The screen sector is hoping the appointment of Paul Fletcher as Minister for Communications and the Arts will signal an end to government policy paralysis towards the industry.
The Federal Government has confirmed that Australian shows commissioned by Netflix, Stan and other streaming services will immediately qualify for the Post, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) and Location Offsets.
The federal budget offers no extra support for the screen sector over the next three years apart from modest increases in funding for ABC news and for SBS programming.
Labor has attacked the federal government for five and a half years of inaction over screen sector reforms while the Australian Greens have advocated a suite of measures to support the industry
Publishing and media doyenne Ita Buttrose has been confirmed as the new chair of the ABC.
In a shock move ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie departed after the directors decided it was not in the public broadcaster's best interests for her to continue to lead the organisation.
ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie today fiercely defended the public broadcaster and rejected calls to privatise the organisation.
The Senate inquiry into the economic and cultural value of Australian content on broadcast TV, streaming services and radio is motivated partly by fears the government could ditch local content quotas without parliament’s approval.