Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund) Bill 2017. Let me say from the outset that I support this bill but do so rather cautiously. We all know that this bill has arisen as a result of a deal between the then Nick Xenophon Team and the government to repeal the two-out-of-three cross-media control rule. Furthermore, the only reason this program is before the Senate is because of that deal, together with the agreement of One Nation to repeal media diversity safeguards to mount an attack on the ABC and SBS. Media diversity safeguards should not have been traded away so easily in exchange for local content. It is not an either/or proposition. Australia needs both.

This bill is bittersweet. It does contain some measures which, hopefully, will contribute positively to the expansion and contribution of additional local news content. However, it is already too little, too late. The availability of media services in the Northern Territory is already in decline. Last year, Channel 9 Darwin was forced to lay off roughly a dozen staff, and the ABC has discontinued its shortwave services in the remote regions of the Northern Territory and in northern Australia. Furthermore, in last night's budget it was revealed that the government is going to cut ABC funding by $127 million. On the eve of the 2013 election, the coalition promised there would be no cuts to the ABC, yet on top of the $254 million in cuts the government has imposed since 2014, this budget contains a further $127 million in cuts. It is absolutely disgraceful. The financial grants made available to news outlets over the next three years total just over $50 million, but I do have some concerns as to whether this money will actually be spent, because this government does not have a great track record on living up to its promises. It's taken them eight months to answer a question on notice on underspending in the Bridges Renewal Program from the estimates before last—and we're still waiting.

I reiterate that the Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund exists only because of backroom deals, not because the Turnbull government is committed to public interest journalism. Where was the government when local news crews were being laid off? It was silent. Where was the government when the ABC was forced to cut its shortwave radio broadcasts? It was complicit. It is more interested in giving Foxtel—a foreign-owned company—a $30 million handout than it is in supporting public interest journalism, let alone regional journalism.

Before entering politics, I was previously a journalist in the Northern Territory and New South Wales, and I worked as a regional reporter. Let me tell you, working as a regional journalist is no easy job. You certainly don't get to front the doors of the Senate at 7.45 am to get a couple of grabs before filing a story. As journalists in our regions across Australia, you are out there driving long distances, travelling long hours, to talk to people to get the stories that you need to cover to fill your paper, to fill the internet in terms of coverage on the net and certainly for coverage for television camera crews and radio broadcast services. You write, record, read and produce your own stories. It's great work, but it needs to be thoroughly supported and respected.

This bill has the potential to promote public interest journalism, and I will be watching and pushing for that to happen. In particular, it has the potential to support regional cadetships, and it is good to hear from previous speakers in relation to those cadetships. The stated intention of the grants scheme is to assist regional and small publishers and other entities to transition and compete more successfully in a changing media environment. Examples of activities that could be eligible for grant funding include the purchase of a particular piece of technology or equipment, supporting a program or an initiative that is intended to promote civic journalism, the development of an application for the delivery of news and other media-related content services, training and upskilling of staff, and efforts to increase revenue and readership.

However, I do note that, for some reason, there are certain media organisations that have been prevented from applying for these grants: namely, BuzzFeed, The Guardian and The New Dailyall reputable online media organisations that could easily set up mobile offices in regional areas. The government has said it's because they're foreign-owned, which is a bit of a slap in the face because, as I said earlier, the government had no problem in gifting Foxtel a free $30 million cheque. I'm certainly interested to see how far this money goes; after all, the program will only run for three years. I'm also interested to see exactly which organisations will receive the grant funding.

This government has shown its incompetence at the highest levels. And it will probably approve funding for the Betoota Advocate to fire up their printers in western Queensland. Have a think about that one. It's interesting to see that other large companies like News Corp Australia and Fairfax can access $10.4 million set aside for scholarships and cadetships yet, as I mentioned earlier, some of our nation's newest and most innovative news organisations are being excluded. Where will all the new journalism cadets work when the media merges, with the consolidations and job losses that will follow the repeal of the two-out-of-three rule?

As I've said, the fund runs out in nearly three years, which may well be before regional Australia actually comes to enjoy the reliable and affordable broadband services that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised would be delivered by now. Do regional media companies have the reliable and affordable broadband they need to enable them to grow their business and create more jobs in the digital age? I question it. What regional Australia needs for innovation is broadband that works, not just a bit of equipment and a few cadetships. Labor will hold the Turnbull government to account for stuffing up the NBN, for attacking the ABC and SBS and for destroying what precious little media diversity is left in this country—one of the most highly concentrated media markets in the world. And we'll be watching—I'll be watching—to see if the government keeps its word.