Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Senate Environment and Communication References Committee with the support of the Labor Senators recommended to the 46th Parliament that the Commonwealth initiate a judicial inquiry, with the powers of a Royal Commission to investigate the concentration of media ownership in Australia;

(b) according to the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, 255 media outlets across the country closed down between the beginning of 2019 and March 2022, nearly 70 per cent in regional Australia;

(c) the transfer of ownership of APN led to 112 local print newspapers being shut down;

(d) according to a comprehensive international study of international media ownership and concentration by Columbia University, only Egypt and China have greater concentration of newspaper ownership of the countries studied;

(e) one company has a 59 per cent share of the metropolitan and national print media market by readership and the second 23 per cent;

(f) 3,000 journalists had lost their jobs in the decade to 2018 and more since then;

(g) unlike the United Kingdom there is no longer a 'fit and proper person' test in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992; and

(h) the public interest test does not apply to cross-media mergers; and

(2) supports and calls on the Government to:

(a) initiate a judicial inquiry, with the powers of a Royal Commission, to investigate and report on the state of media diversity in Australia with the following powers, to:

(i) call witnesses and require the production of documents and information equal to those afforded the Royal Commission into the banking system;

(ii) seek expert advice and make recommendations to broaden media diversity, especially in rural, regional and suburban Australia; and

(iii) seek expert advice and make recommendations on the state of self-regulation of media in generally available in Australia, in particular, whether the Australian Press Council and the Australian Communications and Media Authority are fit for purpose;

(b) commit to the long-term and adequate funding of Australia's only independent newswire, Australian Associated Press;

(c) establish an independent and permanent trust to assist emerging news ventures, especially in regional areas, including the funding of journalism traineeships; and

(d) abide by the independent process for appointments to the boards of the ABC and SBS.

The Senate committee on media diversity in Australia that reported last year, with the support of Labor senators, stated this in its report:

The committee recommends the establishment of a judicial inquiry, with the powers of a royal commission … It is clear that the current regulatory framework is not fit for purpose and significant changes are required.

To quote from the report again:

The committee heard significant evidence that Australia's system of media regulation is not effective … including lack of oversight for digital media. The committee heard extensive evidence that the complaints processes for traditional media are insufficient and slow. There was clear evidence that the self-regulation model for print media through the Australian Press Council is woefully inadequate. Equally, the Australian Communication and Media Authority's (ACMA) oversight of broadcast media is slow, complex, onerous for complainants and often inconclusive.

This was a majority report supported by Labor senators, and, yet, like the last government, this government refuses to face up to and tackle one of the biggest existential threats to our democracy. Information is power; disinformation, unfortunately, even more so. The contraction of media means that sources of conversations around the country are fewer and less diverse. There is less scrutiny, especially at the local level, with consequences for the quality of governance. In some parts of the country there are no local print outlets at all. In others, there are several, but they're all run by the same company. According to the Public Interest Journalism Initiative's Australian Newsroom Mapping Project, 31 LGAs have no local print or digital outlet at all. In just the last few weeks, for example, ACM closed the print editions of the Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser, the Camden-Narellan Advertiser, the Fairfield City Champion, the Liverpool Champion and the Wollondilly Advertiser, leaving residents of much of Western Sydney and its southern outskirts less well informed.

In the United States, a study by Penn-America found that, as local newspapers closed, local government corruption costs and inefficiency rose, while spending and environmental checks went down. From my own observations, having reported extensively in the US, the lack of local media means that political debate is had at the national level, without reference to local community impact, cost or benefit. This is highly destructive and disconnects people from their government, and, in some cases, the void created sends people down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and makes them vulnerable to disinformation. The storming of the US Capitol in January 2021 was one example of this. In Australia, changes to the Broadcasting Services Act in 2017 have accelerated the trend to concentration and closure. The two out of three cross-media control rule was abolished, as well as the 75 per cent audience reach rule. Now, just two owners are responsible for 86 per cent of the circulation of all daily newspapers—an oligopoly, if not a monopoly.

My intention in proposing this motion is that this be the start, not the end, of a process. It will not come to a vote, but I appreciate those who are contributing to this important discussion. I'll conclude with a number of steps designed to give us the media framework to enhance our democracy. ACMA should, at the very least, be reformed so it has teeth, with the resources to initiate its own inquiries. This should equally apply to the Australian Press Council, including releasing regular updates on complaints received and resolved. There should be a framework to ensure truth in media reporting. A fit and proper person test should be restored to the Broadcasting Services Act. There should be adequate and long-term support for the Australian Associated Press. There should be support to restore broader reporting of affairs at the local, regional and rural levels, and tax-deductibility status for not-for-profit media organisations. As the Senate report articulates:

Public interest journalism is essential to a democracy. Active citizenship requires access to reliable information, and democracy cannot flourish without a diversity of media sources …

These are the facts, and they go to the stability of our country. We ignore them at our peril.

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