Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware that leading Australian law firms, including Phillips Fox, Blake Dawson Waldron, Holding Redlich and Freehills, have all cast doubts on the ACCC’s ability to stop cross-media mergers? Given the weight of legal opinion against her, why is the minister pretending that the ACCC will be able to do anything to ensure continued media diversity? Isn’t it really the case that the minister’s plans contain no effective safeguards against a dangerous concentration in media ownership?