David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would love to spend the next 15 minutes explaining what those differences are and how my good friend across the aisle there doesn't quite understand this law and I will explore exactly why that is. I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2020. It's clear there has never been a more important time to get this bill passed than today. Mr Zuckerberg and Facebook think they can hold this government for ransom; they can't and they won't. Cutting off small media publishers, government pages, even the CSIRO public health advice in the middle of a pandemic in a bid to intimidate this Senate to not pass this legislation is just not on.

This is Australia, and we won't be told what to do by a US conglomerate. Let me make one thing clear: this government will not be held to ransom by this tech giant. This tech giant is acting like a child who isn't getting their way. It is acting like a child who just got bowled out in backyard cricket and is picking up their bat and ball and taking them home. I say to Facebook, 'Don't let the gate hit you on the way out.' This government is going to keep batting on, whether or not Facebook likes it. These actions reinforce to me the importance of this legislation and, importantly, the tough stance the Morrison government has taken on this issue.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2020 establishes a world-first, mandatory code to address the bargaining power imbalances that exist between digital media platforms and the Australian news media businesses. This piece of legislation reflects a change in the media environment we're currently facing. This legislation has been brought about in no small way through Facebook's own actions. With consumers now turning more and more to news online, news media businesses are grappling with the challenge of finding a viable and sustainable business model for the provision of public interest journalism. Public interest journalism plays an important role in our society and this role can only be fulfilled by a strong, diverse and sustainable Australian news media sector. This bill ensures that the Australian news media sector remains sustainable and we continue to get quality local news.

This bill responds to the key findings of the digital platforms inquiry. As all senators know, the conclusion of that inquiry was that a significant bargaining power imbalance exists between digital platforms and Australian news media businesses. That's a common-sense conclusion that, I think, any ordinary person in the street would quite readily recognise to be the case. While these platforms have emerged from almost nowhere, 15 years ago or less, companies like Facebook, Google—indeed, Amazon—were just start-ups in university dorms. I was working in Silicon Valley at the time that these start-ups were just starting to get going. These platforms were the disruptors of traditional industries and businesses, and they have certainly disrupted. However, today, such companies are the behemoths of the business world.

Governments should not prop up industries past their use-by date but public interest journalism should not be taken and not paid for. The size of these platforms, not only their market capitalisation and corporate power but also their dominance in our personal lives, is just too much. Today, these digital companies are now the modern railroads and utilities from last century and they are central to 21st century living. Life as we know it today would not be the same without them. They keep us connected and they keep us informed. Not only do they help us communicate but they are now the platforms on which we conduct commerce, consume entertainment and get our news and journalism. In a sense, they're an indispensable part of our everyday lives.

While digital technology companies are booming, traditional media has been crippled under competitive pressure. Traditional media has relied on classified advertising to form the backbone of its revenue and the backbone of its business model. Classified advertising really underwrote journalism, printing costs and almost everything else in a media business. In many instances, and certainly for print journalism, as much as 90 per cent of revenue came from classifieds. Classified advertising has been disrupted by these online platforms, and it's safe to say it's been disrupted in a number of ways. If you look for a job in Australia these days, you might go to Seek or LinkedIn. If you're looking to buy a car, you might go to Carsales. If you're looking to trade something second-hand you might go to Gumtree. If you're looking to buy real estate, there are any number of online platforms you would go to. All of these revenue sources have been taken from traditional print media and are now in the hands of well-established and successful technology companies that have taken a large portion of this business and found a way to make money from it.

While that is great—as a Liberal, I will always support free enterprise—it is vital that we also protect our news media. These classified ads, which are now dominated by tech companies, previously funded our news media in Australia. Without the revenue sources that they used to get, news media in Australia will no longer exist. This legislation is protecting exactly that. It is unacceptable that big tech giants are earning significant revenue from the effort of Australian media outlets. This bill responds to the key findings of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Digital Platform Inquiry. The ACCC conducted a detailed world-leading inquiry over almost 18 months and set out a series of recommendations in response to the substantial market power that has arisen through the growth of digital platforms, their impact on competition in media and advertising markets, and their implications for news media businesses, advertisers and consumers. The ACCC found that digital platforms had become unavoidable trading partners of news media businesses, resulting in a substantial bargaining power imbalance.

Since commissioning the ACCC inquiry in December 2017, the Morrison government has undertaken an extensive policy-development process that has been going for almost three years, which has included public consultation on a position paper and exposure draft legislation. As the Prime Minister has said, the laws of the digital world should reflect, as far as possible, the laws of the physical world. We are not seeking to protect traditional media companies from the rigour of competition or from technological disruption, which we know benefits consumers. Rather, we are seeking to create a level playing field where market power is not misused and there is appropriate compensation for the production of original news content.

To that end, this bill will establish a new, world-leading code of conduct for news media businesses and digital platforms. The code ensures that digital platforms share the benefit they obtain from using Australian-sourced news media content with the news businesses who create that content. The Treasurer will be able to determine that a digital platform is subject to the code, having regard to ACCC and Treasury advice as to whether a substantial bargaining-power disparity exists. ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, would assess the eligibility of Australian news media businesses to participate in the code against criteria set out in that code. The framework contained in the bill recognises that agreements can be entered into outside of the code. Indeed, they are encouraged to be entered into outside the code, and we acknowledge that Google are currently in the process of entering into similar sorts of agreements with Australian media companies. This is a far better example of corporate responsibility than the heavy-handed tactics of its Silicon Valley counterpart, Facebook. Where a news media business reaches an agreement with a digital platform, it can agree not to bargain or pursue compulsory arbitration under the code. If news media business cannot reach an acceptable agreement with a digital platform outside of the code, it will have the option to trigger aspects of the code to address the difference between bargaining powers. This includes minimum standards obligations that digital platforms must meet for all news media businesses registered under the code, requirements for good-faith bargaining over remuneration, and the application of final offer arbitration if bargaining between the parties does not succeed.

The News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code is a world-leading initiative. The senators in this place should make no mistake: the world is watching. This code is designed to level the playing field and to ensure a sustainable and viable Australian media landscape. It's a key part of this government's strategy to ensure that the Australian economy is able to take full advantage of the benefits of digital technology, supported by appropriate regulation, to protect key elements of Australian society. One such key element is a strong and sustainable news media landscape.

In testimony to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, Free TV, the industry body, argued:

… in a well-functioning democracy there is a responsibility that falls on the businesses that become gateways between the community and information.

They go on to say that this responsibility has been borne by commercial TV broadcasters for some time and that, for decades, as an influential media platform, these businesses represented by Free TV have operated under a regulatory compact that requires them to pay broadcast licence fees, pay spectrum fees and meet stringent content obligations. They say that this responsibility should now be shared by companies of the size and influence of Google and Facebook.

A submission to an ACCC concepts paper, which was drafted collectively by 88 regional, state and national news publishers, argued that the establishment of the news media mandatory bargaining code 'is likely to be one of the most important media policy decisions affecting Australian democracy for decades'. So, as you can see, many key organisations support this legislation, while big tech giants—Facebook, Google, Twitter—are seemingly opposed to it, although some are coming around. Some have even said that this legislation doesn't go far enough. Reset Australia, which describes itself as, 'an independent, non-partisan organisation committed to driving public policy advocacy' and committed to fighting the 'digital threats to democracy' supports the bill but believes it should go further.

It is clear that there are many views on this legislation—some for, some against and some wanting to go further. That said, the Morrison government has tried to juggle the many views and strike the right balance. As such, the bill which is before the Senate today does just that. It strikes just the right balance.

I want to end by thanking the communications minister, Minister Fletcher, for his fantastic work, and the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, for pulling this legislation together. In the face of bullying and intimidation from Facebook, these ministers and the departments around them have stood up for Australian local news media. The bill before the chamber tonight should be supported by all senators.