This submission on the exposure draft of the News Media Bargaining (Administration) Bill is made by Public Interest Publishers Alliance (PIPA).
PIPA represents the interests of a range of small Australian news publishers in respect of their engagement and negotiations with various digital platforms for the supply and use of news related content by those platforms. As such, PIPA is uniquely positioned to comment on the News Bargaining Incentive scheme from the perspective of small, independent publishers.
PIPA and its members strongly support the government’s commitment to implementing the NBI and are very supportive of this Bill as an important substantive step towards implementing the long-awaited scheme.
Key submissions
- Express application of Charge receipts to publishers: legislation should expressly address how Charge revenue is allocated for the benefit of news publishers.
- Incentives to deal with small publishers: under the current draft, a platform could discharge its liability by doing deals with as few as four publishers — putting small publishers at a significant disadvantage.
- Supporting media diversity: the small publisher sector is key to ensuring diversity and should be seen as a significant contributor to achieving the government’s media sustainability objectives.
The full submission expands on these points and sets out PIPA’s recommendations for amendments that would better support small and independent publishers across Australia.
Further information can be obtained by contacting Mr Lawrence Gibbons (lawrence@altmedia.net.au) or Mr Nelson Yap (nyap@greenstretnews.com.au), co-chairs of PIPA.
