Free TV Australia and Commercial Radio and Audio (CRA) have slammed the federal government’s plans for an ad blackout during the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
Michelle Rowland, minister for communications, told broadcasters the law restricting commercial TV and radio networks from airing political ads for the three days around elections would extend to referendums, as reported by the AFR.
Rowland wrote to broadcasters and saying: “The government is committed to a program of work to modernise media regulations and fulfil the legitimate expectations of citizens, consumers and industry for consistency, transparency and equity in our regulatory environment.”
In her notice, Rowland explained that the medium-term priorities for this reform agenda will focus on areas in need of attention, including advertising restrictions.
Free TV chief executive Bridget Fair said: “These rules are irrelevant and totally out of date. The only place you won’t see advertising on election day will be on commercial television and radio.”
Fair noted that the reality is that people are exposed to viral information campaigns targeting election outcomes.
“It’s OK to have people exposed to messages originating in a Belorussian basement, but we are stopping legitimate advertisers from being able to counteract that information.”
Ford Ennals, CEO of Commercial Radio and Audio (CRA), concurred – calling it “total nonsense”. He noted that the election blackout law are outdated in the digital age and added that he was disappointed that the government has rushed through the amendments without any consultation.
Ennals said that consistency with the rules for all media need to be applied across digital platforms. He said: “It’s a total nonsense with radio and TV being singled out while digital platforms get special treatment.”