Referral
1.1
On 11 November 2020, the Senate referred an inquiry into media diversity in Australia to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee for an inquiry and report initially by 31 March 2021, with the following terms of reference:
1.2
The state of media diversity, independence and reliability in Australia and the impact that this has on public interest journalism and democracy, including:
(a)
the current state of public interest journalism in Australia and any barriers to Australian voters’ ability to access reliable, accurate and independent news;
(b)
the effect of media concentration on democracy in Australia;
(c)
the impact of Australia’s media ownership laws on media concentration in Australia;
(d)
the impact of significant changes to media business models since the advent of online news and the barriers to viability and profitability of public interest news services;
(e)
the impact of online global platforms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter on the media industry and sharing of news in Australia;
(f)
the barriers faced by small, independent and community news outlets in Australia;
(g)
the role that a newswire service plays in supporting diverse public interest journalism in Australia;
(h)
the state of local, regional and rural media outlets in Australia;
(i)
the role of government in supporting a viable and diverse public interest journalism sector in Australia; and
(j)
any other related matters.
1.3
In December 2020 the Senate granted an extension of time to report to
4 August 2021. The reporting date was subsequently extended through to 9 December 2021.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.4
In accordance with its usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry on its website, and wrote to various organisations and individuals to invite submissions by 11 December 2020.
1.5
The committee received 5068 submissions, which are listed at Appendix 2. As noted below, the committee received more than 4400 additional submissions that were attached to GetUp’s submission.
1.6
The committee held five public hearings in Canberra on: 19 February 2021; 12 March 2021; 12 April 2021; 6 September 2021; and 22 October 2021. A list of witnesses who gave evidence at hearings is available at Appendix 3.
1.7
Evidence received by the committee can be found on its website. This includes Hansard transcripts of evidence from hearings, tabled documents, answers to questions on notice, and public submissions.
Acknowledgments
1.8
The committee would like to thank those individuals, institutions and organisations that made submissions to the inquiry, as well as all witnesses who provided evidence at public hearings.
1.9
The committee would especially like to recognise the two former Prime Ministers of Australia, the Hon Kevin Rudd and the
Hon Malcolm Turnbull, who both gave evidence to the committee. Their expertise in the Australian media landscape provided an invaluable perspective to the committee's deliberations, not only regarding Commonwealth media policy, but also in the interaction between politics, the Parliament of Australia (Parliament), and the media that can sometimes be challenging.
1.10
The committee would also like to express its thanks to participating media organisations that made submissions or appeared at hearings.
1.11
In particular, the committee thanks News Corp for its cooperation with this inquiry. Numerous News Corp staff appeared at the hearing, including the Global Head, Mr Robert Thomson, and the local Executive Chairman of News Corp Australia, Mr Michael Miller.
1.12
The committee also appreciates contributions made by the senior management of several organisations, including: Facebook; Google; Guardian Australia; Nine; PRIME Media Group; and WIN Corporation Ltd.
1.13
A number of industry bodies also informed the committee's deliberations. The committee thanks the Australian Associated Press, the Australian Press Council, and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
1.14
The willingness of all these bodies to engage positively with the inquiry is much appreciated by all participating senators.
1.15
Lastly, the committee recognises the many individuals who spoke of their personal negative experiences with the media. In particular, the committee would like to thank those who spoke about their experiences working professionally in media organisations, including Ms Anna Rogers,
Mr Tony Koch, Mr Anthony Klan, and a number of confidential submitters. The committee also thanks the individuals who came forward with evidence about becoming the target of unwanted and unwarranted media attention, particularly, Professor Michael E. Mann, Ms Cindy Prior, Associate Professor Michelle Telfer, and the Secretary of the United Firefighters Union (Victoria), Mr Peter Marshall, as well as some confidential submissions.
Note on submissions
1.16
As noted above, this inquiry received 5068 submissions. This unusually large number of submissions—one of the largest ever number received by a Senate inquiry—indicates the high degree of public interest in the health of Australia's media sector, including the availability, diversity and reliability of news content.
1.17
The committee notes that former Prime Minister the Hon Kevin Rudd was instrumental in encouraging Australians to make submissions, as well as in the petition to Parliament on this matter. Further details on these submissions and the petition are available in chapter 2 of this report.
1.18
Submissions made by members of the public consistently expressed strong views about the need for a Royal Commission to address concentrated levels of ownership, the ineffectiveness of the current regulatory approach, and the contested new reality of news media in the digital age.
1.19
GetUp also provided the views of its membership to the committee, which it gauged through over 4400 submissions it received. GetUp provided an annexure to its submission of 996 pages of comments from these submissions, which it described as follows:
GetUp received over 4,400 submissions from our members in every state and territory detailing the importance of diverse media ownership, public interest journalism, and robust local and regional media. Members spoke about the need for government policy that supports a thriving media landscape including a fully funded public broadcaster and protection for journalists and whistleblowers.
Structure of this report
1.20
This report consists of seven chapters:
This chapter provides details on the referral and the administration of the inquiry.
Chapter 2 provides the contextual background to the inquiry;
Chapter 3 summarises some relevant government media policies and legislation, and outlines the framework of oversight and regulation for media in Australia;
Chapter 4 considers the failures of the current regulatory approach to news media standards and complaints processes for print media and broadcasters;
Chapter 5 considers the lack of regulation for digital platforms, particularly Google and Facebook, the emerging tension over content generated by traditional media appearing on these platforms (including the YouTube suspension of Sky News), and the consistent calls for the Commonwealth to undertake reform in this area;
Chapter 6 considers the consequences of concentrated ownership and weak regulation, including considering evidence received by the committee regarding News Corp;
Finally, chapter 7 looks at various policies that the Commonwealth could consider in the near term to build a healthy and diverse Australian news media by supporting existing outlets across all platforms, and encouraging new entrants into the market.
Disclosure
1.21
The committee notes that the Chair, Senator Hanson-Young, in her capacity as an individual senator, has in the past been involved in two legal disputes involving a News Corp media outlet.
1.22
In July 2018, former senator David Leyonhjelm appeared on Sky News and made disparaging comments about Senator Hanson-Young. Sky News issued an apology to Senator Hanson-Young for ‘broadcasting appalling comments by [former senator David Leyonhjelm]’. Senator Hanson‑Young subsequently launched a successful defamation case against Mr Leyonhjelm that was recently upheld by the High Court.
1.23
In July 2021, Sky News issued a public apology and announced it would pay Senator Hanson-Young $40 000 in damages and her legal costs to avoid a defamation suit. The dispute arose from an April 2021 broadcast during which Sky News wrongly aired claims that Senator Hanson-Young had involved her young niece in a dangerous environmental protest. The settlement was donated to the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.