Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill and to move government amendments (1) to (19) as circulated together.

Leave granted.

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill and I move government amendments (1) to (19) as circulated together

(1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 18 (line 1), omit "or practice".

(2) Schedule 1, item 1, page 18 (lines 5 and 6), omit "or internal practice".

(3) Schedule 1, item 1, page 19 (line 1) to page 21 (line 3), omit sections 52T and 52U.

(4) Schedule 1, item 1, page 21 (line 4), omit "Sections52S, 52T and 52U", substitute "Section52S".

(5) Schedule 1, item 1, page 21 (lines 5 and 6), omit "paragraphs 52S(1) (b), 52T(1) (b) and 52U(1) (b)", substitute "paragraph 52S(1) (b)".

(6) Schedule 1, item 1, page 21 (line 14), omit "Sections52S and 52T", substitute "Section52S".

(7) Schedule 1, item 1, page 21 (line 15), omit "paragraphs 52S(1) (c) and 52T(1) (c)", substitute "paragraph 52S(1) (c)".

(8) Schedule 1, item 1, page 21 (line 27), omit "paragraphs 52S(1) (c) and 52T(1) (c)", substitute "paragraph 52S(1) (c)".

(9) Schedule 1, item 1, page 24 (before line 22), before subparagraph 52ZC(2) (a) (i), insert:

(ia) a corporation being registered under section 52G, or being endorsed under that section as the registered news business corporation for a news business;

(10) Schedule 1, item 1, page 25 (line 13), omit "subparagraph (a) (i),", substitute "subparagraph (a) (ia), (i),".

(11) Schedule 1, item 1, page 25 (line 25), at the end of subsection 52ZC(2), add:

; or (c) differentiate between news businesses that are not registered news businesses, because of any of the following matters:

(i) a corporation being eligible to be registered under section 52G, or being eligible to be endorsed under that section as the registered news business corporation for a news business;

(ii) a corporation applying under section 52F for registration of itself, or of a news business, or for endorsement of itself as the registered news business corporation for a news business.

(12) Schedule 1, item 1, page 33 (line 7), omit "issues", substitute "services".

(13) Schedule 1, item 1, page 37 (line 20), omit "an amount", substitute "a lump sum amount".

(14) Schedule 1, item 1, page 37 (line 23), at the end of subsection 52ZX(1), add:

; and (c) is consistent with rights under contracts that are in force between:

(i) the responsible digital platform corporation or a related body corporate of the responsible digital platform corporation; and

(ii) the registered news business corporation for the represented registered news business or a related body corporate of that registered news business corporation.

(15) Schedule 1, item 1, page 37 (line 26), omit "amount should be", substitute "amount should be (expressed as a lump sum)".

(16) Schedule 1, item 1, page 39 (after line 3), after section 52ZX, insert:

52ZXA Final offer to be accompanied by information about contracts

(1) If a bargaining party submits to the panel a final offer in accordance with subsection 52ZX(4), it must, on the same day that it submits the final offer to the panel, give the panel information that:

(a) is relevant to the arbitration; and

(b) relates to all contracts that are in force between:

(i) the responsible digital platform corporation or a related body corporate of the responsible digital platform corporation; and

(ii) the registered news business corporation for the represented registered news business or a related body corporate of that registered news business corporation.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) requires the giving of information if doing so would disclose information that is protected against disclosure by a duty of confidence.

(3) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) does not prevent a bargaining party from giving information under subsection (1) if the other bargaining party agrees to the bargaining party doing so.

(17) Schedule 1, item 1, page 39 (lines 21 and 22), omit paragraph 52ZZ(1) (c), substitute:

(c) the reasonable cost to the registered news business of producing covered news content;

(ca) the reasonable cost to the designated digital platform service of making available covered news content in Australia;

(18) Schedule 1, item 1, page 41 (lines 6 and 7), omit "about both final offers", substitute "in relation to the arbitration".

(19) Schedule 1, item 1, page 41 (after line 10), after subsection 52ZZC(1), insert:

(1A) The information contained in the submission must be:

(a) impartial factual information that relates to the relevant market; and

(b) impartial information that relates to relevant economic principles.

These are a set of technical amendments which go to further the effective operation of this code, and they are designed to give effect to the government's policy intention and take account of a number of technical matters which have emerged during the process of the bill being considered. For example, the amendments include measures that would provide for the simplification of the requirement in the code for the advanced notice of algorithm changes. There's clarification that arbitration will be balanced—that is, the arbitrators should consider the reasonable cost of both the news media business and digital platform. The code will stipulate, for the avoidance of doubt, that remuneration that is arbitrated is to be made in the form of a lump sum. That is the effect of one of the other significant amendments before the House, and the amendments clarify the information that the ACCC can provide in the arbitration process. There's an amendment to give effect to the government's policy intent that the code should not interfere with existing contractual rights. There's an amendment to ensure that the anti-avoidance provisions can take effect from the commencement of the code.

These amendments are very much about enforcing the overall policy intention of the code and the legislation which embodies it and make a series of technical and clarifying amendments, and so I commend the amendments to the House.

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