Senator Nick Xenophon wants tax breaks for smaller news publishers to encourage the hiring of journalists.
But he has criticised the government’s deal with Pauline Hanson that would see the ABC and SBS subject to new scrutiny, with high paid staff forced to publically reveal their salaries.
One Nation is demanding the ABC Charter require the taxpayer-funded broadcaster to be “fair and balanced,” on top of its existing requirements to be “impartial” and “accurate”.
The agreement would also include an inquiry into whether public broadcasters are competing too aggressively with commercial networks, including through their control over some sports broadcasting rights.
Asked if he supported the One Nation amendments, Senator Xenophon said “the short answer is no”.
“I cannot see the need for the so-called fair and balanced test. What that would mean to the ABC in terms of the way that it can fearlessly report issues, to cover issues, really concerns me,” he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
Senator Xenophon wants his own amendments, including tax breaks for smaller publishers to encourage the hiring of journalists.
“That would turbo-charge media in this country,” Senator Xenophon said.
“It would create, if it's done properly, many hundreds of journalist jobs around the country.”
The government has again listed the media reforms for debate in the Senate as it tries to secure the passage of the legislation before the end of the parliamentary sitting week.
The government’s sweeping media reforms, which are broadly supported by the media industry, would scrap rules that currently restrict the concentration of media ownership.
They would overturn the ‘reach rule’, which bans any TV broadcaster from reaching more than 75 percent of the population.
The so-called ‘two out of three’ rule, which bans an individual from owning a TV station and a radio station and a newspaper in the same area, would also be removed.
Communications minister Mitch Fifield said negotiations with the crossbench were ongoing.
Senator Xenophon said his team would put forward a “counter-proposal” but said his Senate team was “doing well with the government”.
One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts said he thought Xenophon could be convinced to support the changes.
“I haven’t found Nick that reliable,” he said, but suggested there could be common ground on increasing the ABC’s focus on news coverage in regional areas.
“We’ll sort something out,” Senator Roberts said.
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