No deal. Opposition to block TV rebate.
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has told Seven CEO David Leckie the Opposition intends to block the $250m TV license rebate in the Senate.
- Published by David Knox
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Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has told Seven CEO David Leckie the Opposition intends to block the $250m rebate in the Senate.
The rebate on commercial license fees has been widely questioned for neglecting to carry any new conditions requiring networks to drive the money into local production.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hockey also met with Pay TV representatives who have noted the rebate as one of several ‘cosy deals’ between government and free to air networks.
It is understood the Opposition believes the Government hasn’t adequately explained why the rebate is necessary.
This week media has noted meetings between the Rudd Government and commercial networks, including Senator Conroy skiing with Seven Chairman Kerry Stokes in Colorado in January. Rudd was also recently a guest of David Gyngell at a sports event.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott this week likened the rebate to a bribe in an election year.
The Government has maintained the rebate is to preserve local content on free to air television it is yet to set any future targets on digital channels including 7TWO and GO! while the ABC is producing new Australian drama for both ABC3 and ABC2.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
17 Responses
Michael, hate to break your illusions but the government of Australia currently has No debt whatsoever. Zero, zilch, none. That, and the GST and Work Choices of course, are Howard’s legacy to the ages. You are probably getting confused between running a budget deficit and government debt, they’re not the same thing at all.
Currently all Australia’s debt is private debt, owed to the world by big corporations, small companies and private individuals (mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, etc.)
There are good reasons to be cynical about this FTA rebate, but it won’t put the government any deeper in debt. In fact, if the FTA guys use it to payback some of the money they borrowed to buy out their previous owners it may well lower Australia’s private debt level overall. That would be a good thing, but it’s hardly the way private enterprise is supposed to operate – free cash handouts from the government when you’re up to your eyeballs in debt that you took on of your own free will!
if I was a worthy underfunded charity, I’d be making a big play for that money right now – giving hundreds of millions to vastly profitable media buisnesses is such a bad look for this government. I can’t see conroy being in that position much longer, he’s making such a mess of it.
Please don’t give the networks any more money… if you do that then you just give more voice to the pointless opinions of wannabe tv employees on here who couldn’t cook an egg leave alone produce an actual show or run a network.
Good move from the oppo- I would much rather thetax cuts go to areas where they are most needed and most beneficial. I am primarily thinking of health care, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities need all the help they can get. TV networks don’t.
He’s just gonna block it cause he’s in opposistion, Thats what the Coalition has done since Rudd got into power..
..and when it seemed like they were gonna agree on something ETS, It cost the opposistion leader his job (Malcom Turnbull).
Wow, TV networks in cahoots with the Government. Who woulda thunk it?
The tv networks are the first to reduce quality, the first to sack staff – journalists and producers – and have spent the past 5 years downsizing news departments and studios, turning to talking heads instead of dispatching reporters. And now the same managers put their hand out asking for $250m. Fewer people watch TV because the quality has been reduced to the point of boredom. Cheap reality is no match for expensive writers and talented Executive Producers. Young, cheap reporters working as political reporters are no match for senior reporters forced to take redundancies. Weekend Today is no match for Sunday. A reporter in LA filing a voice for AP pictures of anything that happens anywhere outside of Australia is no match for a local correspondent.
Yet for some reason, Senator Conroy believes the networks are doing it tough. Perhaps as a member of the Rudd government, he simply admires Spin.
So Abbott has News Corp and Rudd has the networks.
They’re all scum.
Pietrio: the people did decide at the election. They decided that the government would not have a majority in the Senate.
I am no fan of the Liberals (and during their last term, you can see how bad it is when the government can pass anything it wants), but this is the way our political system works.
IMO any ‘rebate’ should be tied with better customer service and maybe some local content guidelines for the digital channels.
I also clearly remember that famous time when Kevin Rudd was walking out of a very long meeting with Rupert Murdoch in 2007 from his New York offices. Coincidentally, all Murdoch papers backed Rudd…. all TV networks did. The Coalition is always out on its own. But it looks like the tide is turning of ignorance towards this subvert form of corruption.
I think it’s a good idea to block spending 250 million since the government currently has No money and is massively in debt!
Gotta love politics and politicians……….In an election year dirty tricks & lies will be in abundance from both parties.
Red makes a good point – Tony met with Rupert to discuss who-knows-what this week…
I was under the impression that the “rebate” was on the condition that local production *was* increased?? If not, then why the heck are they getting it?
Also Tony Abbott had a cosy breakfast with Rupert before shouting his objections. Makes you wonder who’s pulling the strings on both sides.
There doesn’t seem much point in the people electing a government when virtually everything they try to do is blocked.
Whether it’s right or wrong the people should decide at the election.
This smacks of double standards from the coalition. They gave pretty much the same deal to the networks when they were in office !