SYDNEY: Controversial changes to Australia’s media laws passed the upper house Thursday, paving the way for a significant concentration of ownership, in a move welcomed by the industry.
Under legislation introduced in the 1980s to protect diversity, media companies are blocked from owning television, radio and newspaper assets in the same city, while metropolitan and regional broadcasters are barred from merging.
Major players in the market have long pressed for change, arguing the rules are outdated and do not account for digital media platforms and new publishers like Google and Facebook and video streaming giants such as Netflix.
“These changes bring Australia’s outdated media laws into the 21st century,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement late Thursday after the upper house Senate passed the bill.
“They now finally recognize the enormous disruption that has been caused by the Internet. Australian media companies will now be better placed to compete with the big online media companies from overseas.”
Canberra unveiled plans for a revamp 18 months ago and a final deal was struck in the Senate, where the government needs the support of independents, including the right-wing One Nation party, to pass new laws.
The legislation is expected to be passed by the lower House of Representatives, where the government has a one-seat majority, when parliament resumes in mid-October.
Seven West Media — which owns broadcaster Channel Seven, magazines and The West Australian newspaper — welcomed the reforms, saying they would provide a “better future for local news and Australian stories.”
“These historic changes will give Australian media companies a real opportunity to compete with unregulated global players,” Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes said in a statement to national broadcaster ABC.
Under the changes, a company would be allowed to own a TV station, newspaper and radio station in a single market.
The “reach rule,” which prevented a single TV broadcaster from reaching more than 75 percent of the population, would be repealed.
The opposition Labor party and the Greens were against the “two out of three” rule being scrapped, arguing it will lead to a higher concentration of media ownership, notably in the hands of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
To reach agreement with the independents, the government had to make concessions, including establishing a Aus$60.4 million ($48 million) fund for regional and small publishers and more training for journalists.
New laws would also be introduced later this year to set up a public register of foreign-owned media assets and increase the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s focus on regional and rural issues.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, whose support was crucial, earlier said he had also secured a deal for an inquiry into the impact of platforms like Google and Facebook, which he said were making billions in advertising revenue in Australia, but paying little tax.
“It will be a world-first inquiry into the power of Google and Facebook and other social media platforms, the impact on the media, issues of copyright and market domination, how do we level the playing field for media organizations?,” said Xenophon.
No details about the inquiry were released by the government.
Like other international media organizations, those in Australia have suffered from declining advertising revenues and circulation, with many slashing staff levels and costs.
Major shake-up for Australian media
Major shake-up for Australian media
Filipinos celebrate Christmas on a budget amid soaring costs
- Filipinos are choosing modest Christmas gifts, scaling down year-end festivities
- Millions look to content creators for tips on how to spend less for Christmas dinner
MANILA: As the predominantly Catholic Philippines celebrates one of its most important annual holidays on Thursday, many Filipinos have been forced to rethink their traditional Christmas celebrations amid soaring prices.
This year, street food vendor Gemma Gracia is among those who will keep her business open during the holidays.
“As a vendor, I’ve felt the prices go up since I also still buy at the market for our needs and for our selling needs,” she told Arab News.
But as celebrating Christmas was important for her family, the 39-year-old has allocated 1,000 Philippine pesos ($17) for a family meal out at Jollibee, the Philippines’ biggest fast-food chain restaurant.
“When you don’t have food to share on the table on this holiday, it’s a sad day. That’s why we make sure that we always have something on the table each year,” she said.
For many Filipinos, the time-honored traditions of Noche Buena, or Christmas Eve, is the most awaited part of this holiday season, when dinner tables across the country are filled with a hearty selection of traditional dishes.
Noche Buena, which is Spanish for “the good night,” is the dinner that follows the last evening mass of the season, known as misa de gallo or simbang gabi.
In the Philippines, such festive staples include meaty Filipino-style spaghetti and hamonado, the local version of a Christmas ham that usually serves as the centerpiece of Christmas dinner tables.
But the pinch from rising prices has affected Filipino shoppers in recent years, forcing them to adjust according to their budget.
Although the country’s central bank said inflation had eased to 1.5 percent in November, many say the statistics do not reflect on-the-ground realities, where people reel from rising retail prices, shrinking portions and diminishing purchasing power of the peso.
Allan Manansala, a 48-year-old construction worker in Manila, told Arab News that he is expecting to spend 5,000 pesos for his family of five in 2025, nearly a third of his monthly wage and about a fifth higher than what he spent in previous years.
“I might have to skip giving my children gifts this year because of the costs,” he said.
To get around the high costs, Manansala is skipping the Noche Buena festivities altogether and has instead decided to splurge on New Year’s Eve dinner, which is also a significant occasion in the Philippines.
Others, like Allan Melenio, look for different ways to save up.
“Our relative owns a meat shop, so we’re able to save on that since the prices are quite low,” he told Arab News. “But everywhere else, a piece of meat can cost so much.”
While the economy has forced Filipinos to make smarter choices and get creative, content creators are among those offering ideas to address consumers’ woes, teaching people how to stretch their meager budgets for the holidays.
One such tip came from Ninong Ry, a food content creator who challenged himself to prepare an eight-dish Noche Buena dinner with a budget of 1,500 pesos. Posted about two weeks before Christmas, his one-hour YouTube video has since garnered more than 1.4 million views.
The video was also a response to comments from Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, who suggested last month that 500 pesos was enough for a family of four to host a modest Christmas Eve dinner, sparking anger among Filipinos who said she was out of touch with reality.
Jelmark Toqueb, who works as a plumber in Manila, said that the 500-peso budget was unrealistic.
“It is clearly not enough. (Five hundred pesos) is not even enough for you to cook spaghetti with meat. Maybe just the noodles and the sauce,” he told Arab News.
For 32-year-old Toqueb and his wife, who works as a public school teacher, the holiday season remains a cherished occasion to spend quality time with the family. As their Christmas tradition involves gift-giving, he chose more modest presents this year to circumvent the high costs.
“The prices now are different even from last year, (when they were) already high,” Toqueb said. “Even if the gift is simple, it’s fine. It’s the thought that counts.”
