Canberra to amend Media Ownership Bill

CANBERRA TO AMEND MEDIA OWNERSHIP BILL
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Raphael Minder]
The Australian government Tuesday indicated that it was likely to amend its planned overhaul of the country’s media ownership rules to ensure support from lawmakers concerned about media diversity in regional areas. Helen Coonan, the communications minister, said she would “consider” any “worthwhile” amendments proposed by parliamentarians to help overcome their concerns, which she said were not “insurmountable.” The media legislation, a central plank in the government’s industry deregulation efforts, is being reviewed by an inquiry committee of the Senate, the upper house, which will soon submit its recommendations ahead of a parliamentary vote. The centre-right coalition government has a majority in both parliamentary houses, but of only one seat in the Senate, where two coalition senators from the National party have threatened to cross the floor and block the legislation.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/75ebf7a8-52c4-11db-99c5-0000779e2340.html
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