Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Straight to the pool room—that's right! These stories, from the playrooms to the prison yards and from the outback to the suburban backyard, are not small. They are Australia on full display: unpolished, heartfelt, hilarious and brave. They remind us why this legislation matters, because the world wants more of us. When we back Australian storytellers, we're funding not just art but identity, community and pride, the things that turn our country into a culture.

This bill delivers a key commitment from our national cultural policy, Revive. Revive is our road map for rebuilding and empowering Australian culture, because creativity isn't a side project; it's part of our national identity. It's about putting Australian stories front and centre again. It's about saying our voices matter just as much as the big Hollywood blockbusters, and it's about ensuring that our screen industry, one of the most dynamic and creative in the world, continues to grow, thrive and inspire.

This bill puts us back in charge of our cultural future. For decades, our free-to-air broadcasters have carried the Aussie flag, meeting content quotas and giving us generations of icons: the foxy ladies from Fountain Gate, the loveable chaos of the Proudmans and those unforgettable neighbours on Ramsay Street. Then streaming came along—shiny, global, irresistible—and our proud Aussie rules of storytelling didn't follow. Suddenly, Australians were watching more than ever, yet less of it was being made at home. This is exactly what this bill fixes. We're telling the streaming giants, 'If you're operating in Australia and cashing in on the Australian audiences, then it's your turn to create the next Aussie classic.' Fair's fair. This is about a level playing field. The same expectations that built our local screen legends should now apply to the platforms dominating every screen on every device.

Australia's screen industry is nothing short of extraordinary. We have actors, writers, directors and technicians whose talent lights up the world stage. From the Oscars to the Emmys, we've produced icons that have made the globe sit up and take notice. Think of Cate Blanchett commanding every room she enters, Sarah Snook dazzling in everything she touches and Nicole Kidman stealing every scene she's in. Think of Baz Luhrmann, George Miller, Warwick Thornton—geniuses who learnt their craft on our shores and then went off and showed the world how it's done. But let's not forget that behind every star is a constellation of hardworking Australians who make it happen: costume designers, lighting technicians, sound engineers, editors, producers, caterers and drivers. It's a thousand hands bringing magic to the screen.

When a film or story shoots in Melbourne, Sydney, on the Gold Coast or in the Northern Territory, it's more than arts. It's jobs. It's training. It's opportunity. In my electorate of Maribyrnong, you can feel it buzzing. Young film students across the river at Victoria University are learning the ropes. There are small creative collectives proving that talent, ingenuity and grit can thrive anywhere. When the Australian screen industry thrives, everyone benefits: local talent, small businesses and regional communities. It's not just a creative economy that we're building; it's a full circle Aussie powerhouse that turns ideas into careers, puts dreams onto screens and turns stories into national pride. From script to screen, this is how we back Australians to shine.

This reform is ambitious, but it's also practical. The investment requirement applies only to major streaming services with more than a million Australian subscribers. We're not putting unnecessary pressure on small or niche platforms. There's flexibility built in. Streaming companies can choose whether to invest based on expenditure or revenue, and they'll have a three-year carryover period to balance their spending. We'll review the system after four years to make sure it's working, making sure the investment is real, the content is high quality and the outcomes are strong for Australian audiences and creators alike. That's how Labor does reform—thoughtful, balanced and built to last.

This is far more than just television. It's about who we are as a nation. We're messy, brilliant, colourful and proudly diverse. When Australian stories are put on screen, we see ourselves reflected. We see our struggles, our triumphs, our humour, our accents and our landscapes. That reflection matters. It tells every kid growing up in Melbourne's north-west or in regional WA that their story, their voice, their life is worth watching and worth celebrating. Think of Rabbit-Proof Fence and Total Control. Each in its own way shines a light on the shadows of our history and the barriers that still linger today. Rabbit-Proof Fence brought the heartbreaking truth of the stolen generations to the world, while Total Control shows that the legacy of colonisation is still shaping modern Australian life, including our politics. These are stories that confront us, move us and remind us exactly why Australian storytelling matters. Narratives like these, the ones that make us laugh, cry or question, help us to understand each other. They challenge prejudice, celebrate diversity and elevate the voices that are often pushed to the margins. That is the power of culture—bold, honest, inclusive. That is exactly what this bill safeguards.

This bill isn't just about preserving what we've had; it's about inspiring what comes next. Imagine what the next decade of Australian storytelling could look like with this kind of support. Imagine the next Bluey, perhaps made by a young animator in Moonee Ponds. Imagine the next Red Dog, filmed in the red dirt of the outback. Imagine a new generation of Australian storytellers, actors and filmmakers who are given every opportunity to shine because their country backs their creativity. This bill gives them that chance.

This reform sits proudly within Labor's long legacy of backing Australian art and culture. From the establishment of the Australian Film Commission in the 1970s to the creation of Screen Australia and the revitalisation of our national culture institutions through Revive, Labor has always understood that our stories are part of our national strength. Just like Revive, this bill is a statement of confidence. It says that we are not just consumers of international content; we are the creators of it. We are a nation that makes things, that tells stories and that celebrates who we are.

This bill is about more than just fairness. It's an investment in the future and has fierce faith in Australian creativity. When we invest in our stories, we invest in ourselves—in the spark, the sass, the soul of this country—and we invest in the jobs, the skills and that unshakeable Aussie spirit that can turn a story about a girl and her wedding into cinema gold.

We make sure that, when our kids and grandkids sit down to stream something, they'll see a bit of home—a Hills hoist, a magpie swoop, a sausage sizzle or backyard cricket. They'll see who we are—bold, funny, complicated and beautiful—and they'll know they belong to a country that celebrates its own voices. It's not just one voice but many. From the world's oldest storytellers, our First Nations creators, to the countless cultures that now call Australia home, our stories weave together like a great big patchwork doona, stitched with grit, colour and heart. That's the real magic of Australia—every accent, every background and every yarn adding a new shade to our national story. They remind the world that Australia doesn't just watch culture; we create it. This bill says, loud and clear, our stories, our artists and our future are worth every frame. It's the vibe, and it's unmistakably, unapologetically Australian. I commend the bill to the House.

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