadcasting services and the transmitter licences that authorise the use of radio communications equipment. Although this remains suitable in many circumstances, it won't permit broadcasters to pursue more innovative and efficient ways of delivering their services, should they wish to do so. That is why this bill will also address this anomaly and allow the ACMA to declare that a specified transmitter licence is taken to authorise the operation of one or more radio communications transmitters for transmitting the services authorised under two or more broadcasting licences.

These measures will ensure Australians can continue to access television broadcasting services in the circumstances where outdated regulations would otherwise prevent it. This is important for consumers and industry, and it will support the government's objective of providing equitable access to media services for all Australians, irrespective of where they live or what they earn. I call on members to support the bill.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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