Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

In a similar way to what I said earlier, I want to acknowledge the member for Warringah for an engagement that has been going on for some years now on this particular issue. It's important for the commitment that's been shown on this issue to be acknowledged.

As I said earlier, we're not in a position to be amending the bill at all. But, if I can refer specifically to the issue of the objects proposal—you could take it either way in terms of what's being said, so I think it's important that I clarify. In terms of the different subgenres, I do want to see—across the full suite of streaming businesses that are out there—and make sure that we end up getting the sort of diversity that's just been spoken about and that's reflected in the amendment. I don't, however, believe that it's essential for each individual streaming business to be providing that full range. There will be some streamers, for example, that decide that providing a serious level of children's content is important to them and go down that path. There will be others who go down a specific path, in seeking an audience, that is deliberately aimed at not having children among their audience.

I wouldn't want us to be in a situation or a conversation about objects and what we're to trying to achieve here that left any ambiguity in terms of the government's position on that, which is that, no matter who it is sitting on the lounge, we want Australian content in the different varieties that have been referred to be available to them. But I certainly wouldn't want there to be an impression that the government was seeking to have a situation where every single streaming service had to provide the full range. I think different levels of specialty is a reasonable business model for them. But part of what the government is wanting to achieve here is that the full range of Australian content that people love is guaranteed to be available on streaming services—in the same way that, historically, you could get it on free-to-air, on the public broadcasters and on cable television.

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