Key events
Free TV has welcomed the government’s commitment to ensuring that all Australians can access their local free television services on connected TVs through the introduction of legislation to implement a prominence framework in coming days.
Free TV chief Bridget Fair said viewers were being steered in the direction of services that favour the commercial interests of big tech and TV manufacturers rather than being given access to the full set of free local television services that they want to watch.
The new legislation was an “important step” towards ensuring that people were not being served up incomplete viewing choices based on who has paid the most money to be in the line-up.
She said:
While we are still awaiting full details of the legislation it is clear that there are still a few issues to be resolved with the Government’s proposed model. We look forward to participating in the next stage of discussions around this important issue.
Being able to share in the sporting moments that bring Australians together as a nation is also fundamental to our community. It’s important that the government has reaffirmed that live and free access to key sporting events remains a central part of the Australian way of life. With cost-of-living pressures top of mind for Australians, we cannot allow access to key sporting events to be limited by the subscriptions Australians can afford, their internet access or their data plan.
Josh Taylor
Telstra has paid a $306,360 fine issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) for failing to provide accurate details to the Integrated Public Number Database used to locate or warn people in emergencies when they dial triple-zero.
The company had previously been fined $2.5m for systemic issues with complying with IPND rules, but in 2022, Telstra self-reported to Acma that it had found more issues in the same period, and had failed to provide accurate information on more than 19,000 occasions between October 2010 and August 2022.
Acma chair Nerida O’Loughlin said:
The IPND is essential in a crisis when emergency services or police need to contact or locate people in harm’s way. We will keep Telstra focused on fixing these longstanding issues and giving consumers confidence that their data is being accurately recorded.
A Telstra spokesperson said the company had been working to improve its systems, which is how it reported the issues to Acma.
People’s privacy and safety is paramount and we’re sorry this happened.
Business fury at ‘unfair ‘ IR bill changes
Josh Butler
The business lobby is livid over the government accepting a Greens amendment to the IR bill, which they say would “give unions an unprecedented and unfair advantage in bargaining”.
This goes to a Greens push on what’s called “intractable bargaining”, where negotiations on a new industrial agreement have stalled, and the Fair Work Commission has to arbitrate.
Advocates for the change say it would help workers get breakthroughs on the bargaining process – but Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says the business community can’t support it, calling it “a sneaky and underhanded move”.
It’s expected the business lobby will strongly campaign against this change.
McKellar said in a statement:
The amendment, which seeks to change a law that only came into effect a matter of months ago, will mean that unions can drag out a bargaining dispute, unilaterally force a matter to be arbitrated by the Fair Work Commission, and because of the change, the employer will be worse off than before.
This change will only incentivise unions to stall and disrupt the bargaining process, further destroying productivity in our workplaces.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling politics coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and these are some of the best overnight and breaking stories to get you started before the main political dishes are served throughout the day by Amy Remeikis.
The battle to stop the spread of vaping is intensifying amid a surge in the number of shops selling the products. Our top story this morning shows that 600 outlets in New South Wales looked to cash in on the highly profitable trade despite tough new federal rules coming in next year. Anti-nicotine campaigners are concerned the surge shows that they believe the industry will succeed in watering down a federal ban on the importation of nicotine and non-nicotine vapes from March next year.
An extensive survey has revealed that the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum would probably have passed if the Coalition had not decided to campaign against it. It comes as the Western Australian senator veteran Pat Dodson announced that he was standing down from political life. Asked what lesson he would take from the voice defeat, Dodson took aim at the partisan nature of Canberra politics that had thwarted his dearly held project of reconciliation and said simply: “You can’t have a treaty with yourself.” Katharine Murphy was there to witness a most dignified departure from a man through whom “history seems to flow”.
Industry groups have lashed out at changes to the government’s workplace laws, describing the changes as rushed. The amendments, which passed the House of Representatives last night, will close labour hire loophole measures and add extra guardrails for the Fair Work Commission on gig worker minimum standards. But the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry say they have been “blindsided” by the 81 changes and that they say will drive up costs for businesses.
More on that coming up, and on a fine imposed on Telstra over problems with a vital database that locates people in emergencies.
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