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

What a ridiculous attack! The government is in the middle of sensitive negotiations. We have seen people's Facebook accounts blocked and all sorts of crazy things happen. We have no indication of the effect of this amendment on those negotiations. We have small publishers, small businesses, community health organisations and stakeholders right around the country who are already in a difficult place. We have this amendment, thrown in at the last minute, when Labor has not been at the table. We have no explanation of how such an amendment would impact on the very organisations that you, Senator Hanson-Young, purport to protect. So it seems absolutely ridiculous to me to be lectured by the Greens on this issue. The government is at the table in these negotiations. If the government were to tell us that this is the best way of protecting small players, then we would be at the table in supporting that amendment. However, not being at the table, we have no evidence to go on that this would make the situation any better. It seems ridiculous to be inserting such things at the last moment.

We, like all senators in this place, have a keen eye on small publishers and regional news. We want to see them supported on fair access to outcomes in terms of their sustainability. That is why we have had such an extensive debate today. You haven't inserted new powers for the ACCC. There are a whole range of things that could be put forward to address these issues. Instead, we get an off-the-cuff amendment from Senator Hanson-Young that we have no confidence in or insight into it making any difference to the outcomes. We, in this instance, will take the minister at her word, but we will also hold the government to account for these outcomes.

The CHAIR: The question is that the amendment moved by Senator Hanson-Young on sheet 1215 to the government amendments be agreed to.