Children’s TV in Budget 2021

Children’s Television, regional news, news media and the bargaining code with digital players were winners from last night’s Federal Budget 2021.

The Morrison Government pledged commitments for the media sector and acknowledged challenges the pandemic has created for the arts sector.

Amongst the measures announced last night were:

$15 million to the AAP Newswire in support of public interest journalism in regional Australia;
$4.2 million to implement the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code;
$85.4 million for eight national collecting institutions; and
$11.9 million over four years to boost quality children’s television content. This represents the ACTF’s operational funding being locked in for 4 years. ACTF currently receives $2.9 million annually from the Commonwealth Government, on a year by year basis.

Continued support for public interest journalism in regional Australia
The Government will provide additional funding of $15 million over two years to the Australian Associated Press Newswire (AAP), starting in the 2020-21 financial year. The funding will support AAP’s continued provision of newswire services, consisting of regional, national and international news, to regional media outlets across Australia. This allows regional media businesses to concentrate on covering local news stories that are important to their communities. The funding is consistent with the objectives of the Public Interest News Gathering (PING) Program to support regional journalism and builds on the Government’s existing support to the newswire service. The measure will bring the total support to AAP to $20 million. AAP’s existing PING agreement will be updated to reflect the increase in funding and new grant activities. The first payment of $7.5 million will be paid before 30 June 2021.

News Media Bargaining Code
The Australian Government has introduced the world-leading News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code to address the bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms, and to support a diverse and sustainable news media sector in Australia. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has several important functions under the Code, including registering news businesses, and maintaining a register of arbitrators. Additional funding of $4.2 million over three years from 2020-21 will be provided to ACMA in this Budget to enable the regulator to discharge its responsibilities.

Creative and Cultural Sector
As part of our plan to secure Australia’s recovery, the Government has invested almost $300 million to support the successful reopening of Australia’s creative and cultural sector. These measures include:
$50.8 million to extend the Temporary Interruption Fund used by the screen industry until 31 December 2021. The fund is helping to support local film and television producers secure finance and start filming again.
$75 million to reinstate the Producer Offset Rate for film set to 40 per cent as an ongoing measure for Australian film of creative and cultural significance.
$20 million to various arts organisations including $10 million for the music charity Support Act, and $5 million to support national performing arts touring.

More support for our National Cultural Institutions
The Government will provide additional funding of $85.4 million to our National Collecting Institutions to improve their financial sustainability and enable them to undertake a variety of capital works so that we can continue to preserve and enjoy Australia’s cultural heritage. Additional funding of $32.4 million over two years will be provided to eight National Collecting Institutions to improve their financial sustainability and enable them to deliver public services and programs. The Australian National Maritime Museum, Bundanon Trust, Museum of Australian Democracy, National Film and Sound Archive, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia and National Portrait Gallery of Australia will be the beneficiaries of this funding.

Children’s Television
Further funding of $11.9 million over four years from 2021-22 and $3.0 million ongoing, will be provided to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) to support the development and distribution of quality Australian children’s content. This is in addition to the funding of $20.2 million over two years provided in the 2020-21 Budget. ACTF has played a pivotal role in the success of iconic Australian programs, such as Round the Twist and Dance Academy, and more recent productions including Bluey, Hardball and Little J and Big Cuz. This funding will enable ACTF to support producers of children’s content to transition as the Government modernises the regulatory and funding framework that underpins Australian content. It will also assist ACTF to continue their role in helping producers capitalise on interest from streaming services to commission and acquire quality Australian children’s content.

Updated.