Say hello to Hollywood
As foreshadowed in an earlier post, the Australian "Government" has put homegrown content for new media on the table as a sacrifice to the rural lobby in "Free Trade" negotiations.
We are trading off prospects of future development in new media for the sake of a paddock full of sheep. The Man Who Wears His Undies On The Outside is now willing to negotiate Australia's film and television content laws down in exchange for a free trade agreement with the United States.
"The line we've taken to date is that the existing local content rules ought to be preserved in relation to existing media" he is quoted as saying. Note, "existing media". New media is apparently up for grabs. The ramifications of this could be wide-ranging. At a minimum it sends a clear message to the Arts and Media sectors that their ideas and effort are worth less than a bucket of cow sh*t when it comes to international a*se-licking.
It helps to remember that the votes of a handfull of rural conservatives are currently keeping the "Government" in power, thanks to an inequitable distribution of electorate sizes. [Example: Electorate of Gippsland: held by National Party, Enrolment: 83 845. Electorate of Brisbane: held by Labour, Enrolment: 95 781. Check the figures for yourself at the Australian Electoral Commission, and start asking why a variation of around 11,000 voters, or more than 10% is acceptible. In case it isn't clear, the difference means it takes less National Party voters to elect a representative than Labour voters. Across the board, it means it is easier for the Liberals and Nationals to win Government because they can win more seats due to the disproportionate sizes. If you are old enough to remember former Queensland Premier Bjelke-Petersen, then you will also recall his use of the "gerrymander", as it's called, to keep power for nearly 30 years despite public opposition to his authoritarian style.]
Item posted by AutoEditor at 3:25 pm ::
