Australian Broadcasting Corporation Bills Introduced
Monday 23 October 2017 @ 12.31 p.m. | IP & Media | Legal Research | Trade & Commerce
Last Wednesday (18 October 2017) the Minister for Communications, Senator Mitch Fifield, introduced two Bills relating to the operation of the national broadcaster into the Senate. These Bills are the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Fair and Balanced) Bill 2017 (Cth) (the Fair and Balanced Bill) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Measures) Bill 2017 (Cth) (the Regional Measures Bill) - both these Bills are proposed legislation flowing from the arrangements the government was required to negotiate in order to get its recently passed media reform through the Senate.
Background - General Role of the ABC
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC) is described as Australia’s primary national broadcaster and is as such publicly funded. Established under the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 (Cth) (the ABC Act) it provides a range of broadcast and digital media services that span diverse social, cultural and geographical audiences throughout Australia, providing its audiences with news and information services. The functions of the ABC are set out in the ABC's Charter (see section 6 of the ABC Act).
The Fair and Balanced Bill
The Fair and Balanced Bill will require news and information produced by the ABC to be "fair" and "balanced" by inserting the phrase into section 8(1)(c) of the ABC Act which relates to the duties of the Board of the ABC. The phrase is inserted in addition to what the section already provides which is the requirement to be ". . . accurate and impartial according to the recognised standards of objective journalism".
The additional requirements of "fair" and "balanced" are said to derive from the fact that the ABC is "publicly funded" therefore should give equal time to "all" views and opinions. Effectively as the Minister for Communications has said in his Media Release:
The Minister says in his Media Release that the Bill is about " . . . cement[ing] the standards expected by Australian taxpayers". However,
given that the Fair and Balanced Bill on its own appears to do little more than add those two words to the ABC Act which was already loaded with words like "accurate" and "impartial" questions may
be asked what the two words add and how they will or may be used in future. For example,
when a topic with widely divergent views is reported in an ABC News program in the
future, will the ABC be required to canvas every opinion that might exist out there
so as to be "fair and balanced" - no matter how minor or far fetched it might be?
The Regional Measures Bill
The Regional Measures Bill, according to the Minister in his Media Release, introduces legislative reforms to the ABC Act to ". . . enhance the ABC’s commitment to rural and regional Australia and require its news services to be fair and balanced . . . [and] ensure the ABC has an even greater focus on, and regard for, the needs of rural and regional communities".
The Regional Measures Bill implements reforms, which according to the Minister, are designed to ". . enshrine a formal commitment to rural and regional Australia in the ABC’s Charter".
The Regional Measures Bill also requires the ABC to consult on changes affecting rural and regional audiences, through the establishment of a Regional Advisory Council and will also require that there be at least two members of the ABC Board with a ". . . substantial connection to, or substantial experience in, a regional area through business, industry or community involvement". The second reform being a matter the Government, according to Minister, has already satisfied through its appointments to the ABC Board to date.
The Regional Measures Bill also introduces a number of additional particulars to be included in its the ABC's Annual Report said to be required to produce greater transparency.
What's Next
Both Bills are in their early stages of passage, that is, just introduced in the Senate. Whether the Bills will pass in their current form or at all, is too difficult to tell at this stage.
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Sources:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Fair and Balanced) Bill 2017 and Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Measures) Bill 2017 and supporting speeches as reported in the TimeBase LawOne Service
ABC reforms to be introduced into the Senate (Senator Fifield Media Release)
