Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Parry. It is an excellent effort on behalf of the minister to do what she has done. I mentioned the importance of local news and weather requirements. Those minimums have been set. That is why I am so pleased about this slight variation to the reforms.

I would like to speak in favour in particular of the two out of three rule that has been effected in this reform package, and in particular congratulate and thank the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, on his view that the two out of three rule should apply to not only rural and regional Australia but also the cities, the major populous areas across the country. Yes, the Senate report and recommendations recommended that the two out of three rule apply to rural and regional Australia, but I support entirely the Treasurer’s view that it should apply across the board. There should be no cherry-picking in this game to just support one particular part of the country. The two out of three rule should apply across the board—there should be consistency—and it should be fair across the country. This is an additional safeguard against undue media concentration.

The government will amend the bill to include the two out of three rule for media mergers in metropolitan and regional areas. What that means is that media mergers will still be permitted, subject to there being four voices in regional areas and five voices in metropolitan areas. It also means that the mergers will only be permitted between two of the three regulated platforms in a licence area. What do I mean by that? For those who may be listening to this broadcast, it means commercial TV, commercial radio and associated newspapers—so two of those three. It will prevent a three-way merger between commercial TV, commercial radio and an associated newspaper in a licence area. In a place like Northern Tasmania, for example, our key newspaper is the Examiner. On the north-west coast it is the Advocate and in southern Tasmania it is the Mercury. You have Southern Cross commercial television and WIN commercial television as well as the ABC free-to-air television stations. I mentioned earlier the importance of protecting the interests of relevant commercial radio stations across Tasmania to ensure their interests are best protected and taken into account.

The industry will still benefit from the flexibility that the relaxation of the cross-media ownership laws will bring. As I said earlier, this is a rule that was brought in 10 to 20 years ago. There have been slight variations to it over that time but basically it has been stuck in the past, and we do not want that to continue in any way, shape or form. I think overall, with respect to the two out of three rule, it is a very sensible approach. I would like to congratulate and thank Mr Howard and the government on going down that track. As I have indicated, the Treasurer has taken a keen interest in this particular area. His views are fully supported by me and, I know, many others in the Senate. In terms of the overall need for reform, that is quite clear. We have a package now where we are protecting the diversity of ownership, and that is being done in a less restrictive way than over the last 20-odd years. We are really moving out of the Dark Ages. We can now look to the future and be prepared for just about anything. The rate of change, as I have indicated, is faster than ever before.

An area of interest that I have is the internet and internet filtering. This is an area that is not touched on directly by the media reforms, but the importance of technological changes means that we also need to stand at the ready to protect the best interests of children—to protect the boys and girls across Australia, and the future children of Australia, from inappropriate and offensive material on the internet. I notice that in the gallery today there are children. Yes, we have privilege in this place and we can say what we wish—but we need to use words that are appropriate for the ears of those children and indeed those who are listening. So filtering is important.

In terms of the government’s objectives there, a $116 million package has just recently been announced by the government—and congratulations again to Senator Helen Coonan, who announced that with the Hon. Chris Ellison and me just a few months ago. By January next year every Australian family will have access to a filter for their home computer to ensure that offensive and inappropriate material is kept out of the family home. That is very important for families and the future of Australian children. In conclusion, it is a mighty job, on behalf of the government, that Senator Helen Coonan has undertaken and, together with the Senate committee, she should be congratulated. I urge all members of the Senate to support this legislation and hope that they will do so.