Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that regional print media:

(a) contributes positively to community well-being and maintains paramount civic value to rural Australians;

(b) facilitates opportunities for local journalists to cover stories of significant local importance;

(c) delivers media diversity in a highly competitive market dominated by two large conglomerates; and

(d) enables the collection and preservation of local and regional histories via national archives resources such as Trove; and

(2) acknowledges the following challenges endured by the regional print media industry:

(a) difficulties in maintaining consistent revenue streams;

(b) the closure of over 200 regional newspapers across Australia during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020; and

(c) changes in government communications policy with the change in Government; and

(3) calls on the Government to review communications policy and regional print media funding to ensure that:

(a) the regional print media industry survives declining economic conditions;

(b) regional print media continues to provide entirely localised news for regional communities, which maximises social harmony;

(c) opportunities for country Australians seeking careers in print journalism are maintained; and

(d) media diversity in regional Australia remains, to prevent a city-based newspaper from becoming the sole source of print media in an entire state.

Local news media and local newspapers play a vital and important role in our regional communities. Much-loved local newspapers in Mayo include the Victor Harbor Times and the Fleurieu Sun, which is quite a new paper. They're both on the south coast. I also have the Mount Barker Courier, which is a very long-established paper in Mayo, the Kangaroo Island Islander and the Southern Argus, which covers the eastern side of the Hills, through Strathalbyn and right down to Goolwa. I have a regional electorate, and it has really well-loved regional newspapers.

These publications make a key contribution to the fourth pillar of the democratic state, helping to hold those in government to account—independent media that help deliver diversity, both geographically and in a market which is dominated by two large players. As well as covering national issues, these newspapers advocate for, and cover, stories of significant local importance which might otherwise not receive attention from mainstream media. In regional communities, they have a further positive role, contributing to community wellbeing. I see them as the social glue that holds our towns and our regions together. They respond to local victories, but also they cover local tragedies with great sensitivity. They help to preserve the local histories we so highly value. They are often family run businesses. From the beginning of the COVID pandemic to now, we saw over 200 regional newspapers close across Australia. With changes to the federal government's communications policy at the last election, papers are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain consistent revenue streams. They now rely on revenue from digital platforms, cover price and government support.

But federal government inquiries into regional media in recent years have recommended that the federal government commit funding to regional media advertising. That's why I'm calling on the government to review its communications policy and regional print media funding. For example, I believe that Australians should be able to read about changes to Centrelink or indeed the referendum in their local newspaper. I've been contacted by Country Press Australia. They tell me that the independent regional newspapers have not been included in the government advertising plans for the referendum. They tell me that, if this stands, it will reinforce the interpretation that the referendum is focused on power centres in Canberra and our capital cities. Regional and remote Australia rely heavily on our local newspapers. For many of us, it's considered the Bible, and you pick it up every Monday or Thursday or whenever it's out. Deakin University confirmed recently that securing the future of quality and reliable news and information platforms in non-metropolitan areas is in the national interest and that local news matters to our democracy. But it has struggled and is requiring support.

We need to ensure that regional print media is included when government are organising their advertising and information-sharing, particularly with respect to the Voice referendum process. Retaining regional print media is one way to engage and communicate better with regional Australians. It maximises our social harmony. It provides ongoing opportunities for country people who want to work in journalism. I urge the government to provide support for the media and news diversity in regional Australia. When you support our regional media, you're supporting regional Australians.

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion be agreed to, and I call the member for Gippsland.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Sharkie, and I congratulate you, as the member Mayo, for bringing this motion to the Chamber. I acknowledge that it has been more than 35 years since I started out as a cadet journalist with the Gippsland Times newspaper in my electorate of Gippsland. While there has been a massive disruption to media in those 35 years, there's no question that the information and the stories provided through newspapers in my electorate, like the Latrobe Valley Express, the Gippsland Times, The Bridge in Yarram, the Lakes Post, the Bairnsdale Advertiser and the Snowy River Mail, are still critically important in this disrupted media market.

Regional newspapers are part of the rich fabric of life outside our capital cities. They tell our stories of births, deaths, marriages, sporting achievements and natural disasters: the human interest stories and the local events. The whole rich diversity of regional and rural communities is reflected in their local newspapers. So it's terribly important that print journalism and print newspapers continue to exist in this country, particularly when they are offering such a diverse regional perspective.

It must be noted that they also play an incredibly important role in terms of the historic record of our regional communities. Being able to research information of past events is very useful from the print media perspective. Interestingly, when we reflect on this place, while they're a great training ground for metropolitan journalists and photographers, they have also been an incredible training ground for future members of parliament. For better or worse, there have been plenty of members of parliament who had a background in the regional media.

It's not just nostalgia that brings me to speak on the motion before the Chamber today. Local news does matter, and the print media does matter in making sure that our stories are heard in rural and regional communities. I believe the print media deserves our support, and I think the Commonwealth has a role to play in that regard. The previous coalition government certainly offered that support in tough times. We knew that the regional media was facing very tough times, particularly during the COVID lockdown period, and we assisted as they sought to overcome key issues, such as the rising costs of energy and paper, and ensured they were able to maintain a revenue stream during that time. We established the $50 million Public Interest News Gathering program. That allowed many regional newspaper publishers to apply for funding to support their paper's sustainability. We also funded the $60 million Regional and Small Publishers Jobs and Innovation Package, which I think is another good initiative, and it was very important that we did that at that time.

I am concerned that, while the new government has maintained some level of support, it has dropped that level of support to regional print. It worries me that we've seen a reduction in funding. I'm concerned that not enough of the members opposite actually understand the important role of regional media. There are some members here that do—I don't question that—but overwhelmingly the Labor Party and the government we have today is over-represented by metropolitan members of parliament and only a handful of what I'd call rural and regional members of parliament.

Critically—Deputy Speaker Sharkie, you touched on it in your own comments here today—regional print newspapers need revenue. They need a revenue stream. I'm concerned by reports that federal government advertising has dropped substantially since the new government took office last year, particularly in relation to the issue of the Voice and the referendum. I've been receiving letters from independent regional newspapers across Victoria who are saying to me that they've seen a massive decline in advertising. They are saying to me that if this decline in their revenue stream continues, they won't be able to employ the public interest journalists and photographers who help them publish their newspapers and it will undermine their capacity to produce a product.

What really concerns me, though, is specifically in relation to the Voice referendum. Regional newspapers are saying in their letters to us in rural and regional Victoria that independent regional newspapers have not been included in the most recent government advertising schedule for the referendum. That worries me enormously. This is an issue where making sure the public is informed of both the 'yes' and 'no' perspectives is critically important. The newspaper owners are very concerned that they have been excluded from the advertising schedule of this important referendum. The member publications of the Country Press Australia reach more regional Australians with their trusted independent local news service than any other medium, and it is a valuable way of communicating and for the government to make sure that Australians are well informed on the Voice debate regardless of whether they intend to vote yes or no. Publishers are saying to me that if this is allowed to stand, the strongest criticism of the referendum in rural an regional Australia, which is that it is a flawed mechanism focused on the power centres of Canberra and our capital cities, will be reinforced by this decision.

I thank the member for Mayo for bringing this motion before the House, and I encourage the government to support our regional print media.

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I thank you, Deputy Speaker, for bringing this motion on in your role as the member for Mayo. I am one of those members of parliament who is a former print journalist. I hesitate to say 'former'; I think you're born a journalist and you die a journalist. It worries me greatly, to be utterly frank, to hear the reports from you and the member for Gippsland that advertising is dropping off in regional papers. I will follow that up. I will undertake to do that because that does concern me greatly. But I must say to the member for Gippsland that this issue predates this government, and it certainly predates the government you were part of.

When I was a journalist at an independent local paper in WA, we had the challenge daily with the fact that our paper did not get the level of advertising it should have from government departments and councils, despite having demonstrably higher readership than the corporate owned rival, which was co-owned by Murdoch and the West Australian Group, later bought out by Seven. That's because of the cosy relationships that advertising purchasers have with the big conglomerates. It's easy to make one phone call and one purchase so it goes into a national spread, and then they don't have to make multiple phone calls to independent regional publishers. That's what is needed; we need cultural change from the buyers of advertising. I don't think those decisions are being made at the bureaucratic level, and certainly not at the ministerial level, but it does concern me that the word is not getting out to the buyers of advertising on behalf of the government that they must ensure that there is a good spread of advertising in regional newspapers, whether it's in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania or wherever the case may be. So I will take that up.

My electorate in the north-west happens to be very well served by local papers. The Kentish Voice, under editor Heather Eiszele, serves 6,000 readers. Next door, in the Meander Valley, Craig Zimitat leads the volunteer team behind the Meander Valley Gazette, reaching 10,000 readers a month. Lana Best serves her community with pride in the Northern Midlands Courier, while Julie Jabour puts her heart and soul into the Southern Midlands Regional Newsagain, as a volunteer. Over on the east coast, we have Heidi's Coastal Column. There's also the Great Oyster Bay Community News, the Valley and East Coast Voice, the East Coast View and the Tasman Gazette, before heading inland to the Sorell Times, the Brighton Community News, the Derwent Valley Gazette and Damian Bester's New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News and finishing up with the Highland Digest.

These papers are a mix of commercial and non-profit. Some are traditional newspapers and others are printed on A4 photocopier paper. Some are independent. A handful are owned by bigger companies or councils. What they have in common is being grounded in their communities and being highly valued by those communities. Some have cover prices, others cover their costs by selling advertising space, and some do both. As you would expect, I'm a regular advertiser in all of them. I also contribute stories and story ideas. As a former print journalist, I recognise the incredibly important role these publications play in community life. They inform the community about what's going on, not just in the news but also in community life. There has been so much talk over the years about the destructive role of the internet on newspapers, and rightfully so. Audiences are fractured. Masses of advertising have moved online, especially ads for jobs, real estate, cars and second-hand goods, once referred to as the rivers of gold. Saturday newspapers used to be four times as thick as they are now.

What's not discussed nearly as much as the role the internet plays is the essential role that government advertising can play in the survival of regional newspapers. I don't think we should be supporting regional newspapers out of some nostalgic hankering to hang on to the past. Newspaper production is slow, laborious, expensive and resource intensive. It makes a lot of sense to replace it with the immediacy of the internet and the lower barriers to entry. The problem is that in regional areas you won't get a regional internet equivalent to a regional newspaper. It just will not happen. So we need to make sure that we protect our regional newspapers.

A key way we can do that is by government mandating a certain level of advertising spend in regional newspapers and, I would say, independent local papers in the suburbs and the metros, because they all play an important role. The big corporates can look after themselves, but our regional papers are the lifeblood of their local community. They deserve our support, they need our support and we should be supporting them.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next day of sitting.