
Issue No 3		05 March 1999

Review

Keep the Australia in Australian Television.

By Megan Elliott, MEAA Independent Performers Organiser

Local content quotas for Australian television are under threat from our Kiwi cousins.

For over thirty years Federal Legislation has given us an effective, no-cost system that keeps Australian faces and Australian stories on our television screens.

It's the local content quota system and it ensures that a certain percentage of our TV has to be made in Australia.

Now there's a problem. In 1998 the High Court ruled that television programmes made in New Zealand qualify for the local content quota.

There'll be more tempatation for our networks to buy cheap, heavily subsidised New Zealand television programmes to satisfy their quota reguirements.

First to go will be our locally made children's programmes, then many of our documentaries. And don't underestimate Kiwi drama and comedy. Nobody's suggesting that the networks are going to drop their high-rating Autralian dramas overnight.

But what happens when they need to be replaced? Will the networks spend the time and money to nurture new Australian programmes when they can fill their quota with ready-made NZ imports at a fraction of the cost?

We Australians make television that competes internationally but what we do best is make television about us - what it means to live and grow in this country. And if we don't make these programs, who will?

By giving in to this pressure from New Zealand, we haven't just risked giving away a small part of our power as a nation to define and express our culture through television, we now risk losing it entirely.

Who'll be next in line? Under this ruling, any country that has a close trade relationship with Australia can apply for the the same preferred status that's been given to New Zealand. What chance do we have against Hollywood? We need a little help.

Following pressure from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (the union for performers, tv, film & live performance technicians, journalists, professional sports people, arts workers, symphony orchestra musicians) and other industry bodies, the Federal Government called a Senate Inquiry to see whether the section of the Broadcasting Services Act (s 160d) which has caused all the trouble should be deleted or not.

Now, deleting this bit of the act would not ultimately fix all the problems. However, adopting the report handed down by the Senate Inquiry would go a lot further in addressing them, and ensuring that we as Australians will still be represented on Australian television.

Given Australia's size, a strong television production sector is essential if a vibrant music, film and theatre industry is to survive.

If you want to continue to see Australia on Australian TV then let your voice be heard. Call on the Government adopt the Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Legislation Committee Report on the Australian Content Standard for Television and Paragraph 160(d) of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

Write or email or fax your Federal Member NOW.

Make sure the Cabinet Members know your views when they consider the Senat Committee Report. Write to them at Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 or fax them or send an email:

The Hon John Howard MP

Prime Minister

Fax: 02 6273 4100

The Hon Tim Fisher, MP

Deputy Prime Minister

fax: 02 6273 4128

The Hon Peter Costello, MP

Treasurer

fax: 02 6273 3420

Senator the Hon Richard Alston

Minister for Communications, Arts & Information Technology

fax: 02 6273 4154

email: [email protected]

The Hon Peter Reith MP

Minster for Workplace Relations

fax: 02 6273 4115

The Hon Alexander Downer, MP

Minister for Foreign Affairs

fax: 02 6273 4112

email: [email protected]

The Hon Peter McGauran

Minister for Arts

fax: 02 6273 4134

   Contact Megan Elliott

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  Issue 3 contents

Interview: How Organising Works
The ACTU�s Sarah Kaine is part of a new breed of union organiser who help workers stand up for themselves.

Unions: Big Boys Bank on Mergers
Mergers of the big banks are back on the agenda, and the Finance Sector Union is leading the community campaign against them.

History: Commemorating Our Dear Departed Equal Pay Activists
Two women who deserve special recognition and commemoration as part of our Women's Day celebrations are Eileen Powell and Edna Ryan, both of who played a crucial role in the struggle for equal pay.

Legal: New Judge Announces Zero Tolerance Of Pay Inequity In NSW
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission is training its sights on industrial raw-deals for women, and targeting the traditional under-valuation of women's work.

Review: Keep the Australia in Australian Television.
Local content quotas for Australian television are under threat from our Kiwi cousins.

Campaign Diary: Radical Conservatives Raise Their Own Bar
This Monday writs are issued for the state election, The phoney campaign ends and the real one begins; and the issue of stability, the need for it and the lack of it, is set to dominate the next four weeks.

» Unions Win Virtual Access To The Workplace

» Shaw To Snip At Gender Pay Gaps

» Living Wage - Round One To Unions

» Workers Fight Hotel Chain's Contracts Push

» No Picnic, No Pay

» The Modern Day Tales Of Robin Hood

» Nothing Casual About Woolies Drivers

» Unionists Flex Muscles for a Gay Time