Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1        On 13 March 2013, the Senate referred the following matters to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (the committee) for inquiry and report:

• the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Material of Local Significance) Bill 2013 (the bill); and
• the delivery of news coverage in rural and regional areas by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).[1]

1.2        The committee tabled an interim report on 29 April 2013 to extend the inquiry until 20 June 2013.[2]

1.3        In accordance with usual practice the committee advertised the inquiry on its website and wrote to relevant organisations inviting submissions by 28 March 2013. The committee received four submissions (see Appendix 1 for a list of submissions).

1.4        The committee held a public hearing in Canberra on 16 May 2013 to gather additional information (see Appendix 2 for a list of witnesses).

1.5        The committee would like to thank the organisations and individuals that made submissions to the inquiry and those witnesses that gave evidence at the public hearing.

Background to the inquiry

1.6        It was reported that on 18 February 2013 WIN Television had informed staff that, as of 20 February 2013, it would no longer be producing any regional news bulletins for the South East and Riverland areas of South Australia.[3]

1.7        It was further reported that the cancellation of news production was due to 'significant pressure to reduce costs', and that up to ten staff, including journalists and camera operators, would be affected.[4]

1.8        In response to this action Senator Nick Xenophon introduced the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Material of Local Significance) Bill 2013 which would require commercial broadcasters in regional South Australia to provide a certain amount of local content.[5] When introducing the bill, Senator Xenophon stated that:

...what we have seen, particularly in South Australia, is a decline in local content. Because there is no legal requirement for them to do so, broadcasters are simply taking the easy way out. Any cuts to a network's production budgets will obviously target the region where there is no legislative protection, rather than being distributed more fairly.[6]

Broadcasting Services Act 1992

1.9        The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) (the Act) regulates the broadcast of content on commercial, community, subscription and narrowcast services in Australia. The Act also allows for the allocation of broadcast licences, places licence conditions on broadcasters and sets programming and industry standards.

1.10      The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has responsibilities under the Act to issue and renew licences, regulate the content of radio and television services and control rules for broadcasting services.[7]

1.11      Section 42 of the Act stipulates that each commercial television licence is subject to certain conditions (as set out elsewhere in the Act) and that the ACMA may impose additional conditions.[8] Section 43A of the Act further requires that the ACMA must ensure that there is a condition in force that has the effect of requiring the licensee of a 'regional aggregated commercial television broadcasting licence' to broadcast to each local area a minimum level of material of local significance (such as news and local information).[9]

1.12      Under subsection 43A(2), a 'regional aggregated commercial television broadcasting licence' is given to commercial television broadcasters in the following licence areas:

• Northern New South Wales;
• Southern New South Wales;
• Regional Victoria;
• Eastern Victoria;
• Western Victoria;
• Regional Queensland; and
• Tasmania.[10]

Broadcasting Services Amendment (Material of Local Significance) Bill 2013

1.13      The bill seeks to include regional South Australia under section 43A(2) of the Act so that it is covered by the provisions relating to regional aggregated commercial television broadcasting licences and must provide material of local significance. This would require the WIN Network in Mount Gambier and the Riverland area to provide local news bulletins. According to the bill's explanatory memorandum:

...this will ensure that regional South Australians continue to benefit from news and programing that is relevant to their communities.[11]

1.14      The areas currently listed under subsection 43A(2) were originally set out in the Act in the late 1980s (excluding Tasmania, which was added in 2008).[12] Consideration of the markets in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory was intended to take place following the creation of the section, but never occurred.[13]

Previous inquiries into regional broadcasting

1.15      This committee has recently undertaken an inquiry into the ABC's commitment to representing regional diversity.[14] This inquiry also examined the impact that increased centralisation of ABC television production in Sydney and Melbourne has had on its ability to reflect national identity. The committee tabled its report on 20 March 2013 and made a number of recommendations, including that the ABC annually publish its regional content production performance for ABC television and that it establish a regional television production fund for producing content outside Sydney and Melbourne.[15]

1.16       In 2011 the committee also examined programming decisions made by the ABC; specifically decisions made by the ABC to significantly cut the number and amount of internally-produced ABC programs.[16] The committee's recommendations included ensuring that the ABC maintain an effective capacity to produce quality programming across the regions in addition to news, sport and current affairs.[17]

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