News Journalism Payments Bill 2026, News Journalism Payments (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2026, News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill 2026, News Media Bargaining Charge Bill 2026, Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media Bargaining) (Consequential) Bill 2026
Senator LIDDLE (South Australia—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (10:56): The coalition is proud to support a strong, sustainable and independent Australian news media sector. It's important that a strong, independent, sustainable media holds government and institutions to account, gives communities voice and gives access to accurate and diverse sources of information.
That's especially important in regional communities. Media has been under attack for years. As a former professionally trained working journalist, along with my colleague Senator Henderson, I've seen that change firsthand: the sustained job cuts and the threat posed by AI and big tech.
Niche media and public interest journalism are important because at the end of the communication line are the audiences—Australians—who rely on that information, and they mustn't be shortchanged. Quality journalism is the backbone of an informed, connected Australia, and nowhere is that more true than in regional and remote communities. Local newsrooms cover everything that national outlets overlook, from local meetings to court cases and community events.
In doing so, they keep local democracy accountable and communities connected. They cover the stories that are important to the people in those local communities. It is local media that Australians trust most and rely on for potentially life-saving information during disasters, floods, cyclones, fires or local emergencies, because the coverage comes from people who know the area.
It is local media that understands what residents actually need to know, and they have the bandwidth to provide that critical information. As newsroom capacity across the country continues to shrink, with dozens of communities now classified as 'news deserts', we must ensure digital platforms contribute fairly to the journalism they profit from, helping sustain the regional and independent outlets that so many in Australia depend on.
But we are here today because the Albanese government abandoned the coalition's news media bargaining code unnecessarily, and it has taken years to get here. That is on Labor. These bills create a new news media bargaining incentive following the Albanese government's decision to abandon the coalition's news media bargaining code.
The coalition laid the groundwork for this original framework. In 2019, the coalition asked the ACCC to tackle the growing imbalance between global digital platforms and Australian news publishers who were having their content used without being paid as they should have been. When voluntary negotiations failed, the coalition delivered the world-leading news media bargaining code in 2021.
The code recognised a simple reality: Google and Meta had become unavoidable gatekeepers between publishers and their audiences. The coalition's code delivered more than 30 commercial agreements, reportedly worth around $250 million to Australian news organisations. The problem was never that the code failed.
The problem was that the government failed to use it and failed to monitor it. When Meta walked away from the negotiating table in April 2024, Labor chose to dismantle the framework rather than amending the existing code for changing circumstances. It took the government more than two years to resolve the impasse, and news media organisations and journalism, meanwhile, paid a heavy price.
The government sat on its hands for far too long. There was no urgency from Labor. When it did act, what Labor did was change for change's sake.
We know they're good at that: duplication of effort, wasting taxpayers' money and looking like they're actually doing something when in reality they've done very little—lots of effort, lots of money, missing on the big stuff like AI and big tech, and not much to show for the money or the effort. And, while that has gone on, those outside of Canberra are impacted, and not in a good way.
If you ever wondered why Australia now has a $1 trillion debt, look no further than this Labor government and how it does its work. These bills establish the framework for the news bargaining incentive scheme and the associated news journalists payment scheme. I'll mention just a few of the key features.
There's a levy that is a 2.75 per cent charge if the users avoid making direct commercial agreements with Australian news media organisations and reinstatement of a pre-deal offset cap of 25 per cent, meaning no single publisher deal can offset more than 25 per cent of a platform's total levy obligation. On fund distribution, any charges collected where commercial deals aren't made are redistributed in full to support Australian journalism under a statutory formula tied to journalist numbers, with five per cent set aside for grants to small publishers and five per cent for the Australian Associated Press.
The scheme applies to major digital platforms earning $250 million or more per year—currently, Google, Meta, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Microsoft's LinkedIn. Professional networking platforms like LinkedIn are now captured. A problem, though, that should have been obvious is that AI platforms are excluded.
Labor is asleep at the wheel on AI and its impacts and implications—on everything. The scheme depends on accurately calculating Australian digital advertising revenue. If revenue is understated, liabilities are understated and support for Australian journalism is diminished in turn.
The Australian Taxation Office has the powers needed to verify revenue claims and prevent avoidance. Big techs must be held accountable, and that starts with properly measuring their revenue so Australian journalism is protected for generations to come. The coalition remains committed to ensuring that those who derive significant value from Australian news contribute fairly to its production.
We support sustainable funding for journalism, particularly for regional journalism, which is vital to our democracy, and a framework that encourages genuine commercial agreements rather than depending on government funding mechanisms. While we did not back the government's original proposal, we are pleased the coalition's work in rattling the cage has delivered a strengthened news incentive scheme with an increased charge of 2.75 per cent.
The objective of these bills is clear: a strong, diverse and independent Australian media sector that can continue to serve Australians for generations to come.