Australia’s major political parties are divided on many issues, but an Opposition member’s comments in Senate estimates underscored cross-party support for the country’s news media industry.
Liberal Senator Dean Smith used a May estimates hearing to highlight Australia’s shrinking news landscape and the importance of local news services, and to find out more about the upcoming News Bargaining Incentive (NBI).
While posing questions about the state of the news industry and expectations around NBI’s outcomes, Smith cited PIJI findings, including that 27 local government areas across the country had no local news services as of 2024.
In response, acting assistant secretary of the government’s News and Journalism Branch Andrew Verdon said supporting media diversity was a consideration in the NBI’s design.
“Having gone out for consultation on the statutory payment scheme, we are looking at, possibly, additional weighting for those publishers that are located in communities where there may not be as many news services,” Verdon said.
“We’re targeting small publishers, regional publishers, First Nations publishers and those that might be in local council areas where there are not enough services.”
After further questioning from Smith, Verdon explained that if, when the NBI is in force, the government collects revenue from digital platforms that refuse to make deals with Australian news publishers, the revenue will be distributed to news publishers “based on the number of journalists that they employ”.
Smith also asked whether the Communications Department was monitoring newsroom downsizing, mergers and closures following the closure of PIJI’s Australian News Data Project. Verdon confirmed the department was not collecting data on newsroom closures.
Despite criticism from the tech giants and the US government, the current Labor government is championing the NBI to strengthen the News Media Bargaining Code. The code was introduced to parliament by a Coalition government in 2020.
Ahead of the 2025 election, then-Opposition leader Peter Dutton said there was common ground between parties in supporting Australian news services in fending off the threat of Big Tech.
The same year, responses to a PIJI survey emphasised strong support for the country’s public interest journalism from Labor, the Greens and independents.
– Sezen Bakan