Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I will make some very brief comments in response to this whole issue of getting the balance right between requirements for local content and the financial and other pressures on existing licensees. The first point I would make is that certainly these provisions are not intended to be onerous, but they very clearly are designed in such a way as to ensure that people who live in rural and regional areas do continue to get local content, irrespective of what other mergers or movements in licence holders may occur as a result of these amendments.

As amended, the bill will provide for local content requirements for all regional radio licensees from 1 January 2008. Any radio licensees subject to a trigger event—that is, a merger or sale or transfer of a licence, which can only occur after the new diversity laws come into effect on proclamation—will also be required to provide minimum levels of local news and information of 12½ minutes a day and five bulletins a week as well as weather reports, community service announcements and emergency warnings, where necessary. This will form part of the 4.5 hours. They will also be required to establish local content plans and to maintain a local presence so that you do not have a situation of excessive hubbing. I am not making any allegations here; I am simply saying that it is noted that there is a potential for hubbing that removes the local presence from those who otherwise would wish to have some local news.

But the government recognises—and I want to make this point very clearly, particularly for those radio licensees who might be listening to this debate—that a requirement for 4½ hours a day of local content may not be the appropriate level for licensees to maintain commercial viability. During the Senate committee hearings it was found that many current local radio licensees already do provide a significant level of local content anyway—quite logically because it is part of their business; it is not hard to understand. But, in my view, there is no point at all in legislating local content levels if licensees go out of business in trying to meet them. So we are going to try to get this balance right and to give licensees an opportunity to talk to the regulator about the potential impact on their business models so that we will have some objective evidence and data about what target we should be trying to meet.

The government also acknowledges that regional Australia is extremely diverse, ranging from large and rapidly growing centres like the Gold Coast to small towns struggling to deal with drought and population shifts, which is probably the main concern of those communities. Accordingly, the amended bill requires the government to cause a review to be conducted on this issue. I will be directing the ACMA to look at local content across regional radio and to advise whether the 5½-hour level is appropriate. In particular, we will be seeking advice on whether different levels should apply to smaller operators and, of course, whether smaller and larger markets should have some different treatment.

Once the ACMA has reported to the government, by 30 June next year, the legislation will contain an opportunity for me to revise the requirement, though it will be subject to a disallowable instrument. It will be open, accountable and transparent and parliament will have another opportunity to look at this issue. I will also ask the ACMA as part of this review to advise on whether small or family owned licensees could be unintentionally caught by the provisions of the trigger event such that they may become subject to news and information requirements and local presence requirements without undergoing a sale or a substantial transfer of control of their licence.

I hope that I have covered the gamut there, from those concerned that these are too onerous down to those concerned that they are not stringent enough. I want to make it very clear that there is currently no requirement at all and will not be until there is a review. We will be able to conduct a review before the commencement of any of these obligations. The more particular obligations, of course, will not happen unless there is a trigger event to do with a sale, a merger or a substantial transfer of control.