Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Senator Fifield. Can the minister inform the Senate of how the government is reforming Australia's media laws to bring them into the digital age?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith, in his role as chair of the government's communications and arts committee, for his advice and counsel and stewardship of these matters through the internal processes of the party.

I think all colleagues would recognise that Australia's media laws were crafted in an analog era for an analog world, and the ways that consumers are accessing their media—the options that technology is presenting for their consumption of media—are bit by bit rendering the existing media laws redundant. Also, a number of media organisations are finding that the existing media laws are constraining their capacity to configure themselves in ways that are the best for their business and best for consumers.

So I announced earlier today that the government will be seeking to abolish what is known as the 75 per cent audience reach rule, which prevents a collection of licences having more than 75 per cent coverage of the Australian audience, and to abolish what is known as the two out of three rule, which prevents merging of more than two out of three of the regulated traditional media platforms controlled by an organisation—those traditional media platforms being print, TV and radio.

This is good news for the media industry. It will be good news for consumers, and I think I will shortly have the opportunity to share why it will also be particularly good news for regional consumers. We need to make sure that the media laws that we have are appropriate and recognise the world that we live in today. We have to be always ready to change to suit technology.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister outline to the Senate what the government is doing to ensure that regional communities receive stronger local content protections?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When you talk about media reform, regional communities, understandably, have a strong and legitimate interest in local content. What we will be proposing is that six months after a trigger event there will be new and higher local content requirements that will come into place for the aggregated markets, going up from 720 to 900 points over a six-week period. Also, if there is a trigger event in major population areas in a non-aggregated market, we will introduce, for the first time, local content requirements. Following a trigger event they, in those areas, will go from zero to 360 points per six-week period. So, there will be higher thresholds and a higher baseline of local content for aggregated areas and, for the first time, there will be a baseline of local content for major population centres in non-aggregated areas, which is good news for consumers.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate how the government will protect diversity in the Australian media?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The greatest protection these days for diversity comes by way of technology and consumer choice. There are new media operations, and consumers have greater capacity to access them than ever before. That is first and foremost. For those who may have some concerns, we can point to the remaining media laws. There is the five-four rule, which requires there to be five voices in metropolitan areas and four voices in regional areas. Also, there will still be the one-to-a-market rule, which will allow one TV licence per market, and the two-to-a-market rule, which will allow only two TV licences per market. There will also be the ongoing ACCC protections. Those do not change. There will also be the existing FIRB requirements. Those do not change. So there are still those historic protections there. But, as I say, the greatest protection and the greatest guarantee of diversity is technology, the plethora of media outlets and the opportunity for consumers to access them.