Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

They say the culture you grow up with, in your childhood and teenage years, will always be the culture that speaks to you. I was lucky enough to be a child and teenager in the late seventies and early eighties. This was an era when the rest of the world discovered Australian culture. It was an era of fantastic Australian bands, and it was an era that spawned so many iconic Australian movies and TV shows. There was Picnic at Hanging Rock. Who can forget Miranda? There was Mad Max, the franchise that launched Mel Gibson—sorry! There was Breaker Morant, We of the Never Never, Dogs in Space, Crocodile Dundee'That's not a knife!'—Puberty Blues, The Lighthorsemen and Gallipoli. And on TV there were the soapies. There was Neighbours. Everyone stayed home for Scott and Charlene's wedding. There was Molly's death on A Country Practice. There was Home and Away, The Young Doctors, Prisoner, The Big Gig, The Comedy Company and The D Generation.

Australian producers, writers and artists were churning out high-quality television and movie content showcasing Australian stories, Australian humour and Australian culture. They gave jobs to Australians: writers, actors, directors, producers, camera operators, costume designers, set designers and so many more. Also, importantly, we were seeing Australian stories and Australian actors on screen and hearing Australian accents.

There had been a bit of cultural cringe prior to this era. We tended to import our culture, in particular from England and increasingly from America. Then suddenly we, the Australian industry, were kicking goals around the world. Our stories and our actors were not only on our screens; they were being exported to the world, and suddenly people in New York and London were watching our stories. We should never underestimate how important it is for Australians to see themselves on screen. It helps us to better understand ourselves, our neighbours and our community, and it allows the world to see us and understand us a little better.

Australian stories play an important role in shaping Australia's national identity, fostering social inclusion and encouraging cultural expression. Humans are hardwired to understand the world through stories. They are our greatest cultural asset. They build a sense of community, identity, collective wellbeing and shared identity. They reflect and define who we are as a nation and make us recognisable on the international stage. Australian stories help make sense of our past, define ourselves in the present and promote Australia—our people, our creativity and our country—to the world. They bring us together with shared understandings and enable the exchange of experiences, ideas and perspectives. All Australians benefit when we are represented by and can hear our voices in the stories brought to the big and small screens. It makes us proud of who we are.

But the way we consume media has very much changed since the 1980s. Major structural changes in the way media is provided to us has meant audience viewing habits have changed. Australian audiences, like audiences around the world, are increasingly engaging with content across multiple platforms. Public broadcasters, commercial broadcasters, cable and streaming are all part of Australia's television landscape now and will be into the future. We are less likely to watch free-to-air television and live broadcasts. We are less likely to go to the movies in a cinema. We are more likely to be watching on-demand streaming services.

And the shows we are being offered have changed as well. They are more likely to be relatively cheap-to-make reality TV shows or programs imported from overseas, known as global content, because it's cheaper to buy up the international rights and show the same programs around the world wherever the streaming service has a presence. It's cultural colonialism, where we are all absorbing the same stories and the same standards, becoming homogenous with the cultures of the sending countries, and this undermines the special uniqueness that is Australia and Australian society in all its many forms.

In 2023, this government released the national cultural policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place. It was the first national cultural policy in a decade. As one of the five pillars of this policy, the Australian government committed to introduce requirements for Australian screen content on streaming services to ensure continued access to local stories and content. Today the Albanese Labor government is legislating for streaming services and subscription services to have guaranteed Australian content.

Public broadcasters already have this requirement. The ABC charter includes the requirement for the ABC to broadcast programs that contribute to Australia's sense of national identity, that inform and entertain and that reflect the cultural diversity of the community. The SBS charter states that the SBS's principal function is 'to provide multilingual and multicultural broadcasting and digital media services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society'.

Australian commercial television stations had their first content quotas for commercial television introduced in the 1960s to ensure that Australians had access to stories and to see their culture, language and values reflected on the screen. These local content requirements were updated in the 1990s to apply to free-to-air and other subscription television broadcasters, requiring broadcasters to commission a minimum level of Australian content every year. This is based on either hours, in the case of free-to-air commercial television broadcasters, or, in the case of other subscription broadcasters, a percentage of their total drama expenditure in Australia. These requirements stabilise the market and act as a safeguard for the Australian screen production sector.

But, unlike free-to-air broadcasting services and other subscription television services, streaming services currently have no requirements to make Australian content available on their platforms. The ready availability of cheap content produced in other countries risks drowning out Australian stories. Without government intervention, there is no guarantee that streaming services will produce Australian content and make it available to Australian consumers. There are streaming services operating here in Australia that currently have zero Australian content. Without Australian stories, Australian voices and Australian content, our country will be poorer, our society will be poorer and, certainly, our creative industries will be poorer.

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill 2025 amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and subordinate legislation to allow for an Australian screen content requirement on subscription video-on-demand streaming services. It will mandate that streaming services with more than one million Australian subscribers invest at least 10 per cent of their total program expenditure for Australia on eligible program formats in Australia and on new Australian programs. Eligible program formats are drama, children's programs, documentary, arts and educational programs.

The requirement uses the definition of Australian content which is set out in the Broadcasting Services (Australian Content and Children's Television) Standards 2020. This is the definition that is already used for commercial free-to-air and other subscription television broadcasters, and it's therefore the appropriate, consistent definition. The requirement also includes a voluntary option for streaming services to acquit their requirements based on a calculation of 7½ per cent of their Australian revenue. Streaming services can acquit their obligation over a three-year period. This principle was put strongly to the government by the streaming services during the extensive consultation and reflects the lumpy nature of investment cycles in high-quality programs. There will also be a statutory review conducted four years after the commencement to make sure the requirement is operating effectively. This obligation will give vital support to our domestic screen sector and arts workers by ensuring quality local stories. The proposed requirement we are debating today is consistent with Australia's international trade obligations. Streaming services covered by the new requirements will report to ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which will administer the Australian screen content requirement.

The Australian government committed to ensuring Australians have access to local stories wherever they choose to watch their screen content, and this bill fulfils that commitment. Since their introduction in Australia, streaming services have created some extraordinary shows. In the last few years, many of them have produced great Australian content. A minority, however, are yet to produce any. This legislation is not a criticism of the streaming businesses in Australia; it's an endorsement of Australian stories, a celebration of Australian creatives and a show of respect for the Australian audience. This bill will guarantee Australians will have access to Australian stories now and into the future. It will ensure that, no matter what remote you're holding, Australian stories will be at your fingertips. Australians will see themselves and know each other, and the world will meet us. I commend the bill to the House.

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