Speech – House of Representatives - Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024 – Second Reading Debate

Ms ROWLAND (Greenway—Minister for Communications) (09:42): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024 will amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992 to support continued access to television broadcasting services in remote and regional Australia.

The Albanese government is committed to ensuring that all Australians have equitable access to media services and content, regardless of financial means or location. This includes through access to quality television broadcasting services.

Free-to-air broadcasting services keep Australians informed through news and current affairs and support the effective operation of our democratic institutions. They tell Australian stories with the creative sector, and provide a trusted source of entertainment for all Australians, including children. However, the sector faces significant headwinds, and these are most acute in remote and regional Australia. Operating in these markets has always been difficult, but the pressures have risen with the fragmentation of the advertising market and the growth of online services.

Commercial broadcasters are having to make some very hard decisions. In May 2024, the board of Mildura Digital Television—a commercial broadcasting licensee that provides Network Ten content to residents in Mildura—decided to cease operations from 1 July. This is a disappointing commercial decision that will leave audiences in Mildura without access to Network Ten content via broadcasting services. Audiences with an internet connection and internet-connected device will be able to access Ten content via the 10 Play app. While this is ultimately a commercial matter for the Board of Mildura Digital Television (and its shareholders Seven Network and WIN Television), the government will act to enable residents in Mildura to access Network Ten content via broadcasting.

Part 1 of the bill will make amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act to ensure that viewers in Mildura will have the option of accessing the commercial television broadcasting services provided via the government funded viewer access satellite television—or VAST—service, should they choose to do so. The VAST service operates as a safety net, providing access to free-to-air commercial television broadcasting services for viewers in remote areas and those in other areas who cannot receive an adequate terrestrial signal for digital television services in the area in which they live.

There are existing provisions in the Broadcasting Services Act that enable the Australian Communications and Media Authority to declare an area to be 'service deficient' and therefore enable viewers in the affected area to get access to VAST. However, these provisions are out of date and not operating as intended. This means that, in Mildura, viewers will not be entitled to access VAST, even though a commercial television network (Mildura Digital Television) will cease to provide services from 1 July. This is a perverse outcome that is not consistent with the intent of the service deficiency provisions or the role of the VAST service as a safety net for access to free-to-air television broadcasting services.

The bill will address this anomaly by amending section 130ZH to enable the Australian Communications and Media Authority to declare an area to be service deficient where there has been a material reduction in the number of commercial television broadcasting services provided terrestrially in a given area.

Audiences that wish to continue to watch Network Ten content via broadcast television in Mildura will be able to do so as a result of these changes if and when a service deficiency declaration is made by the authority. By expanding access to VAST, the bill will ensure that viewers may have the opportunity to access VAST, should they wish to do so, in the circumstance where a commercial television network is no longer provided terrestrially in the relevant area.

Notwithstanding the challenges they are facing, remote and regional broadcasters are responding by finding new and innovative ways to provide their services. In April 2024, WIN Television 'consolidated' the broadcasting services it provides under the authority of two commercial television broadcasting licences onto a single set of transmitters in the South Australian licence areas of Mount Gambier/South East TV1 and Riverland TV1.

This is a positive development for industry and consumers. It would enable WIN to reduce the costs of its transmission network by operating fewer transmitters. Audiences in these markets will continue to receive the same suite of services, broadcast to the same areas. Over time, the use of a more efficient compression technique as part of this new arrangement would provide the opportunity for WIN Television to enhance the range and quality of services provided, while using less spectrum.

Despite these benefits, the current licensing framework is inflexible and doesn't permit this type of innovation. There is currently a strict requirement that a broadcaster must hold a single transmitter licence that authorises the provision of the service or services of a single broadcasting licence.

While this 'one-to-one' relationship remains appropriate in many cases, it is unlikely to be compatible with the transmission consolidation arrangement being pursued by some regional commercial television broadcasters. This creates a number of anomalous and unintended outcomes, potentially placing the broadcaster in breach of specific licence conditions and other regulatory obligations under the BSA, while also distorting the intended application of other provisions. This is despite the fact that the number of services being provided under the new consolidated transmission arrangements is the same as those previously provided.

The bill will address these issues by inserting a new section, 102AE, into the Radiocommunications Act, and making a range of related amendments to support its operation. This section will allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority to declare that a specified transmitter licence is taken to authorise the operation of one or more radiocommunications transmitters for transmitting the services authorised under two or more broadcasting licences. The bill will also make related reforms to allow the authority to make rules to set the scope and application of this process and allow it to implement changes to television licence area plans that are consistent with consolidation declarations.

The Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024 reflects the Albanese government's commitment to the provision of high-quality broadcasting services across Australia.

The bill responds to the developments in regional and remote television markets and supports audience access to commercial television broadcasting services. The bill does so directly, by expanding access to VAST, and indirectly, by enabling broadcasters to operate more efficiently in terms of the transmission of their services.

Debate adjourned.