Oz vote swings mogul's way
New leadership good news to Aussie posse
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The vote will likely mean Prime Minister John Howard's conservative Liberal/National Party coalition will control both houses of Parliament -- the first time an Oz government has enjoyed such power since 1981.
That would enable the government to repeal cross-media ownership laws and relax the limits on foreign investment in media, measures that had been blocked by the previously hostile Senate.
If those bills are approved, Murdoch's News Corp. as a foreign-controlled entity would be able to make a play for a commercial TV network, in addition to its 25% stake in dominant paybox Foxtel.
Packer to pack papers
Ending cross-media ownership restrictions, which currently mean no company can own a newspaper and TV station in a capital city, would also pave the way for Packer to make a bid for the Fairfax publishing empire, which the mogul has long coveted.
Counting of Senate votes will take some days, but the likely result will either be that the coalition has a majority of seats or will be in a position to get most legislation approved with the support of an independent repping a religious-based party.
The new Senate will be formed in July.
The opposition Labor party, whose overall vote declined, had pledged to retain cross-media regs but said it would relax foreign media ownership rules if it were assured local content and jobs could be protected.
The re-election of Howard's government for a fourth, three-year term almost certainly will mean a fourth free-to-air TV license will not be issued in 2007 (as favored by Labor), as Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan said last week she saw no "compelling case" for one.
The Coalition will complete the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Australian Communications Authority by mid-2005 to create the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Reining in pubcasters
The government said it will empower the new watchdog to consider complaints against pubcasters ABC and SBS for "bias, lack of balance, inaccuracy or unfair treatment," consistent with the Liberals' oft-voiced criticism of the ABC's news and current affairs programs.
The film industry can look forward to more funds for development and investment in films, TV dramas and docus as the government promised that an additional A$87 million ($61 million) would be funneled into the Australian Film Commission, the Film Finance Corp. and Film Australia over the next four years.
And it foreshadowed a review of the little-used tax incentives for film investment plus the extension of a private investment scheme that it estimates would cost $5.6 million over two years.
