The new media laws take on new media

In May, a number of significant media reforms were introduced under the 2017-18 Budget, such as the proposed abolition of the "two out of three" ownership rule and broadcasting licence fees for free-to-air networks such as ABC, the Nine Network, Network Ten and SBS.

Historically, these fees have been calculated based on commercial television broadcasters' gross earnings. Under the proposed reforms, fees would be replaced with a tax on spectrum usage—the amount of tax charged would depend on the spectrum used by broadcasters and the power level of their transmitters. This means television broadcasters in metropolitan areas would pay more tax than radio broadcasters in regional areas.