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The release of funding for regional media outlets is welcome but much more than $5million is needed and big tech must be forced to pay for content if public interest journalism is going to survive, the Greens say.
The Greens have been calling on Communications Minister Paul Fletcher to use the Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund to support struggling regional media outlets who’ve been pushed to the brink with COVID-19.
Greens Spokesperson for Media Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The release of funding from the Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund is welcome but $5million is not enough.
“Regional newspapers have already closed their doors across the country and many more are heading towards the same fate. The Minister needs to explain whether those who have already shut will be funded to restart their presses, and who will be eligible and how much can they receive?
“It seems the Minister has expanded the eligibility criteria yet hasn’t released all of the Fund or put additional money towards it, he should do that immediately or explain why he won’t.
“COVID-19 is the straw that’s broken the camel’s back, it isn’t the cause of the struggles of public interest journalism.
“Big tech like Facebook and Google have been ripping off small players and individual journalists for too long and they must be regulated better.
“Minister Fletcher needs to act on the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry recommendations now. Waiting until November for tech giants and media companies to reach a deal will mean more news outlets hit the wall.
“The Government needs to step in now and force big tech to pay for the content they use. It’s time big tech played fair, that’s what will really help keep Australian journalists in their jobs.
“The Government must also reverse its cuts to the ABC. The public broadcaster has doubled its audience in the last month and is the only news source in many regional areas and will increasingly be so in more locations if the media landscape in Australia isn’t urgently reformed.
“Strong media and journalism is vital for a robust democracy especially at a time when there is unprecedented power being exceeded by Government in the midst of this global pandemic.”

The Morrison Government’s refusal to change the JobKeeper program to include more casuals will leave workers in the arts, entertainment and creative industry behind and jeopardise the recovery of the sector after COVID-19, the Greens say.
Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Government was being wilfully ignorant to how the sector operates and its work structures.
“The Morrison Government needs to wake up to the value of the arts, not only for cultural and social cohesion purposes, but the $112billion it contributes to our economy each year,” she said.
“Workers in the arts, entertainment and creative industry should be valued the same as any other worker entitled to the JobKeeper payment.
“Under the proposed rules, freelancers who are commonly paid on short-term contracts and don’t have an ABN, and casuals employed for less than 12 months will miss out.
“Many hospitality and tourism workers will be in the same boat and these are industries that will also be dependent on the arts and entertainment industry for recovery.
“I urge the Government to fix this before Parliament sits on Wednesday, for the sake of hundreds of thousands of workers who will otherwise be very unfairly left behind.”

There is no rule book showing how to lead a nation through a crisis like the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Nothing we have experienced in our lives has presented such a profound challenge to our health, our economy and our way of life.
Throughout the crisis, the Labor Party has taken a constructive approach and looked for solutions, not arguments. We have and will continue to advocate in the national interest, not partisan interests.
Our aim is to help the government get the response right to save lives and protect jobs. We must carry our nation through this crisis swiftly, minimising the health impact so we can get businesses running and Australians back to work.
Then we will start the Herculean task of rebuilding our nation.
But right now, our priority is our people — their health, wellbeing and standard of living.
When the government makes the right decisions, Labor will back it, just as we did when we voted to fast-track the first economic stimulus package through parliament in a single day.
But if we believe the government has made the wrong call, such as acting too slowly on health responses and economic support, or sending Australians confused messages on social distancing, we will say so.
This is not a time for politics, but it is a time for good ideas — and no political party has a monopoly on good ideas. That’s a key element of a pluralist democracy, which should be cherished, not dismissed.
 
That is why, where Labor has seen gaps in the government’s response to the crisis, we have offered constructive suggestions.
Last week the government accepted Labor’s suggestion that where one half of a couple lost his or her job, the income threshold at which they would be eligible for assistance based on the income of their partner should increase from the current level of $48,000.
The new threshold of $79,000 will deliver relief to hundreds of thousands of low- to middle-income earners — nurses, teachers, police and aged-care workers, who would have otherwise missed out.
Likewise, Labor heard the pleas of renters worried about how to keep a roof over their heads and suggested a moratorium on residential property evictions, as well as measures to give landlords interest relief from banks on properties where their tenants have no income.
The government has embraced these measures.
Likewise, Labor advocated greater use of telehealth under Medicare after our offices were flooded with calls from older Australians worried about whether it was safe to go to their local GP.
The government again took on the advice, as it did with our concerns about the need for a boost in support for mental health services, our call to extend the COVID-19 supplement for Newstart recipients to include 230,000 students and young people and our suggestions for action on childcare.
Labor MPs have also heard from thousands of business owners who told us they did not want to have to lay off their staff.
That’s why Labor, unions and business argued for wage subsidies to keep people in work and ensure there was an ongoing relationship between workers and their employers.
After initially rejecting this idea as impractical, the government has announced its $750-a-week JobKeeper allowance. This will help the nation emerge from this crisis with a capacity to rebuild the economy more quickly.
The government deserves credit for listening to good ideas and turning them into good policy.
Labor supports the JobKeeper allowance, although we are discussing with the government ways to ensure that casuals who have been displaced by the health crisis and migrant and visa holders do not get left behind.
We are also yet to be convinced that changes to the Fair Work Act are necessary, given that wholesale change could cause unintended consequences given widespread differences in industrial awards.
Perhaps a better approach is through the Fair Work Commission, a process that has begun and should be consistent with the way employers and the trade union movement have been working together during this period.
I am sure with goodwill these issues can be worked through.
Labor is concerned that Australians should have to dip into their superannuation savings at this difficult time because it will reduce their future retirement incomes. And it would happen at a time when superannuation balances are relatively low because of the decline on stockmarkets.
Labor has also expressed concern that there were no health checks such as heat-testing for international arrivals at our airports until recently and that cruise passengers on the Ruby Princess were allowed to disperse around the country with disastrous consequences.
We also maintain the payments and investments to stimulate the economy and support people and businesses should flow as soon as possible.
As people queuing up at the Centrelink in my electorate have told me, people are out of work now and they need help now, not weeks into the future.
Some suggest the best response to the COVID-19 crisis is to balance our efforts to eradicate COVID-19 against the health of our economy, but I reject that as a false dichotomy.
The social-distancing measures are difficult but necessary and Australians are showing tremendous discipline and care for others in their compliance.
The best plan for our economy is to beat the spread of the disease and minimise the number of infections. If we think we will be doing something a week from now, unless there is a good reason, we should do it today.
On both health and economic responses, prevention is better than cure.

Charities that are registered with the national regulator will be eligible for the Morrison Government’s $130 billion JobKeeper Payment if they have suffered a 15 per cent decline in turnover as a result of the coronavirus.
Legislation to be introduced into the Parliament this week will include a concessional test for ACNC registered charities given the benefit they provide to the Australian community.
A reduced threshold at which a charity is considered to be substantially affected by the coronavirus, as compared to businesses and other not-for-profits, will support a sector which is expected to have a significant increase in demand for its services.
There are more than 57,000 charities employing more than 1.3 million Australians registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, providing services ranging from mental health support to access to food for vulnerable Australians.
The reduced threshold follows conversations with the charity sector including ACOSS, the Salvation Army and Catholic Social Services Australia.
The JobKeeper payment will provide around 6 million workers a flat payment of $1,500 per fortnight through their employer.
The $1,500 payment is the equivalent of around 70 per cent of the national median wage.
Every arm of government and industry is working to keep Australians in jobs and businesses in business, and to build a bridge to recovery on the other side.
The Government will continue to do what it takes to ensure that Australia bounces back stronger.
Eligible businesses and charities can apply for the payment online and are able to register their interest via ato.gov.au