The Albanese government’s dismantling of the News Media Bargaining Code, a financial lifeline for Australian media companies, is a key factor in the dramatic axing of up to 300 jobs at Southern Cross Media (SCM).
The Code was a world-leading initiative of the former Coalition government, delivering in excess of $200 million to support newsrooms including in the regions.
Yet, under Labor, this reform was left to collapse, and Australian media companies and journalists are now paying a very heavy price.
The Coalition warned the government’s failure to fix the Code was putting jobs on the line, and that’s precisely what has happened.
For more than two years after Meta walked away from the Code, Labor sat on its hands while multi-million dollar deals between Australian media companies and Google were left to wither and die.
This is more incompetence from the Prime Minister and his Communications Minister, Anika Wells, costing the Seven Network, which generates around 70 per cent of SCM’s revenue, tens of millions of dollars.
Labor’s proposed News Bargaining Incentive is woefully inadequate – a blatant tax grab which sabotages commercial bargaining and fails to detail how penalty payments will be distributed to media companies.
With the media sector under immense pressure, it is unconscionable that Labor did not act immediately to force multinational tech companies to pay for the use of Australian news content.
Of the 300 job cuts across SCM’s television, radio, and publishing divisions which includes the Seven Network, the HIT and Triple M radio networks, the West Australian, Sunday Times, and PerthNow, I understand 24 journalists will be axed.
As someone who started out as a reporter with Channel 7 News in Melbourne, I understand how difficult today is for all who work for one of Australia’s largest media companies.