Star power comes to Canberra as part of a push by networks to get rid of the Commercial Broadcast Tax.
TV personalities Matt Shirvington, Ally Langdon, Julia Morris, Scott Cam, Michael Usher, Sandra Sully and Tara Brown will head to Canberra on Tuesday as part of a FreeTV sector pitch to government.
They will attend a Parliament House event at 6:30pm attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Communications Minister Anika Wells.
The “Shaping A Nation” showcase will highlight the success of the big 3 networks in reaching Australian audience, commissioning local content and underpinning thousands of jobs.
It will also lobby for better support and reforms from the Albanese government.
“Twenty million Australians still watch free television every week. That’s not a dying medium – that’s democratic infrastructure,” FreeTV Chair Bridget Fair writes in the Australian Financial Review.
“When emergency services coordinate bushfire evacuations through television broadcasts, or when federal election coverage helps millions make informed voting choices, commercial television isn’t just serving shareholders – it’s serving democracy.”
Here are the key points on their agenda:
Remove the outdated Commercial Broadcast Tax. While global streaming platforms use government-funded NBN infrastructure free of charge, broadcasters pay $50 million annually on top of significant Australian content investments and regulatory compliance costs.
Support regional television urgently. Like telecommunications black spot funding, we need targeted support where the economics of delivering free television services are becoming unsustainable under pressure from global streaming advertising competition.
Extend production offsets to news. If we support Australian drama and documentaries, why not the journalism that keeps democracy functioning?
Implement the News Bargaining Incentive. It’s past time to ensure that when digital platforms profit from our news content, that value is recognised and fairly compensated.