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

I did note yesterday in the hearings that the word 'draconian' was tossed around a little bit. We saw draconian media legislation introduced in 2007. I do remember particularly—and Senator Joyce can take a bow at this point—that Senator Joyce crossed the floor. To give him credit, he understood the diversity question. But he also, along with his National Party colleagues, demanded that the legislation include the most draconian set of instructions to radio stations that have ever been put into legislation. They are so draconian that they just about dictated where the news ones were going to be, how many staff they could have.

We recently—as you would know, Senator Joyce, because you also voted for it—did ease back some of those controls, because they were so draconian. The industry has been coming to me for five years, saying, 'We cannot believe the legislation. It interferes in our business in a way we have never seen before.'