FOR good or for bad, it’s not every day you get mentioned in Parliament.
Tuesday, August 26 was one such day for your local newspapers, among them the South Gippsland Sentinel-Times and the Phillip Island and San Remo Advertiser.
Like Russell Broadbent before her, new Monash MP Mary Aldred is a great advocate for the role local newspapers play in their local communities and she said so again in parliament this week, during an Adjournment Debate speech on the ‘News Media Assistance Program’.
“In triumph and tragedy, there's someone who always turns up for regional Australia, and that's the local newspaper,” said Mary Aldred MP. That, in a nutshell, is what local newspapers are all about “turning up for their communities”.
And if ever we saw that played out, it was during the COVID crisis, when newspaper editors and their journalists were on call 24 hours-a-day to get the latest out to their communities on when testing and vaccination centres were open locally, or the latest from the government on lockdowns and the changing landscape of COVID controls.
Ms Aldred continued:
“Across towns and regions throughout Australia, the local paper weaves the threads that hold communities together. It shares in the triumphs, grieves in the losses and tells the stories that truly matter to everyday people.
“It's where a teenager reads their name in print next to a goal they scored for the first time in the sports pages. Everyday volunteers are celebrated, and the births, deaths and marriages of a town are enlivened with photographs, congratulations and condolences every week.
“Local news keeps people connected not just to events but to one another. There is an array of senior Australian journalists who started in regional media, like Weekend Sunrise co-host David Woiwod from WIN News in Gippsland, and the Age and Sydney Morning Herald Europe correspondent Rob Harris, who started at the Latrobe Valley Express.
“In my electorate of Monash, we have the South Gippsland Sentinel Times, the Warragul and Drouin Gazette, the Latrobe Valley Express, the Phillip Island Advertiser, the Trafalgar News, the Foster Mirror, the Mirboo North Times and the Bass Coast Post. They are locally funded. They are professional journalists. They are important to the community fabric of our region.
“Above the desk of the editor of the Warragul and Drouin Gazette Yvette Brand hangs a plaque that reads: 'A good local newspaper is one of the best public assets that any district can possess’.
“It's a quote by their founding owner and editor Albert Harvey. The Warragul and Drouin Gazette is more than 127 years old. The Latrobe Valley Express is celebrating 60 years this year, and editor Liam Durkin has been running six decades in six weeks.
The South Gippsland Sentinel Times has been going for 51 years. So seriously does publisher Michael Giles take the role of the local newspaper, he trekked to Canberra for the maiden speech of my predecessor 25 years ago and came back up again last month for mine.
“The Phillip Island and San Remo Advertiser newspaper first appeared in 1896 as a title called The San Remo Times and Phillip Island and Bass Valley Advertiser, making its first edition over 128 years old. Eleanor McKay is the editor.
“Regional journalists show up to meetings no-one else attends. They ask tough questions. They cover the bushfire alerts, and they stay to report the aftermath long after the flames are gone.
“We've seen some recent threats to local newspapers, from Teal donors astroturfing online newsletters to skew readers across to common causes and candidates, through to the move online for the gazetting of government publications.
“Support has been committed by the federal government, but it's been slow out of the gates in securing the future of regional journalism. The government's own website states: The News Media Assistance Program (News MAP) sets out a framework and measures to support public interest journalism and media diversity in Australia…
“On 12 December 2023, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts opened consultation on the News Media Assistance Program. Submissions closed back in February 2024. The News MAP design is still awaiting finalisation, and the successful funding applicants are still waiting to hear from the government.
“The mandated minimum commitment of $3 million per year for two years from 2025 to 2026 for regional newspaper advertising across the total Commonwealth media advertising spend has gone nowhere.
“We are now going on over two years after the government said it would address this issue. It was back in early March 2024 that Meta announced it would not renew its deal with Country Press Australia and other Australian publishers.
“The News Bargaining Incentive is a solution that enjoys broad industry support. Consultation has yet to begin, let alone the draft legislation.
“I am calling on the government to finalise this process by the end of 2025 to ensure that Meta, TikTok and other platforms join the negotiating table in good faith.
“Country Press Australia has confirmed that regional and local news industry outlets would strongly oppose any changes to Australia's world-leading copyright laws to allow AI companies to further access and use copyrighted content without permission or payment.
“There has never been a more important time to support our regional and local publishers. I'm calling on the federal government to get its act together and come good on commitments made which are well past their due date.”
Ms Aldred has made her feelings known at a pivotal moment for local newspapers and public interest journalism with a decision about the News Media Assistance Program imminent and other key issues including the News Bargaining Incentive, designed to encourage large digital platforms to enter or renew commercial deals with Australian news publishers, AI and copyright issues all on the boil.
But, it’s worth noting that Country Press Australia is already engaged with the new Minister for Communications, the Hon Anika Wells, and Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Dan Mulino in order to secure the strongest possible outcomes for their member newspapers, as they continue to fight for the integrity of local and regional news.
“We are emphasising to government that sustaining an independent, professional news industry must be the top priority,” said Country Press Australia President Damian Morgan recently.
“There is a significant risk that public funds could go toward ventures that will not survive beyond the NewsMAP funding period,” he said, “disrupting the ecosystem without delivering lasting value.”
“This risk is especially high in markets already serviced by trusted local publishers.
“The word ‘news’ is a much-abused term these days, and the definition of public interest journalism has never mattered more,” said Mr Morgan.
Where will local newspapers be in 10 years from now? It could depend on what happens in the next few months and the support of local Members of Parliament, including Mary Aldred of the Monash electorate in Victoria can only help.
