Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison-McCormack government is implementing an Australian approach to cooperation with multinational social media companies and developing a world-leading news media bargaining code that will support the future of Australian public interest journalism, particularly in rural and regional Australia?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mallee for her question, and I congratulate her on her strong commitment to appropriate regulation of digital and internet businesses. Just this morning, she organised, together with the member for Newcastle, the inaugural meeting of the Parliamentary Friends of Making Social Media Safe. That is an important commitment in this area, and I congratulate her on that.

As the member rightly says, the Morrison government's work on the news media bargaining code is certainly based on a very detailed platform of policy work going back to 2017. But this is a distinctively Australian approach to a policy challenge which is facing governments all around the world. The news media bargaining code, embodying, as it does, a negotiate-arbitrate model, employs what is a tool well recognised in Australian competition law and policy. It's fair to say that as we've engaged with some of the platforms over recent weeks they are perhaps not as familiar with this tool, but it is a distinctively Australian approach and the intention is to encourage commercial deals between digital platforms and Australian news media businesses, recognising, as the ACCC has advised us, that ordinarily these deals would occur in the ordinary course of commercial engagement. The reason they have not is because of an imbalance of bargaining power, and that's why there is a case for regulatory engagement.

I want to particularly acknowledge the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, who have been very focused on this issue. Indeed, the Prime Minister has discussed this matter with his counterparts—with Prime Minister Modi and just today with Prime Minister Trudeau. Indeed, I have had the opportunity to discuss the matter with my counterpart minister in Canada, the minister for heritage, Steven Guilbeault. Of course, the Treasurer has been in discussions with his counterparts. He and the Prime Minister are very committed, as am I and all on this side of the House. I want to acknowledge the engagement and cooperation of the opposition and the cross-parties as well.

This is about ensuring that we have a diverse news media sector in Australia. It is so important for our democracy. It is also so important, as the member rightly asked, because we're talking about not just large media businesses but also small and regional publishers. That's why it's important that the code sets out a clear mechanism for the platforms to make a default offer that can be taken up by smaller or regional media businesses. The Treasurer has stated publicly that, before he makes a designation decision, he will have regard to the extent to which there are commercial deals in place. It is a distinctively Australian approach to a policy challenge. We're already seeing tangible outcomes towards a diverse media sector.