News Journalism Payments (Consequential Amendments)

“The bill establishes the News Journalism Payment Scheme, which will distribute any revenue raised by the News Bargaining Incentive to eligible Australian news organisations, supporting a sustainable, diverse and independent news sector.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“The design protects editorial independence, as ministers do not choose which stories deserve support. Payments follow clear rules linked to newsroom employment, registration and public interest news production. Government support for journalism must never purchase praise or soften scrutiny, and a strong and independent press will question every government, including this one. Labor believes work deserves fair pay, and journalism is highly skilled work the value of which does not vanish after a headline appears on a search page or a social feed. The news media bargaining bills put that principle into law.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“These bills recognise that the digital economy has changed who captures the advertising revenue that once helped pay for journalism. They create a practical mechanism to encourage some of that value to flow back into Australian news. The amendment strengthens that mechanism. A 2.75 per cent charge provides a stronger incentive for commercial agreements, expected to deliver between $225 million and $275 million each year to Australian journalism. If platforms instead choose to pay the charge, that revenue will be returned to the Australian news sector. Either way, the objective is the same: more sustainable newsrooms, stronger local reporting and greater media diversity. That is good journalism. It is good for our communities. Even on those mornings when some of us might prefer not to admit it, it is good for democracy. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“The choice from here belongs to the platforms. They can sit down with Australian news businesses and reach agreements and put money into newsrooms, which is what our government wants and what these bills are built to produce, or they can decline, pay the charge and see it go to Australian journalism regardless. What is no longer available to them is the third course: taking the value of Australian news while contributing nothing toward the cost of producing it. That is a modest thing to ask of some of the largest companies in the world, and it is not a modest thing for newsrooms on the other side of it. A country that stops producing its own journalism does not stop consuming news. It consumes somebody else's news about itself produced elsewhere and accountable to nobody. It is the outcome these bills are written to avoid, and communities like mine will benefit greatly from what they seek to produce. I commend the bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“These bills ensure digital platforms that benefit from Australian news contribute to its long-term sustainability. The government's approach is practical, market based and designed to support a sustainable, diverse and independent Australian news sector. These measures build on and strengthen the world-leading news media bargaining code, which has been in place since March 2021, ensuring it remains effective in a changing digital environment.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“Governments are supposed to have their decisions scrutinised. Businesses should be scrutinised too, along with courts, councils, institutions and everyone else who exercises power in this country. For that to happen, Australia needs journalists who have the time and resources to do the work properly. Australia will be better for it. I commend the bill to the Senate.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“These bills ensure stability and a secure funding pipeline for Australian journalism, supporting commercial investment and returning incentive revenue to the secure. They will help to support a dynamic and diverse Australian news industry well into the future. I commend these bills to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“Australian journalism underpins the work we do in this place. It gives people the information they need to judge us, question us and understand the decisions being made in their name. It is vital to our democracy and to who we are as a nation. Our Australian story should be told by Australian voices, Australian journalists and people who know our communities from the inside. If we want that story to survive the pull of the algorithm, we have to back the people who report it. We have to fund Australian journalism properly. That is why I'm proud to support legislation that does exactly that.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“Together these bills reinforce the News Media Bargaining Code and support the sustainability and diversity of Australian journalism. They establish a clear principle that, where significant digital platforms derive enormous value from the Australian digital advertising market, they should have a strong incentive to reach commercial agreements with the Australian news organisations that produce journalism. From 1 January 2025 the News Bargaining Incentive will apply a charge equivalent to 2.75 per cent of Australian digital advertising revenue earned by significant search and social media services.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“This government recognises that public interest journalism is a public good and is taking action to help build a stronger local media presence in Australia, made here in Australia by Australians, and the bill before the House serves to do just that. The government's approach is practical and allows for a market based approach designed to support a sustainable, diverse and independent Australian news sector. The measures build on and strengthen the world-leading News Media Bargaining Code, which has been in place since March 2021, ensuring that it remains effective in a changing digital environment. And it will apply a 2.5 per cent charge to Australian digital advertising revenue earned by significant search and social media services.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“The framework in this bill creates strong incentives for negotiation and partnership. Platforms can reduce their liability by entering into eligible commercial agreements with Australian news businesses, rewarding direct investment in Australian journalism. This is a practical, market based approach that supports both innovation and accountability. The amendment before the House is modest in scale but significant in effect. By increasing the news bargaining incentive charge rate from 2.5 per cent to 2.75 per cent if a digital platform's advertising revenue is attributable to Australia, we are recognising how significantly digital and media markets have evolved since the original benchmark was established in 2021.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“To the digital platforms I say do the right thing and enter into commercial deals with our Aussie news publishers, and to my fellow senators I say support the bill, support commercial investment in Australian journalism and help a secure, sustainable, diverse and independent news media industry for the future.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“The news media bargaining incentive bills incentivise commercial agreements between digital platforms and Australian news businesses, with platforms able to reduce their liability through eligible deals rather than pay the charge. We've introduced this because we believe Australians deserve access to news that is independent, diverse and locally produced.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:”

Liberal Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“The Nationals will not oppose this legislation, the News Journalism Payments Bill 2026 and cognate bills, in the House. We recognise the importance of securing ongoing support for Australian journalism. We recognise the need for a mechanism that encourages commercial agreements between digital platforms and Australian news journalism. We recognise that Australia's media sector continues to face significant economic pressures. Most importantly, we recognise that regional journalism cannot be left behind. But our lack of opposition does not mean a blank cheque. It does not mean pretending the legislation is perfect. It does not mean ignoring legitimate concerns about its operation. It means taking a constructive approach while continuing to fight for improvements.”

National Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“So legislation is important. It is also vital that, to enhance the legislation, we adopt the amendments put forward by the shadow communications minister. But I say again: please, we need to help our newspapers in every which way. If you can buy a local newspaper and read it, you never know what you might find in it, and if we lose them, we'll be much the poorer as a society and as country communities.”

National Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“This is an important step forward in remedying the very significant vacuum over the last two years. We support funding for journalism, particularly regional journalism, which is vital for our democracy. We support a framework which encourages genuine commercial agreements rather than just dependence on government funding mechanisms. We are strongly committed to supporting Australian journalism and the importance of Australian stories being told by an Australian media sector, and I do hope that this package of bills does deliver what it's intended to do.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“I support these bills. The coalition built the original code, and we want a scheme that works. But passing this legislation is not the achievement. Country Press Australia have put this well. The real test is whether it translates into genuine commercial agreements across a broad and diverse Australian news industry. If in two years time the platforms have done eight deals with the eight largest media companies in the country and the Shepparton News, the Riverine Herald, the Country News, the Seymour Telegraph, the Numurkah Leader and the Cobram Courier are in exactly the position they are in today then this parliament will have passed a law and changed nothing. So we owe it to them to make sure this legislation works in a way that saves local journalism and local news organisations and allows them to continue doing what they have done—holding governments to account, holding local institutions to account, telling the stories of the people who live in regional and rural Australia and facilitating the discussion that is going to move our beautiful parts of regional and rural Australia forward.”

National Party • MP • 18 Aug 2026

“The coalition remains committed to ensuring that those who derive significant value from Australian news contribute fairly to its production. We support sustainable funding for journalism, particularly for regional journalism, which is vital to our democracy, and a framework that encourages genuine commercial agreements rather than depending on government funding mechanisms. While we did not back the government's original proposal, we are pleased the coalition's work in rattling the cage has delivered a strengthened news incentive scheme with an increased charge of 2.75 per cent. The objective of these bills is clear: a strong, diverse and independent Australian media sector that can continue to serve Australians for generations to come.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“These bills are not perfect. There are elements that I think could have gone in a way that supported more independent and smaller players. But I've been pleased to help push the government to increase access for smaller players and independent players to these funds. The other problem we have in Australia is a very concentrated media landscape. The big players—News Corp, Nine, Seven West—dominate not just our television screens but the written word, the press and our radio waves. We need to find better and more important ways to support new players and media diversity in this country. I'll be keeping a very, very close eye on how this scheme rolls out.”

Australian Greens • Senator • 20 Aug 2026

“With these amendments this bill will have a greater chance of throwing independent media a lifeline. I've put these amendments to the minister's office, and I implore the government to engage on them in good faith. This is important legislation to protect a vital part of our liberal democracy and social cohesion. I commend the bill with my proposed amendments to the House.”

Independent • MP • 18 Aug 2026