Speech - Address to Victorian Country Press Association

Hi, I’m Michelle Rowland, the Minister for Communications.

Thank you for inviting me to say a few words. 

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands you are gathered on, the Wadawurrung people. I pay respect to Elders past and present, and extend that to First Nations people attending.

Thank you to the media outlets who give First Nations connection to culture, language and communities a voice and a platform. 

The Albanese Government supports a diverse and sustainable media sector.

Regional media – and the Victorian Country Press Association - plays a critical role.

From Ararat to Bendigo, Colac and the stunning surf coast of Torquay – where you are today – and a place and I visited recently – your members keep Victorians informed, connected and entertained.

The Albanese Labor Government acknowledges the pressures regional media is facing.

Our support for regional media includes delivery of the $15 million Regional and Local Newspaper Publishers Program and the funding of regional cadets through the Journalist Fund.

But long-term structural solutions are also needed.

This is why we are developing the News Media Assistance Program.

News MAP will lay the foundations for principled, evidence-based intervention to support public interest journalism and media diversity. 

I thank your members for providing insight through the consultation process. 

This expertise is informing our approach – and I will have more to say shortly.

As we develop the robust evidence base for long-term news media policy intervention, we also recognise immediate action is needed to ensure newsrooms stay open.

This is why I announced $15 million in grant funding for regional and community news under the News Media Relief Program.

Grants will open this year to eligible regional, independent, suburban, multicultural, and First Nations news publishers.

This funding aims to preserve audience access to local news and safeguard journalism jobs.

Thank you – again - to Victorian Country Press Association – for your work to support and sustain regional media.

Your members connect local audiences around the issues that interest and impact them.

Enjoy the conference in Torquay.