Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise to speak to the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill. The amendments proposed in this bill are designed so that Australia's media can continue to provide services that are not only relevant but engaging for audiences in the metropolitan and regional, rural and remote communities right across the country. The changes will also enable our broadcasters to focus on what they do best, which is provide great local content without irrelevant, burdensome regulations. The bill will ensure that there's a level playing field for all broadcasters, whether they be free, or subscription and streaming services, as we have seen evolve over the past decade. Perhaps most importantly, this bill also ensures that Australians have a choice as to how and when they access media and broadcasting services.

Broadcasting and subscription media have changed significantly since the current arrangements in the act were introduced in 2012. The introduction of subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix; Stan; Disney+, for those of us who've got kids; and Optus Sport, and increased competition for advertising revenue from Google and Facebook, paid TV and paid news content have seen the industry evolve at an extremely rapid rate.

It's fair to say that the current state of play in the market makes it extremely difficult for what we term the traditional media outlets, such as the humble newspaper serving its community, as an example, when compared with the rapid rise of these new digital services and streaming services. The size and the complexity of the existing framework is arguably excessive for an industry sector that's operating in a far different environment than when this legislation was originally introduced. We've got free-to-air broadcasting, radio and local newspapers competing with subscription and live-streaming services, so it's important these amendments be made to ensure that there is a fair and equitable playing field for all broadcasters. A key component of this amendment relates to the Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund. This program provides individual grants of up to $400,000 to publishers to assist in increasing the sustainability of regional print and online news-publishing activities including news gathering, production and distribution. However, COVID-19 has delayed the delivery of the projects under this fund and the Australian Communications and Media Authority's administration of those financial grants to successful applicants by the closing date of 30 June 2021. If the proposed amendment to extend the time frame doesn't occur, the ACMA will no longer have legislative authority to award grants and make those instalment payments, which are so important, beyond June 2021. What that would mean effectively is that some regional and small publishers may miss out on the funding if they've not been able to meet their milestones before the expiration of that program, which would be absolutely devastating for them.

This program is so important for regional publishers as many of them have struggled and will continue to struggle, as a result of the pandemic, from competition and other broadcasting services. Particularly in my region, local regional and rural news services are key to ensuring all residents, no matter where they live, have access to the latest in local news. The news outlets not only provide news but also provide jobs, encourage diversity of opinion, provide information for local communities on local happenings and keep older Australians connected with their communities. In my electorate, 30 per cent of residents are aged 65-plus. Very often, particularly in lower socioeconomic areas, their only source of information is via the local newspaper and local radio station or locally produced TV news content. Indeed, a large number of older Australians don't have access to digital services or paid subscriptions and live-streaming services. They might not have had the NBN put on, they might not want it or they might not be able to afford it. They may not be tech savvy enough to do it. These changes are very, very important, and we need to make sure that those older Australians don't fall through the gaps where traditional news services are winding back and leaving just the digital services.

Sadly, in my electorate and of course in many regional communities, we've seen the demise of long-running newspaper mastheads and broadcasting services. Programs such as the regional and small publishers innovation program are designed to support them and to ensure that they have long-term sustainability. But the loss of local mastheads in my electorate on the Mid North Coast includes the Bellingen Shire Courier-Sun and the Nambucca Guardian News, and that's had a major effect not only on how residents access their local news but also during their day-to-day lives. For many residents, when they take a trip down to buy their daily paper or their weekly paper, it's not just a trip to buy the paper. They go down as part of their daily routine. They catch up with the person behind the counter or someone at a cafe, or they go and buy their milk or their bread, before they turn around and make that trip back home to read the latest news. So it does make a difference to their daily or weekly ritual.

The Port Macquarie News is another publication that has altered the way it provides services. It continues to be published in the Port Macquarie-Hastings area, but, instead of tri-weekly, it's now published just once a week, while its sister publication, the Port Macquarie Express, is no longer printed at all. To see these historically important publications forced to cease or reduce printing shows the severe consequences of the existing uneven playing field.

However, there is some good news for local readers—particularly those in the beautiful Nambucca Valley. Whilst a number of the local services in the electorate have closed down, encouragingly, in the last month, a new, independent newspaper has begun publishing. The Nambucca Valley's News of the Area is distributing approximately 5,000 copies across the region, to keep residents up to date with what's going on, and it is evening up that playing field. So the decision to publish in the Nambucca area needs the support of these proposed changes, so we can continue to see local people employed to produce local content.

There is also a reducing percentage of Australian content being broadcast. It is so important that we don't lose that great Australian drama or those documentaries or access to local sport or children's shows or 'soapies', as we call them. That home-grown content is so valuable to our culture. It provides opportunities for Australians and young talent to be featured on the international stage. If I said things like, 'How's the serenity?' or, 'Tell him he's dreamin',' or, 'That's going straight to the pool room,' you'd know exactly what I was talking about. And that's the Australian content and the Australian talent that we need to support.

This bill modernises Australian content rules for commercial free-to-air broadcasters. It provides greater support for the production and the distribution of Australian content across a range of media, whether they be the free media, subscription TV or streaming services.

In conclusion, the measures in this amending bill demonstrate the government's commitment to reform and to streamlining regulation across the broadcasting industry. With the rapid uptake of digital broadcasting services and the impact that that has had on our way of life, it is vitally important for legislation and regulation to reflect the current environment. The bill will ensure Australia's media industry can and will continue to provide services that are relevant and engaging for audiences in the metropolitan, regional, rural and remote communities right across this country, and I commend it to the House.

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