Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017 and the Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017. This is the Turnbull government's second attempt at media reform, which has now been almost four years in the making. Labor's position on this issue has been crystal clear for quite some time. If we look back at reform that has been done in the past, it has certainly always been done appropriately from this side of the chamber.

We support the majority of items that are in these bills, except for the repeal of the two-out-of-three rule, which is ill-conceived and unjustified and risks undermining Australia's democracy. Labor will support both of the bills before us as long as the provisions relating to the repeal of the two-out-of-three rule are omitted. We have one amendment on the table in this place to save the two-out-of-three rule in order to maintain media diversity in this country. Labor understands the regulatory framework is outdated and in need of reform, but we have one of the most concentrated media markets in the world, and making it even more concentrated is not the solution.

The way that the Turnbull government has handled this whole process has been shambolic, but it is now part of their trademark make-up that they are incompetent. We know they're divided. As a government, they're renowned for not being able to bring good legislation to the table without having to do their dirty deals. The Turnbull government has been trying to repeal two-out-of-three cross-media control for 18 months now. They have filibustered on this bill, and now all of a sudden they want to get it through tonight. These bills have been listed for debate—in the House or in the Senate—on no less than 10 or 12 occasions but have fallen flat each time. Unfortunately, this government has mismanaged the chamber process time and time again. We're sitting late tonight because they were filibustering. While they were trying to do their deals with the Pauline Hanson group and Nick Xenophon's network of people, they filibustered and wasted time in this chamber. Hence, we're here tonight.

This out-of-touch government have resorted to a series of trade-offs and backroom deals to try to ram this through tonight, including the grant of $30 million to Fox Sports. Let's not beat around the bush; there's been an attack, breaching the promise that they gave before the election that there would be no cuts to the ABC or SBS. But, because they rely on Pauline Hanson and her votes in this place, they will bend over backwards for her. Hence, we are seeing an attack on the ABC. Today we've seen just how desperate the government are to get these bills through this place. We know they're dysfunctional. They're in disarray. They have filibustered, and now they've pulled their speakers from the list as part of their attempt to expedite this process. If our speakers don't all have an opportunity to speak tonight—and we're yet to go through the committee stage—no doubt the government will guillotine the debate.

Media diversity certainly is not a plaything. Labor is the only party that has refused to enter into the mess of trade-offs and backroom deals on media reform, because we understand how important it is to this country. Had the government dropped their flawed plan to repeal the two-out-of-three rule, they could have passed the majority of these changes through this place a long time ago. Twice now Labor has moved amendments to save the two-out-of-three rule and let the rest of the government's media reform package go through, and twice the coalition government have rejected Labor's support. Here we are in the spring session of 2017 and Minister Fifield is still cutting dodgy deals, horsetrading and turning the whole process into a dog's breakfast.

The government is in complete disarray in this policy area. In August, the Turnbull government proved how little integrity it has by bowing to One Nation's demands. That's how desperate this out-of-touch government is to scrape through with these flawed media ownership changes and get them through this place. As Senator Gallacher said in his speech, this has been brought about by the demonstration of a Prime Minister who doesn't understand his role. He is so desperate to be Prime Minister and to keep his job that he rushed to a double dissolution; hence, we now have a crossbench who were duly elected under that double-D. Now he will do whatever it takes and make whatever deals he needs to with Pauline Hanson to get her votes and get his legislation through.

Any of us who have been in this chamber for any length of time know and respect the fact that Senator Nick Xenophon makes valuable contributions to this chamber, but he is 'Teflon Nick'; that's who he is. He wants nothing to stick to him. He does his deals with the government. He's supporting a deal that Pauline Hanson has done with the government to attack the ABC. At the same time, the Xenophon group are supporting this legislation—no doubt for whatever other trade-offs he's been able to acquire for his own interests.

Senator Hanson has made it clear from the time that she set foot in this place—and she's repeated it time and time again—that she was going after the ABC. Now we know how deep her contempt is for the ABC. What we've got now is a desperate Prime Minister who will do whatever it takes to keep his job, and is allowing Pauline Hanson to run the government's agenda. But this government is in chaos. It's hell-bent on destroying media diversity in this country. We have come to expect nothing less from a desperate government.

Despite promising no cuts to the ABC before the 2013 election, the Abbott-Turnbull government cut ABC funding by $355 million over five years, then cut it further in the 2016 budget. How many times have we had those on the other side come into this chamber and say, 'We will keep our promises'—just like they did over the survey on marriage equality. They said, 'That was a promise we took to the last election.' They will stick by that, but when it comes to sticking to the commitments that they gave to the Australian people—not the deals that Malcolm Turnbull has done within the Liberal caucus to keep his job—they have gone back on their word.

Further to that, the Turnbull government's grant of $30 million to Fox Sports proves the Minister for Communications is incapable of anything but backdoor deals—that is the only way he can get this legislation through, rather than it being good policy. Last month, the Prime Minister took it upon himself to tell us how strong he is. Well, Mr Turnbull, sorry to be the one to tell you yet again, but you're not a strong leader. The Australian people know that you're not the Prime Minister that they thought that they were going to get. You are a weak leader, and you're so desperate that you will do anything to keep the votes of Pauline Hanson's One Nation. In fact, what else do they have in store? What else, through these negotiations, has already been decided about next year's budget? Will there be further cuts to the ABC?

After all, somebody who represents the state of Tasmania, like me, knows only too well how important the ABC has been to the Tasmanian community. We're a regional community. There are some remote areas, but there are certainly many regional areas. I have seen over a long period of time that it has been only the ABC who have been able to demonstrate to the Australian community that women's sport is worth watching, because they are the ones who make sure that women's sport does have some airtime.

We know that those opposite have a bias against the ABC. They seem to think that they're the target of unfair media. Well, what comes around goes around. That's the reality of politics. We know the investment in Australian drama that the ABC has made. We have the Nationals come in here time and time again trying to say to people on this side of the chamber: 'Don't go out and talk to people in the regions. You don't understand country people.' Yet they're supporting this legislation. I mean, come on!

Yesterday Senator Hanson said in this place, 'This bill is very important to a lot of people,' and that the industry have stated they wish to see this bill passed. But I ask: at what cost? Media diversity is not something to be traded. The Australian public will be the ones to suffer. Rather than crafting media reform properly, the government—who don't seem to be able to do that, and they have been in government now for four years—have chosen to take Pauline Hanson's advice over the advice of their own department or regulator when it comes to media reform. This is utterly desperate and lacking in integrity. This again describes how the government are seen by the Australian people.

The government are desperate. They've done their deals. I think it needs to be put on the record what Pauline Hanson has been able to achieve with this government—her attack on the ABC. The deal Senator Xenophon has done needs to be to exposed to the Australian people, because he can't do these backroom deals and then go back to South Australia and claim that he is clean of these dirty deals and that he supports the ABC when, in fact, he is supporting the legislation in which Pauline Hanson has been able to drive the Turnbull government into further attacking the ABC.

Those opposite in the Turnbull government, particularly the Nationals, cry crocodile tears over the delivery of media services to rural and regional Australia but then turn around and slash the ABC's funding and cut this dodgy deal with One Nation. But Senator Hanson is not the only one calling the shots with this incompetent government; the Greens are also lined up to do a deal with the Turnbull government and trade away media diversity in exchange for more funding for public broadcasters. The Greens haven't named their price and have gone a bit quiet on this issue, but, let me tell you, no amount of public funding will counterbalance the overwhelming concentration of media power created by the abolition of the two-out-of-three media ownership rule. They will live to regret this because they will be beholden and will have to live with the consequences of their vote on these bills here tonight.

Labor believes that Australians deserve a vibrant national broadcaster as well as strong commercial broadcasters. This is not an either/or proposition. Labor are a party of principle, and our position on media diversity is not up for trade or for being any part of these backroom deals. As I've said, we need to expose Senator Xenophon, because he can't wash his hands of the fact that he is responsible for unleashing an unprecedented attack on the ABC by joining One Nation in agreeing to repeal the two-out-of-three rule. Senator Xenophon maintains that he won't undermine the ABC or the SBS, but there is simply no denying that he is giving the green light to the One Nation-Turnbull government's plan to undermine the ABC and the SBS.

Senator Xenophon claims to care about the ABC, but he supports this deal that's been done in a back room. He can't then go out to people in South Australia and paint himself as some saviour. He has to go back ultimately to South Australia, his electorate, and he has to be accountable for the decisions that he is going to make here in this chamber—and his fingerprints are going to be all over not only the selling-out of the ABC and the SBS but also the repeal of the two-out-of-three rule. Senator Hanson, with her numbers here in this chamber, and Senator Xenophon are supporting this, as I've said. They will be responsible for undermining media diversity across Australia, handing unprecedented media power to a privileged few and permitting further consolidation of Australia's already highly concentrated media, including in South Australia's capital of Adelaide, where media diversity is low. If Senator Xenophon were serious about supporting the Australian media industry, he would have joined Labor in demanding that the Turnbull government dump its flawed proposal to repeal the two-out-of-three rule, while letting the remainder of the reform measures through parliament. Senator Xenophon is acknowledged as someone who will do whatever deals he can to ensure that there is political advantage in it for himself and now his party. But we all know that, sooner or later, a Teflon frypan does wear out.

The Minister for Communications is used to backing himself into a corner. When he was the minister for aged care, we called it the 'Fifield fluffle'. The Minister for Communications is certainly in a fluffle today and has practically been in hiding since making this dirty pact with Pauline Hanson's One Nation about the ABC. But he's been forced to the table on this today. Senator Fifield owns his attack on the ABC and he has some serious questions to answer. Is there a secret side agreement to cut ABC funding next year? Is the requirement for fair and balanced coverage designed to give voice to those who don't have a voice in the community—the holocaust deniers, the climate change sceptics and the antivaxxers? Further, is the competitive neutrality inquiry aimed diminishing the ABC and the SBS to mere market failure broadcasters? Does the establishment of a second advisory council prove that the Turnbull government has no confidence in the ABC board and management?

It beggars belief that the Turnbull government would slash ABC funding only to turn around and complain that the national broadcaster isn't doing enough for rural and regional Australia. If you think that the people who live in rural and regional Australia are going to accept the cuts that you are making and then buy your argument that the ABC aren't delivering, then you're fooling yourselves. This dodgy deal that's been done is, quite frankly, one of the worst that I've seen in this place. It just goes to the fact that the government are so desperate, so shambolic, so divided, that they will do deals with the devil, almost, to get their legislation through. For 18 months they've been trying. As I said, it's been listed both in the House and here countless times, and they haven't been able to do their deal. Tonight we are here debating something that could have been done a long time ago if they had just accepted the amendment in relation to the two-out-of-three rule. But, as usual, what we see is an incompetent government trying to ram it through tonight, without any warning that we were going to be sitting late. Of course, we knew, when they started pulling their speakers off the list, that they had done their dirty deals with some of those on the crossbench. So we're here tonight. I'm actually looking forward to the committee stage of this bill. But, once again, I think this government is underestimating the Australian people. I think they're underestimating what the ABC means for ensuring that there is balance in the media in this country.