With targeted stakeholder consultation currently underway on the regulatory model that will be reflected in legislation to be introduced later this year, a lot is at stake for the Australian screen industry.
“The Australian screen industry has waited a long time for an Australian Government to step up and act in the national interest by ensuring Australian audiences can see, hear and experience their own culture on screens,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.
“Finally, with a government committed to restoring Australian culture to the centre of our focus, it’s the time to be bold and put robust regulation in place.
“Anything less will create exploitable loopholes that will undermine the ambitions of the cultural policy.
“Streaming services are incredibly successful, often global technology businesses, with rapidly increasing revenues and audiences, and which are increasingly replacing more traditional platforms as the predominant place Australians seek screen entertainment.
“The history of public policy regulation of media is based on the principle that platforms with a significant cultural role in Australian society should bear corresponding public interest obligations. If they are using public infrastructure such as the NBN or public spectrum for the delivery of their services, then there are compounded expectations.
“SPA argues that the provision of Australian content on our screens should be a genuine, reliable, and credible regulatory obligation.”
Principles for Government Regulation of Streaming Platforms
• Australian content has both significant cultural (and economic) importance.
• Australian audiences should have access to a broad range of new Australian stories across all the platforms they are using.
• Platforms that derive financial benefit from the Australian consumer market should financially contribute to the creation of new Australian content for the benefit of their consumers.
• Appropriate application of rules across platforms will build a vibrant and diverse commissioning marketplace.
• To meet audience expectations, there is a need to ensure Australia maintain and support a healthy screen sector (development, production (including post-production, and distribution) that delivers employment, economic activity, industry upskilling, exports, and growth opportunities.
• Independent screen businesses (SMEs) are critical to achieving our cultural and economic objectives.
• Ownership and control of intellectual property rights (IP) in creative work is of foundational importance to protect Australia’s cultural sovereignty and the stability of the creative industries.
“If we get the detail of this regulation right, then future Australians will look back with pride on the National Cultural Policy as an important and meaningful legacy of the Albanese Government,” said Mr Deaner.
