Labor flags delay of streaming quotas until after US election
The suggestion was made by Arts Minister Tony Burke at a screen industry dinner in Canberra on Tuesday evening, more than three months after the government had initially planned to introduce its new framework.
The federal government has signalled to parts of the screen industry that it will wait until after the United States Presidential election to impose its hotly contested local content quotas on streaming services.
The suggestion was made by Arts Minister Tony Burke in remarks at a private industry event in Canberra on Tuesday evening, months after the government had planned to introduce new rules setting investment obligations for global streaming platforms in Australian drama content.
Burke told attendees that Labor’s plans to force Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney to invest set amounts in local content remained a priority for the government, according to people who attended the event. He suggested, however, that the government would wait until after the US election to introduce the framework to parliament, one of the people said.
The inference, the person said, was that a Donald Trump White House could present the Australian government with diplomatic challenges over the plans, which streaming lobbyists argue could violate Australia’s free trade agreement with the US.
