As the world awaits the outcome of the 2024 US Presidential election, one of the early casualties may be the government’s plan to introduce streaming quotas this year, with Arts Minister Tony Burke reportedly delaying the legislation.
As per the ABC, Burke told Labor’s caucus on Tuesday that the long-awaited legislation had hit a stumbling block concerning the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a subject that was difficult to negotiate directly with the US when voters were heading to the polls.
More than five months have passed since the government’s July 1 deadline for the regulation, under which content quotas would be introduced for streaming services that operate in Australia.
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) CEO Matthew Deaner said although it was unfortunate the US Presidential election had coincided with the timeline for the quotas, the government needed to face up to the screen industry changes being brought about by “powerful digital platforms”.
“Australia hasn’t been afraid to take on powerful interests in the past,” he said.
“We need to find that resolve, or these digital platforms will continue to play by their own rules and ignore local audiences as it suits them.
“This situation is denying Australian audiences ongoing guaranteed and appropriate levels of access to their own screen content and making business conditions challenging for many independent producers.
“If we don’t face up to the changes brought about by powerful digital platforms to our screen industry, we are setting ourselves on course for a dismal future. And that would be a terrible legacy from our National Cultural Policy Revive, which promised so much for our creative industries.”
The quotas were again raised at a Senate Hearing on Tuesday, where Environment and Communications References Committee chair Sarah Hanson-Young expressed her frustration about the delay to Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts Secretary Jim Betts and Senator Jenny McAllister.
Responding to Hanson-Young’s question as to whether “big US companies should dictate what’s important in terms of protecting Australia’s cultural policy and heritage”, McAllister said the government always made decisions “based on the national interest” and that that was how it “was approaching this policy area and all policy areas”.