Additional comments from the Australian Greens
The Australian Greens support the Committee’s recommendation
that lifting the 75% per cent audience reach rule should be contingent on
safeguarding clearly defined local content in regional Australia.
The Convergence Review observed that the effectiveness of the
75% rule is diminished by online news websites and catch up television that can
be viewed across the nation. However, it also noted that geographic markets
are still relevant for maintaining an adequate level of access to local news
and commentary.
The Greens believe there is a clear public interest in local
news and content and that it should not be threatened by media mergers or
acquisitions.
The Greens want Australian content standards to be improved so
that Australia’s actors, writers, producers, directors, and technical skills
are maintained and nurtured.
When broadcasters were given a 50% reduction in licence fees,
the Greens believed that a doubling of Australian content should have been part
of the deal, especially as the content can now be spread across the
multichannels and can also include sport and repeats.
The old parties voted down the Greens amendments to double
Australian content, to protect Australian producers, writers, artists and
technicians, so we are left with 730 hours in 2013, 1095 hours in 2014 and 1460
hours from 2015.
Doubling the content quota would have provided a safety net to
adequately protect the Australian public from cheap foreign imports. Imports,
that according to Screen Australia, that typically cost around 75% less per
hour that the Australian equivalents.
A recent Screen Australia study found that 9 in 10 Australians
believe that it is important to have a film and television industry producing
local content, and that the most important benefit was to ensure that we are
not overrun by cheap Hollywood imports.
Those surveyed agreed that Australian content brings us
together as a community and as a nation, Australian content is important for
the strength of our democracy, Australian content enables us to express ourselves
as Australians.
In 2000, the Productivity Commission stated on Australian
content and drama in particular, ‘if availability of these programs to
Australian audiences declined, a loss of social and cultural benefits to the
community would be likely. Australian drama can be effective in providing
information and education as well as entertainment, for example, by canvassing
contemporary community issues and concerns. Documentaries have a direct role in
providing information and education.’
These are the fundamental cultural objectives of the content
standard. With the free-to-air networks so highly protected, the Australian
public must not be shortchanged by a safety net that is cripplingly low given
that the free-to-air networks enjoy new opportunities for long-term growth once
this transitional phase has passed.
The gift of public spectrum comes in return for the Australian
Content Standard, the stated objective of which is, ‘to promote the role of
commercial television broadcasting services in developing and reflecting a
sense of Australian identity, character and cultural diversity by supporting
the community’s continued access to television programs produced under
Australian creative control.’
Australian content on the multichannels is comparatively very
low, requiring the networks only to screen local content for 12 per cent of the
total broadcast hours across their multichannels. The Greens are very concerned
that the broadcasters will in fact be bidding down the price of content and
effectively gouging Australian content producers.
While sports and repeats include content that many people
enjoy, it should not be allowed to simply soak up what should be going into
points for creation of quality original Australian drama and Australian
stories.
Senator Scott Ludlam