by Dov Kornits
“Our workforce is in crisis. We’ve heard from people closing businesses, selling homes and going on Centrelink. These aren’t faceless workers; they’re the people who create the shows Australians love.”
Cinematographer Rob Morton is one of the thousands in the local creative workforce whose career is in jeopardy, with a 60-70% drop in film production work since 2022, as Australian stories are sidelined by streaming corporations which now dominate our viewing landscape and whose international content well and truly dwarfs our own. It’s not just a question of employment, of course, it’s also our national identity.
Rob Morton and fellow Australian creatives are hoping to hold the Australian Labor Government to account on a pledge that they took to the 2022 election, to enforce a meaningful local content quota on the streamers. The industry was canvassed, but nothing happened, with Minister for the Arts Tony Burke acknowledging at the 2025 election that it was still on the cards.
“Global streamers earn more than $4 billion from Australian households each year yet return next to nothing while using our taxpayer-funded NBN for free,” Morton said. “We want to see the government finally enact the local content obligations elements of the Revive policy.
“A 20 per cent re-investment of Australian generated revenue in Australian stories is fair and already exists in countries like Italy and France.”
Morton, Producer Simon Nasht, Cinematographer Ross Emery, and Impact Producer Nadine Torney recently voiced their concerns at a meeting with Independent MP Zali Steggall [pictured], which has resulted in the Save Australian Stories petition, hoping to protect the jobs of Australian screen workers. The petition has since gained more than 12,000 signatures to date. This petition sits alongside the broader Make It Australian campaign.
“Our culture is one of our greatest assets – we tell stories the world loves,” said Cinematographer Ross Emery. “Australia is a vital part of the global screen industry, with actors, directors and crews who succeed internationally. Without a 20% investment from streamers, our workers and the next generation of storytellers won’t be employed here, won’t be making Australian stories and our stories will disappear along with those jobs.”
The streaming companies, all US-based corporations – from Netflix to Prime Video to Paramount+ to Apple TV to Disney+ – have made it clear that they are against a quota, employing lobbyists to spin to the government that a quota will actually do the opposite of encouraging local production. “Some are pushing for just three to five per cent,” said Simon Nasht. “That’s not a future – it’s a slow extinction. Our stories are disappearing from our screens. It’s not just about content but our creative culture, identity and legacy for future generations.”
“This campaign is about protecting Australia’s cultural identity and the diversity of voices that shape it,” said Impact Producer Nadine Torney. “Our stories are who
we are – and they deserve a future on screen.
“When international streamers profit from Australian audiences, they have a responsibility to reinvest in the people and places that make those audiences possible.
“Our screen industry isn’t asking for a handout – we’re asking for fairness, the same rules that apply in the UK, Canada, and the fourteen other countries across Europe where reinvestment is mandatory.”
Independent MP Zali Steggall will address Parliament on Tuesday 28 October, presenting the Save Australian Stories petition with a call from industry for legislation to be enacted by June 2026.
Sign the petition: change.org/p/save-australian-stories
