Federal Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson MP has welcomed the most significant changes to media laws in a generation that will protect local content in regional Australia and introduce an incentive for local content to be filmed in the local area.
“These reforms will support the viability of local media organisations in O’Connor as they face increasing competition from less regulated services in a rapidly changing digital landscape,” Mr Wilson said.
“The Government recognises the value of local content – particularly local news services – which tell the stories of regional communities.
“This has been the guiding principle through which reforms to Australia’s outdated media ownership laws have been considered.”
Mr Wilson said the reform package would strengthen the local content obligations on regional commercial television licensees.
The new obligations would apply to the majority of regional free-to-air commercial television broadcasters who, as a result of a change in control known as a ‘trigger event’, become part of a group of commercial broadcasting licences whose combined licence area populations collectively exceed 75 per cent of the Australian population.
This will ensure there is local content provided in nearly all regional television licence areas following a ‘trigger event’, including those where there is none currently required.
This package also introduces an incentive for local news to be filmed in the local area.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will monitor and enforce these local programming obligations.
These proposed measures (subject to the passage of amending legislation), will commence in 2016.
The Government’s media reform package includes repealing media ownership and control rules that currently prevent:
- a person from controlling commercial television licences that collectively reach more than 75 per cent of the Australian population (the ‘reach rule’);
- a person from controlling more than two of the three regulated forms of media (commercial radio, commercial television and associated newspapers) in the one commercial radio licence area (the ‘2 out of 3 rule’).
The Government is not proposing, as part of this package, to remove the other diversity
rules including the ‘5/4’ rule, the ‘one-to-a-market’ rule or the ‘two-to-a-market’ rule.
Changes to the anti-siphoning list are not part of this package.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will retain its powers to scrutinise
mergers and acquisitions and will be asked to update its media merger guidance
accordingly.
“These reforms are vital because technology is changing the way we access media. In the
digital era, these regulations unfairly restrict broadcast and publishing companies in
O’Connor from optimising the scale and scope of their operations and from accessing
resources, capital and management expertise available to other media operators,” Mr Wilson said.
Domestic media operators must have the flexibility to compete and adapt in the changing
media landscape. These proposed changes to the media control rules will allow businesses to configure themselves in a way that best suits their needs, ensuring they continue to play a significant role in the Australian community.
These reforms represent a sensible and pragmatic approach to re-balancing the regulatory settings governing the traditional media in Australia, while maintaining a framework that continues to support media diversity, global competition and local programming.
More information on the Government’s proposed media reforms can be found at
mediareform.communications.gov.au
Media contact
Monica O’Shea | 08 9842 2777 | monica.o’shea@aph.gov.au