Greens Senators' additional comments

1.1These comments are constrained to Schedule 6 of the bill.

1.2The Australian Greens are disappointed that measures relating to Australia’s screen sector are wrapped up in a Treasury bill, rather than introduced alongside other reforms promised by the Government that remain undelivered.

1.3The Albanese Government committed to implementing local content requirements for global streaming giants by 1 July 2024, yet that date is fast approaching and no legislation has been introduced.

1.4The failure to introduce streaming quotas is a broken promise to Australia’s screen sector. Streaming giants make huge profits off Australian consumers and should reinvest their fair share back into making stories for and about our communities. These quotas are critical to building up the sustainability of the screen sector and ensuring Australians see themselves reflected on their screens.

1.5Given the Government’s promise to act on this, their failure to prioritise this legislation is deeply frustrating.

1.6The Government’s silence on this promise is made all the more evident by piecemeal reforms put forward in Schedule 6 of this Bill. While the increase of the location offset to 30% is welcomed by the sector, the Government should be prioritising building our home-grown screen sector, not solely attracting foreign projects to our shores.

1.7Further, the Greens hold concerns around potential unintended consequences of the changes to the minimum qualifying expenditure threshold. As heard throughout this inquiry, raising the threshold from $15 million to $20 million may jeopardise capacity of Australian companies to attract smaller budget, often independent projects to Australia. There does not appear to be a clear reason for the increase, nor any cost impact made evident.

1.8As such, we feel it important to retain the $15 million threshold and ensure the film sector has flexibility to attract a wider diversity of projects to Australia.

1.9The Australian Government prioritise the introduction of its legislative reforms for local requirements for streaming services to the Australian Parliament.

1.10Remove Item 8 from Schedule 6, Part 2 of the bill to maintain the threshold at $15 million.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young

Greens Senator for South Australia