Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my great pleasure to rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2021. This bill brings together the results of three years of extensive public consultation by the Morrison government with stakeholders right across Australia's vast media landscape. These laws were drafted closely with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which had found that government intervention was required to correct the enormous imbalance of bargaining power between digital platforms and local news businesses. The code represents a world first. This is a global first in tackling the glaring issue of the decline in traditional advertising revenues, where traditional media organisations in this country are being subjected to what we can only say—and in recent days we've seen this, obviously, from Facebook—is nothing less than abuse of market power. There has been a dramatic change in our media landscape.

Fundamentally, this bill is about ensuring that journalists are properly remunerated for the content they generate, which, of course, so benefits the global technology platforms. I understand firsthand the sweat, the blood and the tears that go into producing quality journalism. I worked over some 16 years for a number of media organisations, including channels 7, 9 and 10 and the ABC, in various roles in news and current affairs. I also made a few documentaries. I well understand the hard yakka it takes to produce one one-minute news story. It involves a lot of resources, a lot of people—camera operators, journalists, editors, producers—and all of the technical requirements to actually broadcast. Things have changed a lot, of course. It is now a lot easier to broadcast live than it was in the old days. But there has been a dramatic change in our media landscape, where the margins of our traditional media companies are being squeezed by the big global players. This code is all about providing a level playing field.

A strong democracy requires a free, diverse and sustainable domestic news media sector. This bill will support Australian publishers and broadcasters, big, medium and small, through a number of crucial measures. These include measures to encourage parties to undertake commercial negotiations outside of the code and to support small news media businesses with efficient pathways to finalise agreements with platforms by enabling them to publish standard offers.

Another measure is to establish a negotiation framework under the code which allows parties to bargain in good faith and reach binding agreements. In contrast to the appalling behaviour we have seen from Facebook in recent days, I do want to commend the conduct of Google, which has entered into a number of very significant deals with media companies in this country, including News Corp Australia, the Nine Network and the Seven Network. I hope and trust that there will be more deals to follow, including for smaller regional players, which are also vitally important in holding us as a government to account, in our democracy and, of course, in ensuring that public interest journalism in Australia is alive and well.

There is a measure in the bill which sets clear and workable minimum standards for digital platforms, including requiring 14 days advance notice of deliberate algorithm changes which impact news media businesses, and a measure which ensures that an independent arbiter is able to determine the level of remuneration that should be paid under a fair and balanced final-offer arbitration model, should the parties be unable to reach agreement. So in this country we legislate for Australians and for the benefit of Australian companies. This is landmark legislation. I pay credit to the Prime Minister, to the Treasurer and to the communications minister, who led the charge on this very, very significant legislation.

The Morrison government has also introduced a range of technical amendments and clarifications which will improve the workability of the code whilst retaining its overall effect. These changes include streamlining the requirements for digital platforms to give advance notice of algorithm changes to make them more workable, clarifying the arbitration criteria so that it considers the reasonable costs of both the digital platform and news media businesses, clarifying the role of the ACCC and ensuring its focus is on providing factual information to assist the arbitrator, adjusting the effect of anti-avoidance provisions so they take effect from the commencement of the code and ensuring the government's policy intent of not interfering with existing contractual rights under the code is achieved. To ensure the code is working as the government intends, the code will be reviewed by Treasury within one year of its commencement.

I mentioned the conduct of Facebook in recent days and I've already made some statements on the record about this but I want to reiterate my disappointment and my disgust at how Facebook has blocked Australian news. In doing so, it has done so much to trash its reputation in this country. It is completely irresponsible for Facebook to have blocked vital health information pages during a pandemic. It is completely irresponsible for Facebook to have blocked a wide range of vital information pages, including pages belonging to the Royal Children's Hospital, MS Australia, a number of Indigenous health services and The Kids' Cancer Project. This conduct is an assault on Australian's freedom and a gross abuse of power. We contrast this appalling behaviour with the behaviour of Google, which has operated in good faith to reach the deals that I referenced earlier. As I say, we expect that more deals will follow, and I think, as a result of the good conduct of Google, its reputation will be further enhanced in this country. Make no bones about it: the conduct of Facebook has ricocheted around the globe. Many other citizens in many other countries are appalled at what has happened here in this country. We will not be bullied. We will not be intimidated. The Morrison government have consistently said that we want to see Facebook and Google remain operating and viable and thriving in Australia but we also expect them to comply with the laws passed by our democratically elected parliament of Australia.

I am pleased to report that there has been some very good progress in some other countries such as Canada. Some initial reports that have just come out in the last day or so have indicated that Canada is poised to support the very landmark and world-leading example of the Morrison government and make companies like Facebook pay for news content generated by Canadian publishers. The Canadian heritage minister, Steven Guilbeault, strongly condemned Facebook's move. He is quoted as saying:

I think what Facebook is doing in Australia is highly irresponsible and compromises the safety of many Australian people.

What Facebook did was highly irresponsible. It did compromise safety.

I received an email from a person—I won't identify this person—who said that he was most distressed because a friend had posted about her very traumatic experiences as the victim of a crime. She had spent a number of years doing so on her Facebook page, including posting a number of very relevant news media articles concerning the trauma that she had suffered. These articles have now been removed. Her plight, her position, her decision to fight for what she believed in have been undermined because of Facebook's conduct.

I really hope that we do see other countries around the world following the lead of the Morrison government and taking a stand against these global giants. I will say something to Facebook: Mark, if you're listening, I worked for a news corporation in New York in the late 1990s and early 2000s at a time when News Corporation acquired Myspace. Myspace was going to be the big, new global platform and there were great aspirations for its future, but within a number of years that particular platform gradually died away. If Facebook, in this country, becomes a place where people can no longer trust the information it publishes, if it becomes a place where credible news can no longer be found, where credible journalism can no longer be found, then Facebook's role in our democracy is diminished. Not only is this an issue of its reputation; this is an issue of its relevance. I say to Mark and all of his other executive team all around the world, as they count their billions of dollars, including billions of dollars of advertising revenue, just have a look at the demise of some other platforms when they do the wrong thing by the people they serve. Facebook is only as good as the people who use it. If they lose the trust and confidence of those who use Facebook then Facebook may well one day see a similar demise.

This code is healthy for our democracy. It preserves jobs in newsrooms, in media organisations, around this country, from the small country towns to our big cities. It gives great confidence to those young men and women who want to forge a life in journalism, who want to forge a life working in media, including in traditional print or broadcasting.

We understand that public interest journalism often requires lengthy, complex and cost-intensive investigations. These laws will ensure that journalists and publishers are rightly rewarded for their work, rather than it being ripped off by the platforms, as has been occurring.

Of course I'm also very pleased to make mention of the fact that the bill involves substantial penalties for breaching the code's main provision and these penalty provisions will be enforced by the ACCC.

It is good to see universal support for this bill across this chamber. I acknowledge that there are some proposed amendments. But it is wonderful to see, across this chamber—from the Labor Party, the Greens and the crossbench—a strong backing for this landmark legislation. As I say, I really hope and trust that our bill and our aspirations for our Australian media companies are picked up by other countries around the world and adopted, which can only be a very good thing for our democracy.