Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. The government believes—I repeat—that in a democracy it is vital we have a diversity of voices within the media. It is absolutely vital, and the government's reforms will support both of these principles. Media organisations are provided with certain exemptions from privacy legislation, and we are continuing to allow and support self-regulation of the media despite what those opposite keep trying to claim.

The office of the Public Interest Media Advocate's role is limited to authorising the schemes proposed by the industry. This is the same role as performed by ASIC in relation to the Financial Ombudsman Service's schemes. Media ownership is currently regulated by both the foreign ownership requirements and the competition requirements, but we do not believe that is sufficient. We believe there should be a protection.