Draft laws which will require the ABC to be "fair and balanced" have been introduced to the Senate, with the government sticking to a deal with One Nation over media ownership reform.
In return for Pauline Hanson's support for the changes, which were rubber stamped on Monday, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield introduced separate legislation to the upper house on Wednesday.
"The Australian people expect a publicly funded broadcaster to canvass a broad range of issues, and report on those issues in a fair and balanced matter," Senator Fifield said in his second reading speech.
Separate legislation will seek to insert a reference to regional Australia in the ABC's charter.
Under those changes, a regional advisory council will also be established to consult with the ABC board, which will be required to have at least two non-executive directors with a connection to a regional community.
Meanwhile, the Greens and Labor successfully moved a motion calling on the Senate not to support legislation which forces the ABC or SBS to make staff salaries public.
The government will ask the public broadcasters to publish salaries voluntarily before attempting to force them to do so.
Senator Hanson told parliament the public had a right to know what salaries were being paid by the taxpayer funded organisations.
