Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Hansard source

Australia has a proud history of locally produced content. Many shows have told great Australian stories. During that golden era of serialised drama on TV, we've had favourites like A Town Like Alice; Bodyline, the story of that famous Ashes series; The Cowra Breakout; Anzacs; The Dunera Boys, about the amazing contribution and the prisoner of war camp in Hay. Who could forget the Aussie classic All the Rivers Run, filmed on the mighty Murray River at Echuca in my electorate? We watched them all for free on TV.

Now we have choice, with endless streaming services. It's changed since you used to stay up and watch Channel 6 or Channel 3, which is all I had. But do we have more Aussie drama to watch? No, we don't. In 2022, the Albanese government went to the election saying it would promote Australian creators on streaming platforms. In 2023, the Albanese government committed to legislating local content quotas for streaming services, with commencement in 2024, but, just like gambling advertisement reforms, nothing has happened in this area to promote Aussie content.

I back Australian drama. Get behind it, Labor; we're all watching.

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