Chapter Five_PhD_Terry Flew

Chapter FiveContent Regulation and Cultural Policy: TheABT’s Australian Content Inquiry 1983-1989

Background to the ABT Australian Content Inquiry

The idea that Australian broadcast media should contain Australian content hasexisted for as long as the media themselves. As communications technologieswith considerable public reach and cultural significance, it has been a widely heldview that Australian broadcast media - and Australian television in particular -should utilise local creative talent, be under predominantly Australian ownershipand control, and contribute to the development of national culture. In the case of commercial broadcasters, this has required the regulatory intervention of government to secure these goals, as part of the public trust obligations involvedin granting private institutions the right to the means of public communication.Australian content regulations have been the responsibility of the AustralianBroadcasting Control Board (ABCB) (1948-1976), the Australian BroadcastingTribunal (ABT) (1977-1992), and the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA)from 1993. The Australian content requirements have involved a mix of overall196

levels of Australian content (also known as transmission quotas) and requirementsfor the broadcast of particular program types, most notably drama and children’s programs. There have also been particular requirements of Australian content inthe evening ‘prime time’ schedule, on the basis that this is the period with thelargest audience, and thus when locally produced material may have the widestcultural impact.In contrast to the weak commitments to political citizenship in Australian broadcasting policy, indicated by the patchy history of commitments to public participation in broadcast media policy formation, the commitment to nationalcitizenship found in the Australian content regulations for commercial televisionhas been relatively consistent, although the levels, forms and objectives of regulation have varied over time. The goal of promoting Australian content has been enshrined in the conditions of operation of both the national broadcastingservice (ABC) and the commercial broadcasters from their inception. The

Broadcasting Act

1942 enshrined Australian content provision as a condition of holding a broadcasting licence, for commercial as well as public service broadcasters, in Section 114 (1) of the Act:The [Australian Broadcasting] Corporation and licensees shall, as far as possible, use the services of Australians in the production and presentationof radio and television programs.197

The

Broadcasting Services Act

1992 states in the Objects of the Act the necessityof ‘facilitating the development of a broadcasting industry in Australia’ (s. 3 (b)),ensuring ‘that Australians have effective control of the more influential broadcasting services’ (s. 3 (d)) and promoting ‘the role of broadcasting servicesin developing and reflecting a sense of Australian identity, character and culturaldiversity’ (s. 3 (e)).The argument that quota-setting by regulatory bodies was a necessarycondition for achieving appropriate levels of Australian content on commercialtelevision had been a long-standing one. The basic arguments have had majoritysupport among industry participants since the decision in 1960 to set a 40 per centAustralian content quota (increased to 45 per cent in 1962 and 50 per cent in1965). Groups representing the audiovisual production industry had argued, sincethe 1963 Vincent Report, that local content requirements placed upon commercial broadcasters were inadequate in light of both the profitability of the commercial broadcasters and the cultural dimensions of the medium. The ABT’s

Self- Regulation for Broadcasters

inquiry in 1977 argued that ‘a distinctivelyAustralian look for television’ was a desirable ideal, but Tribunal membersdisagreed on the appropriateness of Australian content quotas as a means of achieving this goal (ABT 1977: 29). Even the commercial broadcastersthemselves, while rhetorically opposed to quotas

per se

, have accepted their existence as a performance condition, with the important proviso that restrictions198

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