SPA has noted the response of the Minister for Communications to its recent submission on the Morrison Government’s proposed Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme that asks global streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ to invest in minimum levels of Australian content.
The Minister defends the proposed scheme as “sufficient”. By contrast, SPA – which represents producers who are the employers in the industry – believes we can do far better than that.
In its detailed evidence, SPA has argued that the sector, which is made up of a significant number of Australian small businesses needs and merits a robust plan for industry growth.
Other territories that have qualities that are comparable to the Australian market and industry have already placed clear, certain and much higher requirements on these streaming services. Australia’s proposed scheme would amount to less than 0.3% of these global businesses’ content spend on Australian content.
This simply does not deliver the Australian content that we know audiences both here and elsewhere want.
The weakness of the scheme is demonstrated by the possibility of a small 5% obligation – quite possibly less – to local content from an undetermined set of businesses. Any way one looks at it – SPA believes that this will be a framework that sees the Australian screen industry go backwards and create less than what is currently being delivered.
SPA says that the screen industry needs a balanced regulatory system for the good times and the bad – not a scheme that is essentially self-regulation, and that provides no certainty in a high-risk sector.
On the issue of Ministerial discretion, SPA and its members reject the characterisation of this as just business as usual. Regulatory decision-making should be through a commonly understood framework that is transparent and offers consistent, predictable and positive outcomes and is characterised by arm’s length decision-making and Parliamentary scrutiny. Anything else makes regulation more subjective and uncertain.
There are clear examples of frameworks in comparable countries for streaming services that are predictable and robust and that support local industry, that Australia should be modelling. Anything less exposes our industry to incredible ongoing uncertainty, on which other markets will capitalise.
Through this consultation process, SPA is advocating for fair investment safeguards so that Australian stories on our screens aren’t just at the whim of global business decisions, but are anchored in clear and certain regulation that delivers what Australian audiences want.
Link to SPA’s Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme HERE.
Link to media release on SPA submission to Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme HERE.
