Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to make a contribution to this debate and support the passage of the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Primary Television Broadcasting Service) Bill 2015. This is a reform that is overdue for many Australians. It will allow commercial and national free-to-air broadcasters to provide their primary television broadcasting services in high definition as well as the standard definition that is currently legislated for.

The speed of change in terms of technological advancement associated with TVs, high-definition viewing and the uptake of digital and high-definition television in Australia is quite remarkable. I think it is a great example of Australia's fondness for new technology. We are one of the leading nations when it comes to the penetration of smartphones in our community. We carry more smartphones than many other nations throughout the world. We also have great fondness for digital TV. I think that is a great indicator of Australia's relative wealth and high living standards, because when these new technologies come on the market they are often quite expensive.

When digital TV came to the Australian market many Australians took up the offer. Because many of the primary free-to-air broadcasts were not provided in HD, particularly some of the sporting events, many Australians took up subscription television services. Those who could afford it would pay the additional money each month to take up those subscription television services to be able to watch programs in high definition. It is wonderful to see finally that we are providing the opportunity for consumers to access those high-definition services on a more regular basis through free-to-air. This will allow greater consumer access to high-definition services when it comes to TV.

The other great revolution that has occurred in this space over many recent years has been greater consumer access to alternative media platforms. I am talking specifically of the internet, smartphones and the like. Many Australians now access a lot of their traditional television content, particularly sporting events, through smartphones and the internet. Again, I think it is testament to Australians' uptake of new technologies and new platforms to view these programs that we are one of the leading nations when it comes to viewing programs through this form.

The way the system currently works is that the primary service providers—the free-to-air channels: channels 7, 9, 10, ABC and SBS—are required to broadcast their primary services in standard definition. This has been the case for some years, particularly when we began the rollout of high-definition television throughout the country. To ensure that those who only had standard definition TV sets could continue to access primary TV services when the digital switchover was occurring there was a requirement for the free-to-air broadcasters to continue to provide that content on their free-to-air channels in a standard definition format.

Then we initiated the digital rollout. As I mentioned earlier, many Australians have revelled in the opportunity to install digital TV sets in their homes. I think you would have to say that that switchover, that rollout, has been a great success. In February 2014 Newspoll conducted a survey of Australians regarding the rollout of digital TV services and found that at the time 96 per cent of Australians had access to a digital TV or a set-top box to access high-definition content. Given the speed of the uptake of these services and digital TV technology, you would have to say that that number would well and truly have increased and be close to 100 per cent now.

With the completion of the digital switch-over and the availability of a range of new TV services and programs, many Australians now expect that their primary and their premium free-to-air programs will be provided in high definition, especially live sport. It is a great indicator of Australia's passion for sporting events—big sporting events like the AFL and NRL grand finals, the State of Origin, the Ashes and the summer cricket series, and the national soccer teams—that we now expect to view them in high definition. Some have said that the passage of this bill has a lot to do with the football finals coming up and providing that opportunity for the viewing of those big sporting events in high definition. I would like to hope that this is not just about that; it is actually about ensuring that Australians have access to the best quality digital TV services and as many programs as possible in high definition.

All manner of programs are now provided through high-definition platforms. Whether through subscription television services or free-to-air, many are now providing those high-definition programs. This is about ensuring the best quality viewing and the best platform that primary providers can provide. It is a fact that those primary providers are now competing with other platforms. Not only is there the need for access to the services; there is the need for primary providers to provide more programs in high definition simply to compete. If you are going to get a better quality service and better quality vision, particularly of a largest sporting event through a subscription TV service because they offer high definition, then many Australians will switch to the subscription service to view a particular sporting event. To ensure that those primary service providers can compete, it is important that they are providing those services in high definition.

There are some consequential amendments that are required to other legislation to ensure this change is possible. I am referring specifically to the antisiphoning legislation, which ensures that certain popular sporting events, high-demand sporting events, are provided on the free-to-air platform so that as many Australians as possible can access them. There is the rule that restricts a broadcaster from premiering an antisiphoning event on a non-primary multichannel. That particular rule would not apply to a broadcaster who offered a high-definition primary service but chose to firstly broadcast the antisiphoning event on a non-primary channel in standard definition. That is a result that we obviously wish to avoid through the passage of this bill. To avoid that result, a consequential amendment is required to the antisiphoning regime to ensure that the current rules continue to apply in the event of broadcasters electing to provide their primary service in high definition. That is a necessary amendment that arises from these reforms.

Many on this side of the parliament have been campaigning for many, many years now for this reform to ensure that Australians have access to the best possible viewing opportunities and the best viewing experiences in the best and latest technology. One of those individuals is the member for Chifley, Ed Husic, who has been a very passionate and tireless campaigner for this reform. Ed has been campaigning for as long as I can remember for this reform to be made by the Australian parliament. It is testament to Ed's work and the effort that he has put in to this particular campaign that this bill has come before the parliament and this reform is being made by the Australian government. Many Australians owe Ed a debt of gratitude for the work he has put in to ensuring this reform is made.

In conclusion, I am very pleased to support what I believe is an overture amendment. It will provide greater access to high-definition TV services on primary channels for a greater number of Australians. That will no doubt improve the quality of the delivery of television services in the country. That is a reform that is overdue but is worthy of support and has the full support of the Labor Party.

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