Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens have long campaigned for local content quotas on streaming platforms. Big tech companies, like Netflix and Amazon, who make massive profits from Australians, should be required to have Australian content that gives back to the Australian economy and contributes to a stable, thriving local screen industry. Australians deserve to have ourselves, our community and our stories reflected on our screens. It helps us make sense of who we are. It's even more important that these stories are told in our kids' content. Generations have grown up on shows like Play School, Round the Twist, which was a favourite for my kids—was that really last century?—and Bluey. Our kids deserve better than a diet of generic American cartoons. They need to hear stories told about our community, too.

The Greens will support this bill in the House, and reserve our position in the Senate. I want to speak a bit more about the importance of our local screen industry and perhaps one of Brisbane's greatest home-grown success stories. I am very proud to say that Bluey and the Heeler family live in my electorate of Ryan. That's disputed by some. There are people out there who claim that Bluey lives in Red Hill. But I know they live in The Gap or maybe Bardon, or the western part of Ashgrove or Auchenflower or Toowong or indeed Paddington. In any case, I'm proud of what Bluey represents—that is, Brisbane at its best.

Everyone should be able to live the Heeler family dream and own a beautiful home, have secure jobs and a heap of time for the kids—whether that is playing keepy-uppy, octopus or zoo—access to beautiful natural spaces and natural surrounds. Everyone should be able to walk up to the lookout at Mt Coot-tha, play a game of cricket in Wittonga Park in The Gap, or head to the city for a day at South Bank. Sure, the parents are tired—being a parent is tiring—but they've got what they need to live a good life. They could use more public transport, to be honest. Here is the thing though: the Heeler family wouldn't be able to afford their place if they were buying now. More and more people are further and further away from this Bluey dream. In a wealthy country like Australia, that's just not right.

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