SPA Welcomes Crossbench Support for Streaming Regulation – Screen Producers Australia (SPA) CEO Matthew Deaner today welcomed the presentation of the Change.org “Save Australian Stories” petition by Member for Warringah, Zali Steggall OAM MP, and the strong support from the parliamentary crossbench for long-awaited regulation of global streaming platforms.
“Concern about the long-overdue legislation to apply local content rules, or quotas, to streaming platforms, as promised to Australian audiences and the screen industry, is growing as each day passes without any action on this important issue,”
– Mr Deaner said.
Mr Deaner noted that Australia’s independent screen businesses have been feeling the effects of slowdown in local commissions for some time, with concern about the downturn now spreading across the broader creative workforce.
“Australia’s screen businesses are increasingly feeling the effects of the decline in commissioning by streamers, and it is notable that this concern is now spreading across the industry as work slowly dries up for Australia’s creative workers,” he said. “Without the safety net that local content rules would provide, we are at the mercy of mostly global streaming platforms for ad hoc investment in Australian screen stories.”
Mr Deaner emphasized that content obligations, which have long applied to commercial broadcasters and subscription TV, have served Australian audiences and the local screen industry well for decades.
“Without these requirements, Australia would not have built the thriving screen sector we are so proud of today,”
– he said.
SPA congratulated the creative workers and crew led by cinematographer Rob Morton, who has spearheaded an effort to put the issue into the national spotlight through the Creative Workforce Survey and the Change.org petition, supported in Parliament House today by members of the crossbench including Ms Steggall, Allegra Spender MP, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Sophie Scamps MP, and Nicolette Boele MP.
Today’s press conference at Parliament House was also attended by leading Australian screen talent including Bryan Brown, Marta Dusseldorp, Rob Collins, Rhys Muldoon, Matt Day and Brooke Satchwell, who spoke passionately about the importance of protecting and promoting Australian stories on screen.
“For Australian audiences to continue to see and hear their own screen stories, we need a robust pipeline of local commissioning based on fair commercial terms,”
– Mr Deaner said.
“With audiences now shifting to streaming platforms, the Australian Government needs to ensure that local content rules apply to them too.”
He warned that the current market imbalance, where Australia’s small and medium-sized production companies face global streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ without the protection of local content regulation, is damaging the sector.
“These powerful platforms are taking advantage of the lack of regulation not only to underserve Australian audiences but also, when and if they work in this sector, to impose lopsided commercial arrangements that harm Australia’s independent screen ecosystem,”
– Mr Deaner said.
“The negative flow-on effects are being felt across the entire industry.”
“The time for consultation is over. Netflix and others have been operating in Australia for more than ten years now, and this legislation is long overdue. The Australian screen industry needs action now from the Government.”
Media Release – SPA
Link to SPA HERE
TV Central Screen Producers Australia content HERE
SPA Welcomes Crossbench Support for Streaming Regulation
