Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to take note of answers given by Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, to questions which were predominantly asked by Senator Conroy. It was interesting to watch Lateline last night. We saw the juxtaposition of the minister’s claims some weeks ago that there would be no media frenzy following the debate and passage of the cross-media laws—she gave a categorical guarantee of that—and her attempts on Lateline last night to justify the activity that we have seen in the last 24 hours. She may well say that the activity is occurring under the existing regime, but it seems odd, don’t you think, that the activity of people such as Mr Packer has occurred within the last 24 hours? It could have occurred within the last 10 years—but, no, the activity and the frenzy has been occurring within the last 24 hours in preparation for the imminent changes once that legislation is signed into law.

We now know that the government’s changes will in fact lead to a massive concentration of media ownership not only in the metropolitan areas but also in regional Australia. The government’s five-four voices test is an absolute fraud. It does not protect diversity. In places like Bathurst the number of current media owners is five, and under the plan it will go to four. In places like Coffs Harbour there will be a reduction from five to four. In Sydney the number could go from 12 to six, and in Melbourne the number could go from 11 to six. In places like Lismore we could go from five to four. So everywhere we look around this country there will be a reduction in diversity and a concentration of media ownership.

As I have said, the number of owners will halve in Sydney and Melbourne, and fall by one-third in many parts of regional Australia. The upshot of that is that we will have one person owning a newspaper, two radio stations and a TV network, and that company would be given the same weight in the diversity test as a small radio station. The end result is that these changes are not in the public interest—that media diversity is in fact essential for the proper operation of a democracy. We have seen a media frenzy whereby this concentration will start to happen and will continue to happen because the floodgates have now been opened to allow that to happen. The changes will ensure that a wide range of views that are heard on key issues are minimised. The changes that we are experiencing are extreme.

We heard Senator Conroy say in his taking note of answers that the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts believes that because we are a nation of only 20 million people a certain concentration is needed. She tries to justify that for economic reasons. Let us look at the economic reasons. We know that media industry profits are at a record level. The average profit margin is 24 per cent—you cannot get much higher than that—so economic reasons do not seem to be valid in this argument. If we believe that it is needed because we are such a small nation of 20 million people then why is it that other democracies like the US, the UK, France, Germany, South Korea and the Netherlands have very comprehensive cross-media laws?

We already have a concentrated media market by world standards, but of course under these laws and these proposals that concentration will be further increased. The Prime Minister needs to explain to people why he wants to give even more power to some of the most powerful people in this country, a concentration that will be held by only two or three people. The diversity of views that you read, hear and listen to will become even more concentrated. This government can deny as much as it likes that that is going to be the fact, but all we have seen across the tabloids today—and let us face it: tabloids usually drive our radio shows through the day and probably television—is a frenzy of people buying and selling and secret buyers trying to get their hands on this grab for greater media ownership. (Time expired)