It’s taken the Albanese Government over nine months to finally come up with a response to Meta thumbing its nose at paying for Australian news content.

The critical question now for the Government is - when will companies like Meta be forced to pay for the Australian news media content from which they benefit?

Let’s remember this issue blew up in early March – and it’s taken the Government nearly a full year to come up with any kind of response.

Over the last nine months we have seen a characteristically meandering, weak and indecisive approach from the Government.

The Coalition fundamentally believes that Australian journalism must be paid for. That’s why we established the News Media Bargaining Code in 2021, which led to successful agreements reached with Meta and Google.

We note that Under the Government’s proposal, the new system will commence from 1 January 2025. There will need to be a consultation process and legislation to lock in any new arrangements.

We’ve been calling for action all year- but the Government has only announced a policy after Parliament has risen for the year.

The Coalition wants to see support continue for the Australian news media industry – as we achieved through the successful News Media Bargaining Code.

The Albanese Government has taken far too long to come to the table with this announcement.

The test for the Government now is - when will Australian media companies start being paid by the digital giants for the content from which they benefit?