Convergence Review Committee releases emerging issues paper
The Convergence Review Committee released an emerging issues paper today as part of the next step in their review of Australian media and communications regulation.
The emerging issues paper finalises a set of principles, highlights key issues raised in submissions and consultations and forms a basis for further discussion with stakeholders.
In April the committee released a framing paper for public comment containing proposed principles that would guide consideration of issues relevant to the review. Sixty-five submissions and a number of online comments were received from a wide variety of businesses, industry groups, academics and members of the public.
Glen Boreham, Chair of the Convergence Review Committee, said the committee made a number of changes to the principles based on these submissions.
“We received some very high-quality submissions from many stakeholders. These helped us finalise a set of principles that will be an important framework for us throughout the review,” Mr Boreham said.
The consultation process resulted in two new principles and refinements to a number of others.
“We wanted to make the deregulatory nature of the review clearer in these principles, and we also added a principle relating to a dynamic Australian production industry,” Mr Boreham said.
The paper released today also contains some of the issues that the committee sees as important and require further consideration over the course of the review. These include local and Australian content, media ownership and diversity, content rights acquisition and community standards.
As part of the paper, the committee has issued an open call for submissions to give stakeholders the opportunity to make comments on the emerging issues or raise other ideas and suggestions for regulatory reform.
Submissions close on 28 October 2011 and can be made either online through the review website or by email to the Convergence Review Secretariat.
The committee will undertake a nationwide public consultation program and release a number of detailed discussion papers on key issues. The timing of these processes will be available soon at www.dbcde.gov.au/convergence.
Members of the public can also engage with the review on Twitter by using the #converg hashtag or following @converg_review.
Media inquiries: media@dbcde.gov.au
