Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017. This bill is the Turnbull government's second attempt at media reform, yet it appears that they have learned absolutely nothing since the first attempt. The flawed Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Media Reform) Bill 2016 stalled in the Senate because of vehement opposition to the proposed repeal of the two-out-of-three rule—we can remember it because it wasn't that long ago—yet this new bill rehashes the same provision from the earlier flawed bill.

It is very well known that Labor supports a number of aspects of this particular piece of legislation. We will continue to do so as long as the provisions relating to the repeal of the two-out-of-three rule are omitted. Labor is ardently committed to the support of the Australian media industry, to the jobs that the Australian media industry produces and, of course, equally as important, to the content that the Australian media industry produces. Both the jobs and the content are important aspects of a thriving Australian media industry environment. But, unlike the Turnbull government, Labor is also committed to safeguarding the interests of the Australian public. Why? Because that's the central tenet of any democracy.

We acknowledge the competitive pressures that the media industry faces every day and that Australia does need a thriving and capable media industry. It's imperative that the sector remains viable and competitive in a modern media environment. It's for this reason that Labor will support measures in the bill that the Australian media industry needs most—indeed, the aspects of the bill that the Australian media industry has been calling for, for some time now—such as licence free relief, the repeal of the 75 per cent rule and the relaxation of the anti-syphoning scheme list. But Labor also acknowledges that Australians value media ownership diversity. They truly do. They understand the role that a government should assume in promoting diversity through competition. It's for that reason that Labor fundamentally opposes the repeal of the two-out-of-three rule, which is a direct attack on media diversity in this country.

It's becoming increasingly evident that our Minister for Communications has no vision for Australia's media sector. He has no ideas for how to adapt our media safeguards to the contemporary environment. He seems practically incapable of undertaking any type of genuine holistic reform. Instead, he prefers doing his business behind closed doors—something we've become very well aware of. Who are the victims of his doing this? The victims are the Australian public. The victims of these backroom dealings are our trusted public broadcasters. They are the victims here. But we don't hear the minister talking at all about them.

We know that the Turnbull government welcomed what it called 'constructive engagement' with Pauline Hanson's One Nation party over its deeply flawed media ownership laws. We know exactly what 'constructive engagement' means. It means the further undermining of our public broadcasters. Do not be fooled. When the Prime Minister says 'constructive engagement' with the crossbench party of Pauline Hanson's One Nation he is talking about undermining our public broadcasters. It means cutting funding to the ABC and SBS, despite the polls showing, year after year, that the ABC is Australia's most trusted broadcaster. Why? Because this is a government that has no commitment to our public broadcasters and, therefore, no commitment to the Australian people who put their trust in those broadcasters. If we take a short trip down memory lane, just four years ago—