Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think all colleagues welcome great Australian sporting teams and great Australian sporting triumphs. As colleagues—who I know are very keen followers of Australian media law—are aware, it is ultimately a matter for Australian media organisations as to the broadcast rights that they purchase. Obviously, that is qualified to the extent that we have what's known as the anti-siphoning list. The anti-siphoning list is not there to guarantee that certain events will be free to air; it is there to give free-to-air broadcasters—commercial broadcasters—the first rights to purchase those events. I should point out that the anti-siphoning list doesn't mandate that free-to-air commercial TV has to purchase particular events, it doesn't prevent them from onselling them and it doesn't make it mandatory that they in any way seek to acquire those events. I just thought I'd provide that context for the way sporting rights operate in Australia.

Colleagues would be aware that recently a majority of us in this place together moved to update and reform Australia's media laws. Part of that was to have a sensible renovation of the anti-siphoning list.