Parliamentary Updates

12 August 2024

I’d like to talk today about local news and access to local news content. Local news is struggling all around Australia including in Warringah. Our news media are in a David and Goliath battle for survival against social media and search engine giants. Contractions in the news industry outpace expansions but people still need to and want to hear about their local news to hear about what is happening in their area. This was true during the pandemic era and remains true today with increasing frequency of disasters and floods and bushfires and climate change events – we need to make sure people can access information, and of course we have large national broadcasters, but local news has an incredibly important role in that. It is trusted local content – for local, national and international events – that must remain accessible as widely as possible. The removal of trusted news sources on social media platforms means that people will be consuming more divisive and even extreme content that keeps them engaged. It is ripe for spreading mis and disinformation in an environment where it’s now so prevalent. I want to congratulate Kim Smee and an organisation called the Manly Observer for the launch of their app for their news website. They face no choice but to look outside of social media to keep their content alive, and their new app was the second most popular news app in Australia in the Apple Store. This shows how much desire there is for trusted local news.