The Federal Government’s plans to overhaul media ownership laws are back on the drawing board, with a broker report indicating Communications Minister, Helen Coonan, is on the verge of releasing a white paper.
The Minister’s office has denied it is working on a white paper but, according to The Sydney Morning Herald’s James Chessell, the Macquarie Bank report is likely to bolster dwindling confidence the Government is keen to loosen media ownership restrictions.
Some industry players predict changes to ownership rules will be put to the Senate early next year.
Senator Coonan has told Chessell: “Reports of my department preparing a white paper relating to cross media reform and foreign ownership reform are incorrect.
“It is no secret the Government is committed to reforming media ownership laws to ensure the Australian industry remains innovative and internationally competitive.”
The Minister has held talks with media companies in recent months and is believed to be working on a package of reforms – rather than a white paper – to be put to the Prime Minister and Cabvarchar(15) in coming months.
Earlier this year, John Howard said he would not “dissipate a lot of political capital” on changing the rules. This was interpreted by some observers as a sign that his enthusiasm for media reform was waning.
But, Senator Coonan has spent recent months considering a wide range of potential changes, including “questions about multi-channelling, anti-siphoning, datacasting, the digital free to air take up in both the regional and metropolitan market”, according to the Macquarie Bank report.
Macquarie expects Senator Coonan to push for scrapping foreign ownership rules (which prevent a single foreigner owning more than 15% of a broadcaster and 25% of a metropolitan newspaper) and cross media rules (preventing a media company in one area owning another outlet in the same area).
In the report, Macquarie says: “Share of media (ie: news) voice is likely to be the governing principle.
“This means that two existing media players would be prohibited from merging if the regulatory body viewed that this would result in consumers [being denied] access to diversity in news sources.”
The flurry of merger and acquisition talks between media companies after the Government’s re-election seven months ago has settled down, reports The Australian Financial Review, with most media companies waiting to see what the government proposes.
Austereo Chief Executive, Michael Anderson, has told Neil Shoebridge: “Everything’s gone quiet. All the modelling has been done. Now people are sitting back and waiting.”