Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for your explanation. It doesn't mitigate my concerns. So if, for example, a digital platform does a deal with a local newspaper and says, 'We're going to help drive traffic and we'll complement other's advertising,' that's a great commercial deal. But the competing paper sits on the ACMA list without having struck a deal only to find that the competitiveness of the advertising deals that they'd normally get through their own revenue streams that have nothing to do with these platforms is now becoming undercut and less sustainable because of the kind of deals that have already been done. Previously, it said you can't differentiate between businesses by reason of their participation in the code. I'm now concerned, and I would like an explanation about how those commercial agreements for those that are left out isn't just about whether they're going to get a benefit of revenue but whether, in fact, that benefit is created and gobbled up from increasing the competitive pressure on the other media players. I want to know how you'll assess that issue. It seems to me that these deals might not contribute to a positive significant contribution. Indeed, they could undermine a contribution if players that are left out of the deals become more unsustainable.